OGDEN, Utah (October 29, 2015) – While in any night of Big Sky Volleyball only six teams can be on the winning end, seven teams ended Thursday night on a positive note, and none bigger than Northern Arizona. The Lumberjacks were one of two teams to clinch a league tournament spot, and now sit atop the Big Sky standings.
Northern Arizona earned a huge win at Idaho State, assuming sole control of the South Division and the Big Sky as a whole. Despite the loss Idaho State still had clinching scenarios play in their favor as they also earned a tourney bid.
With two of the eight tournament bids sealed, Eastern Washington, Idaho and Sacramento State each will have a chance at clinching a bid on Saturday.
Sacramento State 3, North Dakota 1 – Lauren Kissell finished with 23 kills, Morgan Stanley added 12 with 18 digs and Sacramento State defeated host North Dakota 3-1.
Sloan Lovett totaled 17 kills, while Madeline Cannon grabbed 12 with four blocks for Sacramento State (21-5, 8-3 Big Sky). Lexie Skalbeck had 31 digs while Kennedy Kurtz chipped in 12 with 63 assists as the Hornets hit .214 for the match.
The teams split a pair of tight sets, with UND prevailing 25-23 in the opener and Sac State fending off a set point before taking the second set 27-25. Sac State assumed control from there, building small cushions in both sets on the way to 25-20 and 25-19 wins.
Chelsea Moser (11 kills, eight blocks), Courtney Place (10 kills, 23 digs) and Sydney Griffin (36 assists, 10 digs) paced North Dakota (17-11, 5-6). Faith Dooley had 12 kills and McKenzie Hart tallied 27 digs, both team-highs for UND, which was held to .142 hitting.
Southern Utah 3, Weber State 0 – Madi Forsythe killed 17 balls with a .300 hitting percentage and visiting Southern Utah swept Weber State.
Ann Clappier added five kills with eight blocks and Taylor Heine also had five kills while both hit over .300 for the match for the Thunderbirds (15-9, 6-5). Faith Ma’afala dished 34 assists to go with five blocks and Sariah Pelaez had a team-high 12 digs for a SUU team that hit .240 for the match while holding WSU to negative hitting.
SUU came out strong, hitting .400 in the opening set and .333 in the second to win both sets comfortably, 25-12 and 25-15. WSU kept it close in the third before SUU scored the last four points to take the match 25-20.
Andrea Hale led the Wildcats (5-18, 1-10) with nine kills, Megan Thompson had five with six blocks and Thamires Cavalcanti grabbed a match-high 13 digs. WSU hit -.148 in the opening set and -.011 overall.
Northern Arizona 3, Idaho State 0 – Janae Vander Ploeg finished with 16 kills, Lauren Jacobsen added 10 with 15 digs and Northern Arizona assumed control of the top spot in the Big Sky Standings and the South Division with a 3-0 win over hosting Idaho State.
Vander Ploeg hit .357 for the match, helping NAU (20-4, 10-1) hit .276 as a team and becoming the all-time kills leader in school history. Jensen Barton produced 33 assists and 12 digs as the Lumberjacks won their ninth-straight game.
NAU used a 5-0 run to push towards a seven-point lead and an eventual 25-17 win in the first set. ISU fought off a set point before kills from Vander Ploeg and Jacobsen put the ‘Jacks up 2-0 after a 26-24 decision. NAU hit .300 and built a six-point lead before winning 25-19.
Tressa Lyman and Makenzie Filer led the Bengals with eight kills apiece and Bailey Bars had seven with 14 digs. Hayley Farrer had 30 assists and 11 digs for a Bengals offense that was mostly contained hitting .122 overall and dropping their first home match this season.
Both NAU and ISU clinched Big Sky Tournament bids tonight, as a Portland State loss helped the Bengals nab a spot.
Northern Colorado 3, Portland State 0 – Kendra Cunningham had 12 kills and 10 digs, Ashley Guthrie totaled 40 assists and 13 digs and Northern Colorado won a key Big Sky matchup over visiting Portland State.
Alex Kloehn contributed 11 kills, while Timarie Nymeyer (8), Emily O’Neil (7) and Kortney Lockey (6) were each one of five players with at least six kills for the Bears (9-15, 5-6). UNC hit .248 as a team and held PSU below .100.
UNC took advantage of a PSU service error and used a kill from Cunningham and a block by Guthrie and O’Neill to take the first set 25-22. The Bears closed strong in both the second and third sets, closing the second on a 10-5 run and clinching the match with a 9-2 surge to end the third.
Eva Linden led the Vikings (7-16, 3-8) with nine kills and nine digs while Tasha Bojanic grabbed a match-high 14 digs. PSU’s hitters were held in check for the most part as they were limited to .084 hitting.
Montana 3, Eastern Washington 1 – Hannah Sackett, Brianna Gardner and Capri Richardson combined for 43 kills in helping Montana to a 3-1 win and a season sweep over host Eastern Washington.
Sackett had 16 kills with eight digs, while Gardner put together 14 on a .579 hitting clip for the Grizzlies (7-16, 3-8). Richardson hit .312 from the floor on the way to 13 kills and six blocks, while Raegan Lindsey recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 12 digs.
Montana stormed back from an 11-18 deficit in the first set, then held off a late EWU rally and set point for a 29-27 decision. EWU evened the sets by hitting .343 to win the second 25-15. UM used a 5-0 run to assume control of the third set, and pulled away with a 9-2 surge to clinch the match in the fourth.
The Eagles (13-9, 8-3) dropped their first home match of the season and were refrained from earning a tournament bid, still needing a victory or a Montana loss to clinch. Jessica Gilbert led EWU with 12 kills and nine digs while Ryann Ensrud tied for a match-high with 18 digs.
Idaho 3, Montana State 0 – Katelyn Peterson put together 12 kills with nine digs, Becca Mau added nine kills on a .643 hitting clip and Idaho moved past Montana State for a 3-0 sweep at home.
Tineke Bierma finished with seven kills and four blocks as the Vandals (10-13, 7-4) hit .382 as a team and had eight players accumulate 44 kills.
The Vandals pulled away late in a tight first set, closing on a 6-0 surge to win 25-19. They never trailed the rest of the way, winning the second set 25-18 and hitting .448 in the final set for a 25-12 decision and the match.
Chase Doughty led the Bobcats (3-16, 1-10) with nine kills and Natalee Godfrey chipped in seven. MSU hit .231 in the first set, but declined in the next two, ultimately finishing with a .154 percentage.