MESA, Ariz. - Southern Oregon advanced in decisive fashion at the NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational, sweeping Corban (Ore.) 3-0 in Semifinal 2 on April 25. With the dual’s format dictating that Pairs 2 and 4 begin play first, the Raiders set an immediate tone, then closed the door once Pairs 1, 3, and 5 took the court after both early matches finished.

The opening wave belonged to Southern Oregon. In Pair 4, Amanda Moffat and Kaitlyn Shilling delivered the first point on the board with a straight-sets win over Erin Scott and Emily Blagg, 21-15, 21-19. Not long after, Pair 2 followed with another efficient victory as Kira Sandoval and Molly Grace defeated Allyson Reid and Gabi Engels 21-16, 21-10, giving SOU a 2-0 lead and putting Corban in a must-win situation across the remaining courts.

When the second group of matches began, Southern Oregon’s Pair 3 clinched the dual. Andressa Ribeiro Soares and Maelle Garon secured the third point by beating Alexis Adebodun and Cammie Masanda in two tight sets, 21-18, 21-19, completing the sweep and officially ending the contest at 3-0.

Because the dual was decided once the third point was earned, the remaining matches did not reach completion. Pair 1, featuring SOU’s Tessa Zimmermann and Grace Gulbrandsen against Corban’s Emma Bischoff and Emmi Marks, was stopped partway through a third set with the score recorded as 21-14, 15-21, 5-8. Pair 5 was also halted with Southern Oregon’s Natalie Perez and Kendal Hadwick holding a narrow edge after a marathon first set, 27-25, and the second set tied at 14-14 against Jordan Faircloth and Rebecca Wilber.

Southern Oregon will advance to play in the championship match at 1 p.m. PT.