Box Score
Big Sky Tournament Central
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 19, 2015) – A new Big Sky Volleyball champion will officially be crowned at this year’s tournament, and you can thank a resurgent Sacramento State team for that. The Hornets defeated 2014 champion Northern Colorado 3-1 in Thursday’s quarterfinal action.
Lauren Kissell finished with 15 kills and nine digs and Sloan Lovett chipped in 11 kills as the No. 4 seed Hornets (26-6) earned their first Big Sky tournament win since 2007. Kennedy Kurtz produced 41 assists, seven digs, five blocks and a pair of service aces while Madeline Cannon had nine kills and six blocks.
Sac State was limited to .183 hitting, but had a 12.5-8 advantage in blocking and converted on eight service aces. Morgan Stanley provided three of those aces and Cannon had a match-high .467 hitting percentage.
The Hornets pushed out to a five-point lead late in the first set, but UNC made it interesting fighting off five set points to make it 24-23. A block by Brie Gathright and Kurtz sealed the first set for Sac State.
A 7-1 run midway through the second set pushed UNC out to a 16-7 lead. Sac State fought back to make it 22-20, but UNC used two kills from Kendra Cunningham to score three of the last four points and knot it up 1-1.
Sac State pulled away early in the third set, opening up a 12-2 lead on the way to a 25-15 victory for a 2-1 edge. The Hornets started the fourth set hot as well, jumping out to a 12-3 lead. UNC eyed a late rally with four straight points to make it 23-20, but Lovett followed with a pair of kills to take the 25-20 decision and the match.
The fifth-seed Bears (14-16) dropped just their second loss of their last eight Big Sky tournament matches. UNC was held to .135 hitting with 29 errors attacking and another eight serving.
Timarie Nymeyer led UNC with 13 kills on a .455 hitting clip while Ashley Guthrie tallied 41 assists and seven digs. Alex Kloehn chipped in nine kills and Cunningham added eight with 10 digs in the senior’s final match as a Bear.
Sac State moves on to Friday’s semifinal, where it will await the winner of the last quarterfinal match between top-seeded Northern Arizona and No. 8 Southern Utah.