MESA, Ariz. - Southern Oregon secured its place in the NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational semifinals on April 24, winning their quarterfinal over The Master’s (Calif.) by a 3-1 score in a match that featured early momentum swings, a decisive surge in the middle pairs and a fifth flight that was stopped before it could finish.

The Master’s struck first in Pair 2, where Ashlan VanGronigen and Isabela Rodriguez delivered a straight-set win over SOU’s Kira Sandoval and Molly Grace, 21-17, 21-19. With the Mustangs on the board early, the pressure immediately shifted to the other opening court, and Southern Oregon answered. In Pair 4, Amanda Moffat and Kaitlyn Shilling dropped the first set to Macy Gebhards and Krista Brady, 15-21, but responded with a controlled second set, 21-17, before overwhelming the third set 15-4 to level the overall match at 1-1.

Once both opening pairs concluded, Pairs 1, 3 and 5 began, and Southern Oregon quickly took command. In Pair 3, Andressa Ribeiro Soares and Maelle Garon were sharp from the start, rolling past Ashlyn Unruh and Addy Brock in straight sets, 21-12, 21-14, to put SOU ahead 2-1 in the team score. Moments later, the Raiders moved to the brink of clinching when Tessa Zimmermann and Grace Gulbrandsen won Pair 1 over Zoe Yates and Emma Winter, 21-18, 21-19. That result provided the third point Southern Oregon needed, sealing the dual at 3-1.

With the team outcome decided, Pair 5 did not reach a final result. Southern Oregon’s Natalie Perez and Kendal Hadwick were in a tight battle with The Master’s duo of Kayla Goodwin and Arianna DeRaffaele when play was truncated, with the score showing 22-20 in the first set and 14-12 in the second at the time it was stopped.

Southern Oregon advances to the semifinals on Saturday, April 24 at 10 a.m. PT.