SEWARD, Neb. — Another top-10 matchup for Southern Oregon turned into a showcase of Emma Schmerbach’s improved offensive skill set in the final game of the Cattle Classic.

The senior wing scored a career-high 24 points in leading the No. 10-ranked Raiders over No. 5 Concordia (Neb.), 71-68, on Saturday afternoon at Friedrich Arena.

A day after holding on for a 70-68 win against No. 6 Dakota State (S.D.) — and watching the Trojans miss a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer — SOU led by two with a few seconds left when Clara Robbins forced Megan Belt into a contested attempt at the rim that found nothing but backboard.

Schmerbach, one of the Cascade Conference’s best defenders since arriving at SOU two years ago, scored more points against the Bulldogs (1-1) than she had in her last six games combined dating back to last season. She shot 9-of-19 from the field and added six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Shortly after Concordia cut what had been a 10-point deficit to 64-61 midway through the fourth quarter, Schmerbach came up with a blocked shot on one end and stepped into a 3-pointer on the other, her second of the game and the third of her career. Two minutes later, her drive and finish at the basket extended SOU’s lead to six again at 69-63.

The Raiders (2-0) split four free throws the rest of the way and committed a turnover with 21 seconds left to give Concordia a chance, but Robbins foiled it.

Concordia became the second top-five team the Raiders have defeated under coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt but the first top-10 squad they’ve taken down in a road game over the last decade. They’ve won back-to-back against top-10 opponents for the first time in at least 20 years.

Sierra Scheppele helped them do it with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3. She hit two of those as the Raiders built a 24-13 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Meghan McIntyre, who finished with 10 points and three steals, had all four of her assists in the period.

Kendal Brigham logged 18 points and three steals to lead three Bulldogs in double figures.

Volleyball

SOU 3, WARNER PACIFIC 0: At Ashland, No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon will head to Washington next week in search of its first Cascade Conference championship in five years after hammering Warner Pacific in a 25-12, 25-14, 25-21 sweep Saturday.

At 23-3 overall and 17-3 in the CCC, they remain tied with No. 3 Eastern Oregon and No. 8 Corban for first place with two regular-season matches left to play.

Against the last-place Knights (2-20, 2-18), they got a nine-kill, 17-dig performance from Mylena Testoni and 23 assists from Alex Ching-Sam to lead a .305 attack.

Marin Mackey and Megan Perry contributed nine kills apiece. Sadie Byrd totaled five kills on 10 swings and four assisted blocks, and Kayla Neidigh came up with nine digs and a pair of service aces.

Tessa Zimmermann, who along with Ching-Sam made a spot-appearance in the rotation, pitched in seven kills and three blocks.

The Raiders have swept nine of their last 10 matchups with the Knights, who were led by Elizabeth Reid’s seven kills.

SOU plays next Friday at 10th-place Evergreen (Wash.) and Saturday at ninth-place Northwest (Wash.). Northwest nearly pulled off an upset Saturday at Corban, falling 19-17 in a tiebreaker after blowing a 2-0 sets lead.

If SOU, EOU and Corban remain tied through next weekend, EOU will get the No. 1 seed and have hosting rights for the CCC Tournament. In the event of any two-way ties, SOU owns a head-to-head tiebreaker over EOU but not over Corban.

Men’s Soccer

SOU 4, EVERGREEN 1: At Centralia, Wash., Ryosuke Tanaka bookended the win with his first goals for Southern Oregon, which clinched the No. 2 seed in the Cascade Conference Tournament on the final day of the regular season.

Tanaka put the No. 25-ranked Raiders (12-4-2, 9-2-2 CCC) on top with a 15-yard shot in the eighth minute, and Jayden Cameron made it 2-0 in the 32nd off a through pass from Evan Norconk.

After Evergreen’s Joshua Coetzee cut the lead in half in the 58th minute, Daniel Palomino countered 20 seconds later via another Norconk assist. Tanaka provided the finishing touches in the 75th courtesy of Kaito Nakayama’s team-leading eighth assist.

