ASHLAND, Ore. – The Lewis-Clark State volleyball team opened the 2018 Southern Oregon Raider Tournament with a tough matchup against the host team, the No. 13 Raiders.

The Warriors, working through a transition period, seemed an even match for one of the top teams in the nation.  They did not drop a set by more than three points, keeping sets close throughout, before falling in straight sets (22-25, 23-25, 22-25). LCSC is the first team to score more than 20 points in a set against the Raiders this season.

"It's a process," head coach Shaun Pohlman said. "Looking at the big picture, once we make our adjustments I am optimistic that we will be a wildcard."

The Warriors got off to a hot start against their top-15 opponent and led a back-and-forth battle in the first set. After falling behind 1-0, they answered back with the next two points. A big block from Alexa Van Vleet pushed the LCSC advantage to two at 7-5 as the Warriors continued to pressure the Raiders. With four-straight points, SOU gained momentum to take a 10-8 lead.

LCSC emerged from a timeout with a burst of energy as Rachel Gregg utilized an assist from Lauren West to bring the Warriors within one. Trailing 12-11, libero Gionni Brown tied the contest with an ace in her first serve of the night. The Raiders responded with five consecutive tallies before a service error swung the momentum back in favor of the Warriors. Van Vleet followed with a kill from West, and an ace from Aubrey King cut the deficit to two at 17-15. The offense did not slow down as kills from Brooke Kaawa and Gregg evened the score at 18 apiece. Southern Oregon eventually pulled away to take the first set by a score of 25-22.

SOU drew first blood in the second set, but Gregg quickly responded with her third kill of the night as she tipped the ball over the net, just out of the reach of the diving Raiders. The rally continued with an ace from West and another kill from Gregg to grow the lead to 3-1.  Gregg continued to dominate the court, adding to the LCSC lead with another kill and an ace to build the lead to four at 6-2. SOU pushed back, evening the score at 10-10, but Gregg continued to send down massive swings to keep the Warriors locked in as they battled to a 12-11 lead.

Raider errors and kills from Kaawa and Gregg proved extremely beneficial for LCSC, and a Sydney Lawrence service ace knotted things up at 19 each, forcing an SOU timeout. Olivia Jarvis and Gregg put up a massive block at the net, giving the Warriors a 23-21 lead.  The Raiders surged for four-straight points to take the set 25-23.

Gregg recorded her 10th kill of the night to put LCSC up 2-0 in the third set. A long rally ended with a King kill, which she followed up with an ace before an attack error by the Raiders padded the Warrior lead at 8-3. A five-point run was capped off by another ace from King. The two teams continued to trade points throughout the set until the Warriors strung together four-straight to pull ahead 19-16.

The Raiders went on a 5-2 run to tie the set at 21-21. Four-straight points sent Southern Oregon home with a 3-0 win, taking the third set 25-22.

Gregg had a solid night for the Warriors, logging 12 kills to lead both teams. West dished out 23 assists and Brown did her part on defense with 11 digs.

The Warriors return to the court tomorrow for two games. They face William Jessup at 11 a.m. and Oregon Tech at 5 p.m. in Ashland, Ore.