Box Score
Big Sky Tournament Central
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 19, 2015) – Northern Arizona is looking pretty comfortable on its home court, and that could mean trouble for the rest of the Big Sky. The regular season champion and volleyball tournament hosts defeated Southern Utah in straight sets to cap Thursday’s slate of quarterfinal matches.
Lauren Jacobsen put together 17 kills on a .471 hitting clip with eight digs, while Big Sky MVP Janae Vander Ploeg chipped in 13 kills and 12 digs with a .500 hit percentage and three service aces. Jensen Barton set up an efficient attack for No. 1 seed NAU (26-4) with 40 assists, four kills and five digs.
The Lumberjacks hit a season-high .448 as a team with 49 kills and just six attack errors as they extended their school-record winning streak to 15 games. Payton Bock contributed nine kills, a .467 hitting percentage and five blocks for NAU. The Lumberjacks are now 12-0 at home this season and 9-0 against Big Sky opponents.
NAU never trailed in the opening pair of sets, and hit at least .387 in all three. They used a 6-0 run to pull away in the first set, before SUU fended off three straight set points. A dump kill from Barton ended the first set 25-17.
The ‘Jacks moved out to a 9-3 lead in the second set, and led by as much as 12 before going up 2-0 with a 25-15 decision. SUU kept it competitive in the third set as NAU trailed for the first time in the match, with the Thunderbirds leading 11-10 at one point. NAU gained control back however, reeling off two separate 5-0 surges to assume control once again and win the set 25-18 and the match.
Eighth-seeded Southern Utah (15-15) was held to .167 hitting with 16 attack errors. Chennin Benson led the way for the T-Birds with 13 kills and Remo Gaogao had eight with eight digs. SUU, who lost Big Sky first-team selection Madi Forsythe to an injury late in the season, dropped their sixth straight match to close the year.
Northern Arizona advances to Friday’s second semifinal match, where they will meet No. 4 Sacramento State at 7 p.m. The teams split the regular season series. Sac State handed NAU their only league loss back in September. NAU hasn’t lost since, and defeated Sac State in Flagstaff 3-1 just over a week ago to claim the regular season conference title and tournament hosting rights.
The winner of the NAU/Sac State match will advance to the championship match on Saturday, which semifinal one opponents Idaho and Idaho State will also play for a spot in.