FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 15, 2026
Portland, Ore.| The Warner Pacific University women's volleyball team returned home Thursday evening for a conference matchup against Southern Oregon University. The Knights put together a strong opening set and continued to battle throughout the night, but the Raiders ultimately secured the match in straight sets, 25-19, 25-13, 25-14.
Warner Pacific delivered its strongest performance of the evening in the opening frame, matching Southern Oregon's high-powered attack early. The Knights recorded 11 kills while hitting an impressive .290 as a team. Behind strong play at the net from
Tayah-Anne Toa,
Mia Carman and
Naomi Johnson, WPU remained within striking distance before the Raiders created separation late to take the opening set, 25-19.
Southern Oregon established control in the second frame, using strong serving and an efficient attack to build an early advantage. The Knights continued to fight behind contributions from Toa,
Josie Schultz and
Daisci Burrows, but the Raiders hit .533 in the set to secure a 25-13 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Raiders carried their momentum into the third set, but Warner Pacific continued to battle. Toa provided several key points at the net, while
Amor Rapoza and
Maya Moreno added service aces to help keep the Knights fighting down the stretch. Southern Oregon's balanced attack ultimately proved too much as the Raiders closed out the match with a 25-14 victory in the final frame.
Toa led the Warner Pacific offense with a team-high nine kills on 23 attempts, hitting .304 while adding six digs and two block assists. Johnson and Carman each contributed four kills for the Knights, while Johnson and Schultz also made their presence felt defensively at the net with multiple blocks.
Rapoza directed the WPU offense with a team-high 10 assists while adding three digs and a service ace. Burrows contributed seven assists and six digs, while Carman paced the Knights defensively with a team-high eight digs. Moreno followed closely with seven digs. As a team, Warner Pacific finished the evening with 22 kills, 21 assists and 34 digs.
"I am very proud that we are continuing to develop as a team." Head Coach Nerisa Laban said. "We served tough and kept SOU out of system. We had the best hitting average tonight that we've had all season which shows that we are continuing to play with grit and fight every night."
Next Up
The Knights will remain at home as they turn their attention to Oregon Tech on Sunday. The match is scheduled for 4pm at the C.C. Perry Gymnasium.
