OGDEN, Utah (October 17, 2015) – As the halfway mark in Big Sky Volleyball conference play approached, several teams felt a desire to make their presence in the tournament race felt. Two team’s efforts echoed throughout the conference Saturday night as Northern Arizona and Montana each handed Idaho State and Eastern Washington their first conference losses of the season.
Northern Arizona topped Idaho State in a big South Division matchup, helping the Lumberjacks seize control atop the standings. Montana picked up its first conference win in great fashion, knocking off previously 7-0 Eastern Washington. Idaho, NAU and Sacramento State each put together 2-0 weeks in league action.
Southern Utah 3, Weber State 1 – Madi Forsythe finished with 17 kills and 12 digs, Ann Clappier added eight kills with 14 blocks and Southern Utah defeated visiting Weber State 3-1.
The Thunderbirds (13-8, 4-4 Big Sky) outhit WSU .147 to .032, using a strong blocking presence with 19 blocks as a team. Remo Gaogao had nine kills with 14 digs, while Faith Ma’afala dished 34 assists with 14 digs.
SUU built comfortable leads en route to a 25-11 win in the first set and 25-18 in the second. WSU pushed back to extend the match with a 25-21 decision in the third. SUU responded opening a quick seven-point lead while holding WSU to a negative percentage in the deciding fourth set.
Andrea Hale paced the Wildcats (5-14, 1-7) with 13 kills and Megan Thompson contributed nine with seven blocks. WSU committed 37 attack errors and 10 service errors in the match.
Northern Arizona 3, Idaho State 1 – Janae Vander Ploeg poured in 24 kills with 12 digs, Lauren Jacobsen added 15 with 12, and Northern Arizona pushed past Idaho State 3-1, handing the Bengals their first conference loss this season.
The Lumberjacks (17-4, 7-1) hit .295 as a team with 12 blocks. Jensen Barton also recorded a double-double with 50 assists and 11 digs, while Payton Bock had 10 blocks (three solo) to go with eight kills. NAU broke ISU’s nine-game winning streak and took over the top spot in the South Division.
NAU hit .333 or better in each of its three set wins, while holding ISU below .200 in those sets. The ‘Jacks built an eight-point lead on the way to a 25-20 first set. ISU responded, hitting .233 to NAU’s .033 for a 25-15 second-set victory. NAU seized control from there and hit .421 and .357 to take both the third and fourth sets 25-17.
Tressa Lyman led the Bengals (15-7, 7-1) and 14 digs, while Hayley Farrer produced 45 assists and six digs. Makenzie Filer and Marissa Todd combined for 18 kills, but were the only two ISU players to hit above .150 for the match.
Northern Colorado 3, North Dakota 0 – Kendra Cunningham tallied 17 kills with eight digs and Ashley Guthrie produced 47 assists to head a strong offensive attack in Northern Colorado’s 3-0 home victory over North Dakota.
The Bears (8-13, 4-4) hit .327 as a team, with Alex Kloehn nabbing 11 kills and Katie Champion finishing with eight. Meagan Garcia (14) and Michaela Nelson (13) were two of four UNC players with at least eight digs.
UNC rolled out to an 8-1 lead to start the match, easing to a 25-16 first-set victory. The Bears hit .387 in the next frame, again cruising to a 25-16 decision. UND held a 14-12 lead in the third set before an 8-2 run put the Bears back in control for good.
Chelsea Moser and Faith Dooley led UND (16-9, 4-4) with nine blocks apiece. North Dakota hit .146 as a team and couldn’t contain UNC’s efficient attack, mustering just three blocks on the night.
Idaho 3, Montana State 0 – DeVonne Ryter and Katelyn Peterson totaled 10 kills apiece, leading Idaho to a road sweep over Montana State and pick up its fourth-straight win.
The Vandals (8-12, 5-3) hit .275 as a team, with Meredith Coba and Natalie Jensen combining for 41 assists and 10 digs. Peterson and Terra Varney each had a team-high eight digs for Idaho and Sarah Sharp was one of five Vandals with at least seven kills.
Idaho trailed for most of the opening set, before assuming the lead with a 4-0 run to make it 20-16 and MSU couldn’t pull closer than three from there. The Bobcats fought off three set points in the second before a kill from Kaela Straw and a MSU error gave UI the 26-24 win. Idaho jumped out to an early seven-point lead in the third and held off a late MSU surge for a 25-22 win for the match.
Natalee Godfrey paced the Bobcats (3-13, 1-7) with 14 kills on a .345 hitting percentage, while Kiana Black chipped in 12 kills hitting .611. MSU hit .243 as a team, but had just three blocks to Idaho’s 10.
Montana 3, Eastern Washington 2 – Hannah Sackett put together 31 kills and 17 digs, Silerolia Gaogao added 18 and 15 and Montana picked up its first Big Sky win in a big way, handing previously undefeated Eastern Washington its first conference loss this season.
Montana (5-15, 1-7) outlasted EWU in a marathon five-set thriller, outhitting the Eagles .205 to .186 and winning the blocking battle 11.5-4. Raegan Lindsey had 55 assists with 20 digs, one of five Grizzlies with 10 or more digs on the night. Sackett's 31 kills are a season-high in all of the Big Sky.
EWU (12-7, 7-1) took the first and third set, but UM stayed alive hitting .317 in the fourth to roll towards a 25-16 decision. The fifth set saw 12 ties and seven lead changes, with the Eagles stretching their lead to 13-9 before Montana fought back with a 5-0 run. Both teams fended off match points back and forth before a kill from Gaogao and an EWU error gave Montana the 20-18 win.
Ana Jakovljevic led the Eagles with 17 kills and 13 digs, Allie Schumacher and Jessica Gilbert each contributed 16 kills and Ryann Ensrud strung together a career-high 38 digs. EWU had 29 attack errors and seven service errors in dropping their first conference match.
Sacramento State 3, Portland State 0 – Madeline Cannon sparked an efficient hitting attack from Sacramento State, producing 15 kills with a .737 hitting percentage in a 3-0 home sweep of Portland State.
Sloan Lovett and Lauren Kissell added 12 kills apiece for the Hornets (18-5, 5-3), who hit .380 for the match. Kennedy Kurtz had 46 assists in just the three sets of action and Lexie Skalbeck grabbed a team-high 11 digs.
Sac State stormed out of the gates, hitting .522 on the way to a 25-14 win. The Hornets prevailed in a tight second set off of a Brie Gathright kill and a service ace from Kurtz. The Hornets built a small cushion in the final set, hitting .405 towards a 25-21 decision and the match.
Jenna Mullen had another strong match for the Vikings (6-14, 2-6) with 13 kills at a .310 clip and Pati Anae put together eight kills and nine digs. PSU hit .250 or better in the final two sets, but couldn’t contain Sac State’s strong attack.