Southern Oregon Finishes Day One 2-0 After Win over Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Top-seeded Southern Oregon and No. 8 Wayland Baptist (Texas) delivered an NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational pool play thriller on April 23, with the Raiders escaping 3-2 in a match that stayed in doubt until the final flight finished.
MESA, Ariz. - Top-seeded Southern Oregon and No. 8 Wayland Baptist (Texas) delivered an NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational pool play thriller on April 23, with the Raiders escaping 3-2 in a match that stayed in doubt until the final flight finished.
The opening wave immediately set an unpredictable tone. Southern Oregon struck first in Pair 2 as Kira Sandoval and Molly Grace handled Selma Sutaj and Alaina Baran in straight sets, 21-17, 21-16, giving SOU an early point. Wayland answered right back on the adjacent court in Pair 4, where Frida Espeseth and Milena Alliot-Maslankiewich recovered from a first-set loss to outlast Amanda Moffat and Kaitlyn Shilling 15-21, 21-15, 15-13, leveling the overall match at 1-1.
When Pairs 1, 3 and 5 began after the early flights concluded, Wayland briefly seized momentum in emphatic fashion. In Pair 3, Averi Penner and Lilou Henry-Souquet-Bressand dominated Andressa Ribeiro Soares and Maelle Garon 21-6, 21-12 to push the Wildcats in front 2-1 overall. Southern Oregon responded in the No. 1 flight. Tessa Zimmermann and Grace Gulbrandsen steadied the Raiders with a composed 21-18, 21-18 win over Taisiia Kalchenko and Deniz Yileri, tying the dual at 2-2 and leaving the entire contest to Pair 5.
With the pool play result hanging in the balance on the final court, Natalie Perez and Kendal Hadwick delivered for Southern Oregon, navigating a tight opening set before pulling away late. They edged Luiza Valentim and Carlee Heidebrecht 22-20 in the first and closed out the clincher 21-17, sealing the 3-2 victory for the Raiders in a match that swung repeatedly from the first wave through the last point.