ASHLAND, Ore. – Southern Oregon University grabbed their third straight-set win over the Beacons this season, defeating NCU 25-15, 25-18, 25-14 NCU's first trip to the Cascade Conference Volleyball semifinals presented by U.S. Bank. Senior Kayla Olson gave the team a silver lining as she collected 10 digs, giving her a new single-season record.
 
The Beacons came out strong in the first set, jumping to an 8-5 lead after a Jackie Harmon service ace. SOU, however, quickly climbed back to tie the game and after a Makenna Northern kill put the visitors ahead 11-10, the regular season champions rattled off seven straight kills to take control. The Raiders finished off the set on a 15-4 run.
 
The Beacons again kept it close in the second set, trailing 13-12 after a kill from Taylor Gould. A 7-2 run for SOU again put it out of reach. The Raiders really got into their rythym in the third set, hitting .393 while holding the Beacons to eight kills and eight attack errors.
 
The Raiders (28-3) finished the night hitting over .400, led by the dominance of CCC Player of the Year Taylor Ristvedt with 15 kills and Maddie Pernich who hit .632 with 13 kills.
 
Gould finished with a team-high seven kills for the Beacons (20-11). Halle Neumann added six kills while Natalie Downes led the way with three blocks. Makenna Northern tied for the match-high with 22 assists and Olsen had the team-high with her ten digs, moving her one dig past Dana McGowan (2012) for the new school record.
 
The Beacons, having made it to the CCC Final-Four are still up for discussion for an at-large bid as the NAIA finalizes its 44-team field for the National Championship Tournament. Tournament Qualifiers will be announced on Monday morning.