ASHLAND, OR - Northwest faced top competition as they took on the No. 5 ranked Raiders on the road. Southern Oregon proved their rank and did not let the Eagles take a set. 

The Raiders got off to a hot start that dug Northwest in a difficult hole to get out of. As the Eagles struggled in the first two sets, the Raiders took a quick 2-0 lead of the match.

In the third set, NU showed they were not going to give up. They found a rhythm and started to put pressure on Southern Oregon. As the teams traded points, the Eagles fought to tie the game at 24. Ultimately, the Raiders got the final two points to take the victory.

"The team is playing hard but we are struggling to play well with any kind of consistency and against a strong Southern Oregon team, those deficiencies are exposed," said Head Coach Steve Bain. "To our credit, the ladies responded well to the adjustments that we made in the third set and we were able to compete at a higher level but it wasn't enough to extend the match."

Azaria Johnson led the Eagles with nine kills. Ellie Van Berkum led the team with 17 digs.

UP NEXT

Northwest heads over to Oregon Tech for their match on Saturday.