Cascade Conference release

LA GRANDE – A trio of Southern Oregon seniors – outside hitters Motade Atanda (San Jose, Calif./Presentation) and Paulla Pinheiro (Fortaleza, Brazil/Colegio Farias Brito), and libero Brookelynn Cole (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) – landed on the All-Cascade Conference volleyball team, whose 14 members were announced Monday by the league office, and setter Lauren McGowne (Coos Bay, Ore./Marshfield) received honorable mention.

Atanda, Cole and Pinheiro helped the Raiders reel in their first regular-season conference title since 2010 and put them this weekend's first round of the NAIA Championships.

SOU (22-5 overall) will host College of Ozarks (16-14) in the first round at noon on Saturday inside Bob Riehm Arena. Tickets be become available online at souraiders.com/tickets on Tuesday morning.

The Raiders shared the CCC title with Eastern Oregon, whose middle-blocker Casey Loper was named the player of the year for the second straight season.

Atanda, in her first year as a Raider starter, beat out Loper for the CCC kills crown. She averaged 4.3 per set in conference matches, delivering more than 10 in her last 13 matches and going over 20 seven times this season.  She has 397 total kills, which is more than any Raider in three years, and averages 2.6 digs per set – good for third on the team.

Pinheiro, who is regarded as one of the most well-rounded players in the CCC, was one of five repeats on the team. During conference action she was the only CCC player who ranked among the top 15 in in kills per set (3.3, 7^th), service aces per set (0.4, 2^nd) and digs per set (3.0, 11^th).

Between Atanda and Pinheiro, this is the first time two Raiders have eclipsed 300 kills in the same season since 2007 (Richelle Milsap and Mia Wortel).

Cole was a primary reason this year why the Raiders led the CCC in opponents' hitting average (.133). This was her first season acting as SOU's libero, and she recently became the eighth player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs (she has 1,039). Her 538 in 2014 (5.2 per set) rank fifth for a single season.

McGowne, who was the CCC's newcomer of the year in 2013, was third in CCC matches in assists per set at 11.0, and she was just a hair off the lead before SOU went to a 6-2 rotation in the final weekend of the season. She set a career-high with 59 assists on Oct. 8 at Oregon Tech, and recorded 58 in just four sets on Oct. 25 against Northwest. 

Eastern Oregon's Jessalyn Smith was named the libero of the year, and EOU's Kaki Morehead was the coach of the year for leading the Mountaineers to their first-ever CCC championship. Concordia's Lindsey Dorsey took freshman of the year honors.