After opening loss, No. 15 Viterbo needs sweep Friday against No. 7 S. Oregon to return to Elite Eight
The road to the Elite Eight got a lot tougher for the 15th-ranked Viterbo Volleyball team.
The V-Hawks 12-game win streak was snapped Thursday in a 3-1 loss to No. 18 Nelson in the first round of pool play of the NAIA tournament.
Viterbo (26-10) will essentially need to sweep seventh-ranked Southern Oregon (30-3) on Friday to guarantee a shot at the quarterfinals. That game starts at 7:30 p.m.
Because Southern Oregon won 3-1 against Nelson (31-6) on Wednesday, that leaves the door open for a V-Hawks sweep to advance without a tiebreaker.
Viterbo began the season 1-5, before beginning to turn things around. They went 5-2 in their next seven to pull within a game of .500 before winning 20 of their final 22 games — including 12 in a row — heading into pool play.
Viterbo coach Ryan DeLong joined WIZM’s La Crosse Talk last week, after winning the first NAIA tournament game.
La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.
TOP PHOTO: FILE – Viterbo’s volleyball team huddles up before a game (PHOTO: Viterbo Athletics)