OGDEN, Utah (October 15, 2015) – Thursday night’s Big Sky Volleyball action saw a theme that coincides with the ongoing conference tournament race; no one is going down without a fight. Eastern Washington and Idaho State both improved to 7-0 in conference play, while Portland State and Sacramento State each earned important wins.
Idaho State 3, Southern Utah 0 – Tressa Lyman finished with a match-high 14 kills, Hayley Farrer had five to go with 37 assists and eight digs, and Idaho State swept host Southern Utah to stay undefeated in conference play.
Bailey Bars and Chloe Hirst each chipped in 10 kills for the Bengals (15-6, 7-0 Big Sky), who hit .231 as a team in winning their ninth straight. Kaitlyn Johnson turned in a match-high 18 digs and was one of five ISU players with at least six in the match.
In a tight first set, ISU pushed away late, using a block by Marissa Todd and Bars and a SUU attack error to win 25-22. A pair of kills from Hirst helped ISU take a 25-21 decision in the second. The Bengals opened the third set on a 9-3 run, and pushed that lead to 10 en route to a 25-16 win and the match.
Madi Forsythe led the Thunderbirds (12-8, 3-4) with 12 kills as SUU was held to .112 hitting as a team. Sariah Pelaez led SUU with 11 digs while Remo Gaogao and Faith Ma’afala each nabbed 10.
Eastern Washington 3, Montana State 1 – Allie Schumacher had 14 kills and nine digs, Alexis Wesley added nine blocks with eight kills and visiting Eastern Washington fought back to defeat Montana State 3-1 and improve to 7-0 in conference play.
Nicole Rigoni dished 40 assists for the Eagles (12-6, 7-0), leading a balanced attack that hit .230 as a team. Jessica Gilbert totaled nine kills and was one of five EWU players with at least seven.
MSU (3-12, 1-6) came out hot, leading by as much as 11 on the way to a 25-16 decision. EWU fought back strong, using key surges and holding off MSU for a pair of 25-23 set victories. The Eagles hit .480 in the fourth, rolling to a 25-8 decision as well as EWU’s eight-straight victory.
Chase Doughty led the Bobcats with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Natalee Godfrey (11) and Natalie Passeck (10) each contributed double-digit kills. MSU hit .343 in the opening set, but had 28 of its 34 attack errors in the next three sets.
Idaho 3, Montana 2 – Sarah Sharp and Becca Mau each tallied 18 kills, helping Idaho to its third five-set victory in a row, this one at the expense of hosting Montana.
Laine Waters (seven kills, seven blocks), Katelyn Peterson (eight kills, 13 digs) and Tineke Bierma (nine kills) each contributed to a balanced effort from the Vandals (7-12, 4-3). Meredith Coba and Natalie Jensen combined for 63 assists as Idaho hit .261 as a team.
The two teams battled back and forth, with Idaho taking the first set and the fourth to keep the match alive. The Vandals erased a late deficit in the fifth, scoring the last three points of the match on the strength of kills from Kaela Straw and Sharp.
Hannah Sackett paced the Grizzlies (4-15, 0-7) with 19 kills, while Capri Richardson added 14 and Silerolia Gaogao had 12 with 11 digs. Montana played well with a 251 hitting percentage, but also had 28 errors attacking and nine on serves.
Portland State 3, North Dakota 0 – Eva Linden put together 17 kills in helping Portland State use late rallies to push past North Dakota for a 3-0 home victory.
Jenna Mullen and Sarah Liva each contributed nine kills for the Vikings (6-13, 2-5). Tasha Bojanic totaled 16 digs and was one of three PSU players with 10 or more. Liva hit .643 for the match and had four blocks.
PSU rallied from an early seven-point deficit, fought off a set point and ended the first set on a 7-1 run to win 26-24. An 8-3 PSU run to end the second set was capped by a kill from Linden for a 25-23 decision.
UND (16-8, 4-3) was up 23-19 in the second, before four straight points from the Vikings tied it at 23. PSU once again fended off a set point, and Linden followed with a kill and a block with Katy Wilson to clinch the match 26-24.
Julia Kaczorowska and Chelsea Moser paced UND with 12 kills apiece, Faith Dooley added nine with seven blocks and McKenzie Hart tallied a match-high 25 digs. UND hit nearly an identical percentage of .202 to PSU’s .207, but couldn’t hold off PSU’s rallies.
Sacramento State 3, Northern Colorado 1 – Lauren Kissell poured in a career-high 26 kills along with a .469 hitting percentage, leading Sacramento State to a 3-1 win over visiting Northern Colorado.
Sloan Lovett added 14 kills for the Hornets (17-5, 4-3), who hit .320 as a team. Kennedy Kurtz was three kills from a triple-double, finishing with 44 assists, 11 digs and seven kills at a .778 clip.
Sac State bounced back from a first-set loss, hitting .324 or better in the final three frames. The Hornets built cushions on the way to a pair of 25-19 wins in the second and third set, then rolled to a 25-10 win in the final frame.
Kortney Lockey led the Bears (7-13, 3-4) with 15 kills and Kendra Cunningham produced 13 with 14 digs. UNC hit .280 in the opening set, but couldn’t contain the Hornets’ efficient attack the rest of the way.
Northern Arizona 3, Weber State 1 – Janae Vander Ploeg finished with 17 kills and eight digs, Jensen Barton contributed a strong all-around effort and Northern Arizona fought back from a first-set loss to defeat visiting Weber State 3-1.
The Lumberjacks (16-4, 6-1) hit .224 as a team in grabbing their fifth-straight win. Payton Bock totaled eight kills with seven blocks, while Barton had 37 assists, seven kills, seven digs and five service aces.
NAU dropped a close opening set, but fought back late in the second for a 25-22 decision. The Lumberjacks controlled it from there, hitting .409 in the third frame and .270 in the fourth for 25-15 and 25-18 victories.
Megan Thompson led the Wildcats (5-13, 1-6) with 12 kills and five blocks and Thamires Cavalcanti turned in a match-high 18 digs. WSU hit .333 to take the opening set, but went .167 and below the rest of the way.