EUGENE, Ore. – Southern Oregon pulled off large comebacks in all three sets, sweeping the Northwest Christian University volleyball team in Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Friday night, 31-29, 25-18, 25-21.
 
After suffering through slow starts in each of their first two matches of the season, NCU got over that hump on Friday, bursting out to a 14-5 lead in the opening set. The home team, however, went on a 12-4 run of their own. The Beacons still led 21-17, but SOU rattled off four of the next five points, including a trio of kills from Emma Gasman as they tied the set at 22-22. From there, each team fought off three set-point serves until the Raiders ended it with a Shelby Young kill.  
 
The steam seemed to be let out of the Beacon sails as they went into the second set when Southern Oregon jumped out to a 12-1 lead. SOU later held a 16-6 advantage but the Beacons clawed their way back to a 17-17 tie during a run that included six attack errors by the Raiders, mixed in with a pair of Beacon service aces and kills from Cassidy Winters (pictured) and Chelsea McGowan. SOU, however, grabbed eight of the set's last night points to win it going away.
 
The third and final set proved to be no easier for Southern Oregon. Despite opening up with a 9-4 lead, NCU again putting on the afterburners, claiming an 18-16 lead. The Raiders rallied once more, scoring eight straight points to claim a 24-18 advantage before winning the match on an NCU service error.
 
Head Coach Kelly Rosin said, "I definitely saw some moments of greatness from the team tonight, but we also saw moments of inexperience. Our goal right now is to limit those problems moving forward. We defended better tonight and we never showed any quit. SOU is a very athletic team and they are awesome to watch, but we were able to hang with them and never give up."
 
The Beacons (2-1, 0-1 CCC) were led by ten kills from Winters while getting eight kills apiece from Chandler Gabrio and McGowan. McGowan hit .304 in the match while also collecting three blocks. Alyssa Dorr led the team with 25 assists while Kayla Ping contributed ten digs.
 
Southern Oregon (8-2, 2-0) was led by Motade Atanda's double-double, scoring 17 kills and 11 digs. Gasman finished with 11 kills and a match-high four blocks. Lauren McGowne led all players with 39 assists and five service aces and Brookelyn Cole posted a match-best 19 digs.
 
"I felt like our girls played with heart and raised the bar for our level of play," said Rosin. "This is something we will build on and while we are proud of them, we don't want them to be satisfied with where we are at. We want them to keep growing and learning as a team and playing with and for each other on the court."
 
NCU will continue CCC action on Saturday night, traveling east to Klamath Falls to face Oregon Tech at 5:00 pm.