The Raiders finished 4-1-2 on the road in conference play. They’ll have a home-field advantage of sorts for the CCC Tournament, which begins Nov. 10 at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford. Their quarterfinal opponent is No. 7 seed Oregon Tech, which they tied last week in Klamath Falls.

Junior goalkeeper Casey Ruvolo made three saves for the Raiders, who mounted a 25-10 advantage in total shots and put nine on goal.

The Geoducks were already eliminated from postseason contention before the day began. They finished at 3-12-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the CCC.

Women’s Soccer

SOU 3, EVERGREEN 0: At Centralia, Wash., Ashlynn Hernandez became Southern Oregon’s new career record-holder for goalkeeper shutouts and the Raiders clinched a spot in the Cascade Conference Tournament on the final day of the regular season Saturday.

Hernandez, a senior from Roseville, Calif., made three saves in her 27th clean sheet since debuting for SOU in the spring of 2021. Abby McKean, Brooklyn Hayes and Frida Vargas scored the goals to complete a four-point road trip.

As it turned out, thanks to Multnomah’s loss at College of Idaho, the Raiders (8-6-2, 5-5-2 CCC) didn’t need a result to lock up their 14th consecutive postseason berth. But by getting the win, they forced a sixth-place tie with Northwest (Wash.) and won a tiebreaker based on goal differential to take the No. 6 seed. They’ll match up with No. 3 seed Eastern Oregon in the quarterfinal round of the CCC Tournament on Nov. 10 at Lithia & Driveway Fields in Medford. A complete tournament schedule will be released soon.

SOU will enter the playoffs on a high note after registering its highest goal total in eight games.

Kaylah Bresee had two assists, the first to McKean with a cross for an eight-yard shot in the 25th minute. Brooklyn Hayes tallied her fifth goal of the season on an assist from Vargas in the 52nd, and Vargas notched her fourth in the 56th courtesy of another Bresee find.

The Geoducks wrapped up at 3-10-3 overall and 2-8-2 in the CCC.

For Hernandez, an All-CCC selection last year, it was her seventh shutout of the season.

Men’s Wrestling

SIMPSON DUALS: At Redding, Calif., No. 9-ranked Southern Oregon outscored four opponents 179-25 combined and won 34 of 40 matches in its first outing of the season Saturday.

The Raiders left home eight of their 10 nationally ranked individuals and still won 46-9 over Westcliff (Calif.), 43-6 over Evergreen (Wash.), 50-4 over Linfield and 40-6 over Simpson (Calif.). They completed the afternoon with 10 pins and 20 total bonus-point wins, not including the 10 forfeits they accepted.

Paul Ortiz (165 pounds) and Noah Talavera (174) led the team with two wins by fall apiece. Dylan Straley, ranked No. 8 at 157 pounds, scored bonus points in all three of his matchups and added a forfeit victory. Highly-touted freshman Kyle Sieminski (125) earned two technical falls and a pair of forfeits.

Women’s Wrestling

MENLO OPEN: At Atherton, Calif., top-ranked Carolina Moreno and No. 3 Emma Baertlein conquered their Menlo Open brackets as Southern Oregon made its season debut on Sunday.

The No. 10 Raiders produced a trio of top-three placers in addition to Moreno (131 pounds) and Baertlein (110). Nevaeah Arthun (124) and Kathryn Hingano (207) were runners-up and Lillian Gradillas-Flores (180) earned third place.

Moreno, the three-time NAIA champion, started her senior season by extending her winning streak to 44 matches. She won by technical-fall shutout against all three of her opponents, including a 12-0 win over former Menlo rival Ajayzee Zaballos in the final.

Baertlein, who finished her sophomore season with a third-place finish at the NAIA Championships, pinned her first two opponents before taking a 9-4 decision from unattached wrestler Kayla McKinley-Johnson in the 110 final.

Arthun recorded a pin and a technical fall to place second at 124. Hingano, a No. 18-ranked freshman, opened her college career with three pins in a row before going down at 207. Gradillas-Flores went 4-1 in the 180 bracket and won by fall in her third-place match.

No. 18 Diamond Lopez (103), No. 8 Marissa Kurtz (117) and No. 17 Kaylee Annis (131) each placed fourth for SOU.