Photo By Kelsey Richmond
Back row left to right: Leanne Stennett, Heather Porter, Leah Bergstrom, Mia Wortel. Front row left to right: Sarah Holgen, Lindsey Stone, Maggie Rivers.

Raider volleyball dreams of making the National Tournament were crushed as they lost to College of Idaho Saturday in the Cascade Conference Tournament Championship match.

SOU dropped three straight matches 25-20, 25-17, 25-10 ending the Raiders season. Leah Bergstrom tallied seven kills in the match while Lindsey Stone had 24 assists.

With the win, the Lady Yotes of Idaho claimed their third straight CCC tournament title and advance to the NAIA National Tournament.

SOU finished second place in conference standings with a 17-3 conference record, 20-10 overall. Oregon Tech finished a close third in conference play with a record of 16-4 with two of their four losses handed to them by the Raiders.

SOU carried a young team this season, with only one senior and eight freshmen. They started the pre-season slow, winning their first game, before dropping the next four in a row. But the Raiders got back on track quickly and started the regular season with a win.

In their second conference game they were handed a loss from Eastern Oregon, but went on to win 10 in a row before facing Eastern for a second time, where the Raiders lost again.

SOU wrapped up the season with a six-game winning streak, which helped them clinch the No. 2 position in the conference.

“We have done very well this season, and our conference is really strong this year,” said senior Mia Wortel.

Wortel had a record-breaking season, and finished her career sitting in fourth place on SOU’s career kills list.

Coach Josh Rohlfing feels the season went great too, and thinks the team is ready for post-season action.

“We’re at the highest point in our season,” he said. “I think the girls are really jazzed about playing this week.”

Rohlfing says to prepare for the semifinals their practice did not change much at all.

“At this point in the season it’s more about maintenance.”

Rohlfing has high expectations from his normal stand outs, but he also expects big games from a few unexpected players too.

“Recently our big guns have been obviously Mia, but also Leanne Stennett. She was hurt for the first half of the season,” Rohlfing said. “She has been a huge contributor lately, and we are excited to see what she brings.”