OGDEN, Utah (November 12, 2015) – With a win over Sacramento State Thursday night, Northern Arizona has clinched the 2015 Big Sky Volleyball regular season title and will host the league tournament next week in Flagstaff, Ariz. NAU won its 13 straight match and earned the championship outright, both firsts in school history.
The top-seeded Lumberjacks also figured out who they will face at home next week in the tournament, as Southern Utah clinched the Big Sky’s lone remaining bid and will be the No. 8 seed next week. The tournament will be contested at Rolle Activity Center on Nov. 19-21.
Entering Thursday night, Portland and SUU were the last two teams who could mathematically earn the Big Sky’s last bid. Despite SUU falling in four sets to PSU, they clinched that spot by picking up a win in the second set.
Because SUU beat PSU 3-0 earlier in the season, they have won four of the seven sets played between the teams. The Big Sky’s second tiebreaker after head-to-head records is overall sets won between the teams, so SUU locked up that scenario with its 4-3 advantage.
While seeds No. 1 & 8 have been decided, the 2-7 seeds can potentially see quite a shakeup when its all said and done Saturday.
North Dakota 3, Idaho 0 – Courtney Place had 14 kills and nine digs, Chelsea Moser added 11 and North Dakota picked up a key win over Idaho, prevailing in three sets.
McKenzie Hart tallied a match-high 24 digs and became UND’s career leader in the process. Sydney Griffin dished 33 assists with 10 digs as UND (20-12, 8-7 Big Sky) held Idaho to .133 hitting for the match.
Hart has accumulated 742 digs on the season with one match remaining, and has a chance to break Big Sky single season records in total digs and average digs per set. Kristin Lutes had 768 digs for Sacramento State back in 2006, while NAU’s Brittany Stowers averaged 6.32 digs per set in 2008.
UND came out strong defensively, holding Idaho to .091 hitting in the opening set, building an early lead and hanging on for a 25-22 victory. Two service aces from Moser and a pair of Faith Dooley kills helped UND score the last seven points of the second for a 25-20 decision. UI fended off two match points, but UND ultimately won 25-22.
Katelyn Peterson led the Vandals (13-14, 10-5) with eight kills and 15 digs and Sarah Sharp also grabbed eight kills. Idaho saw its four-game winning streak snapped, but still remains atop the North Division with one game remaining.
Idaho State 3, Montana 0 – Tressa Lyman picked up 12 kills to lead a balanced attack as Idaho State defeated Montana 3-0.
Chloe Hirst and Makenzie Filer each nabbed eight kills for the Bengals (20-9, 12-3) while Bailey Bars and Marissa Todd had six apiece. Lyman, Filer, Todd and Barrs each hit .375 or better, leading ISU to a .309 clip as a team.
ISU led wire to wire on the way to a 25-15 win in the first set. There were 22 ties and seven lead changes from then on, but the Bengals built some distance with a 7-1 run in the second and a 9-2 surge in the third to win in straight sets.
Hannah Sackett paced the Grizzlies (7-20, 3-12) with 14 kills and Raegan Lindsey notched a double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs. UM was held to .000 hitting in the opening set and went .125 overall.
Weber State 3, Montana State 0 – Amanda Varley totaled 13 kills to help Weber State snap a 13-game skid, defeating visiting Montana State 3-0.
Megan Thompson and Andrea Hale chipped in 10 kills apiece as the Wildcats (6-21, 2-13) finished with a .247 hitting percentage. Audrey Hunter nabbed six blocks and Thompson had four with WSU having a slight 10-9 advantage in that category.
WSU fought off a pair of set points from MSU, then scored the last three points after two kills from Hale to win the first set 28-26. The Wildcats used a 7-1 run to end the second set and a 6-1 run to take the match.
Natalie Passeck notched 10 kills for the Bobcats (3-20, 1-14) and Kasey Altman added a match-high 11 digs. Kiana Black had seven kills on a .545 hitting clip, but MSU was held to .181 overall with 21 attack errors.
Northern Arizona 3, Sacramento State 1 – NAU earned a school-record 13th straight victory and knocked off Sacramento State 3-1, claiming the Big Sky regular season title and tournament hosting rights.
Janae Vander Ploeg and Jensen Barton each record double-doubles, with Vander Ploeg grabbing 20 kills and 13 digs, and Barton producing 42 assists with 12 digs. Lauren Jacobsen contributed 14 kills and Stacia Williams had a match-high 20 digs.
NAU (24-4, 14-1) avenged its only conference loss, which came at Sac State back in September. The Lumberjacks haven’t lost since, earned its first outright regular season championship and will host the tournament for the first time.
NAU came out on fire, opening the match on a 13-1 run on the way to a 25-17 decision. Sac State evened the match, but NAU bounced back closing the third set on a 10-4 run. NAU hit .562 in the fourth set and won 25-19 after Sac State battled off three match points.
Lauren Kissell and Sloan Lovett carried the Hornets (24-6, 11-4) with a combined 43 kills. Kennedy Kurtz registered a double-double with 53 assists and 11 digs for Sac State, which saw its eight-match winning streak snapped.
Portland State 3, Southern Utah 1 – Pati Anae and Jenna Mullen tabbed 14 kills apiece, Anae added 10 digs and Portland State defeated Southern Utah 3-1 in Cedar City.
Eva Linden also reached double-digit kills with 11 for the Vikings (9-18, 5-10) while Kylie Copple distributed 43 assists. PSU hit .242 for the match and had a 10-5 blocking advantage. The Vikings, who needed to sweep SUU to stay alive in the tournament hunt, hit .242 for the match.
PSU hit over .300 in two of its set wins, and battled back from a late deficit before Anae clinched the match with a pair of kills for a 25-23 victory in the fourth. SUU hit .346 to earn a tournament-clinching second set win.
Chennin Benson paced the Thunderbirds (15-13, 6-9) with 17 kills, 10 digs and four blocks. Having beaten PSU 3-0 early in the season, SUU now holds a 4-3 set advantage this season, clinching the tiebreaker for the Thunderbirds should they and PSU each finish 6-10 in league play.
Northern Colorado 3, Eastern Washington 2 – Kendra Cunningham and Kortney Lockey finished with 16 kills apiece as Northern Colorado outlasted Eastern Washington 3-2 in a key North Division match.
Cunningham and Ashley Guthrie each produced double-doubles for the Bears (13-15, 9-6), with Guthrie putting together 56 assists and 22 digs and Cunningham nabbing 15 digs. Emily O’Neil and Alex Kloehn contributed 11 kills each for UNC.
The teams battled back and forth, trading a pair of 25-23 and 25-22 decisions in sets one through four. EWU led 13-12 late in the fifth before two kills from Cunningham gave the Bears match point. EWU tied it back up at 14, but a kill from Lockey and an EWU attack error helped UNC prevail 16-14.
Ana Jakovljevic led the Eagles (14-12, 9-6) with 18 kills and 13 digs, while Ashley Seiler killed 14 balls. EWU and UNC are now tied for the second spot in the North Division, with the Eagles currently holding the tiebreaker with a 5-3 set advantage.