OGDEN, Utah (November 7, 2015) – Seven teams down, one to go. North Dakota picked up the second-to-last Big Sky Volleyball tournament spot, while Sacramento State and Idaho each earned important division wins on Saturday night.
UI, UND and Sac State, along with Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado, each completed 2-0 weekends. NAU tied a school record with its 12-straight win, the Hornets grabbed their eighth straight, and UI and UNC improve their streaks to four.
Portland State stayed alive in the tournament hunt after a win over Weber State and two losses by Southern Utah this weekend. NAU is now a win away from clinching the hosting rights for the Big Sky tournament.
North Dakota 3, Montana 0 – Courtney Place had 15 kills and seven digs, helping North Dakota defeat host Montana 3-0 to clinch a Big Sky tournament bid.
UND (19-12, 7-7 Big Sky) hit .283 as a team, with Chelsea Moser adding eight kills and Faith Dooley and Kirsten Giesbrecht contributing seven apiece. Sydney Griffin produced 34 assists, eight digs and four kills.
UND hit .382 to open the match while holding Montana to a .000 percentage, taking the first set 25-14. UND moved out to a seven-point lead in the second, then held off a UM surge to win 25-22. North Dakota fended off a pair of set points for UM, then scored the final three points off kills from Griffin and Giesbrecht and clinched the match with a Montana attack error.
Hannah Sackett led the Grizzlies (7-19, 3-11) with 14 kills, but was the only UM player with more than six. Montana hit .132 with 23 attack errors and was eliminated from tournament contention with the loss.
Portland State 3, Weber State 0 – Patie Anae finished with 17 kills and 10 digs, Eva Linden added 10 and eight while Portland State kept its Big Sky tournament hopes alive with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Weber State.
The Vikings (8-18, 4-10) hit .315 as a team, with Anae hitting .419 and Sarah Liva adding eight kills at a .727 clip. Jenna Mullen totaled nine kills and Kylie Copple dished 38 assists.
PSU stormed out of the gates, hitting .520 with 17 kills to pull away for a 25-15 first-set win. PSU pushed to a 22-13 lead in the second, then held off a surge from WSU to prevail 25-21. The Vikings hit .400 and closed the match on a 5-1 run to win 25-19.
Megan Thompson had 11 kills with six blocks for the Wildcats (5-21, 1-13) while Tanisha Langston tallied seven kills with 11 digs.
Northern Colorado 3, Montana State 2 – Timarie Nymeyer and Kortney Lockey killed 14 balls apiece as Northern Colorado outlasted Montana State for a 3-2 road victory.
The Bears (12-15, 8-6) hit .297 as a team while Kim Weissman (13), Emily O’Neil (10) and Alex Kloehn (10) each turned in double-digit kills. Ashley Guthrie registered 62 assists, eight digs and six kills.
UNC hit .351 on the way to a 25-19 first-set win, but MSU responded grinding out 27-25 and 25-22 wins. UNC kept the match alive with a 25-23 decision, then used a 7-1 run to assume control of the fifth.
Natalie Passeck grabbed a match-high 20 kills for the Bobcats (3-19, 1-13), while Alexandra Rader added 13 and Chase Doughty 12. Katie Harrington recorded a double-double with 49 assists and 15 digs to help MSU hit .243 for the match.
Sacramento State 3, Idaho State 0 – Sloan Lovett put together 17 kills, Lauren Kissell chipped in 13 and Sacramento State gained control of the No. 2 spot in the South Division with a 3-0 win over visiting Idaho State.
Morgan Stanley added nine kills while Lovett had a .419 hitting percentage, leading the Hornets (24-5, 11-3) to hit .319 overall. Kennedy Kurtz had a strong game setting up Sac State with 39 assists, Lexie Skalbeck nabbed a match-high 16 digs and Madeline Cannon had three of Sac State’s nine service aces.
Sac State hit .279 or better in all three sets, riding an early five-point lead to a 25-20 win in the first. A 12-2 surge in the second set led the Hornets to a 25-17 in the second set. Another key run in the third set propelled Sac State to a 25-21 victory and the match.
Tressa Lyman had 10 kills for ISU (19-9, 11-3), but the Bengals’ offense was held in check being limited to .125 hitting overall.
Northern Arizona 3, Southern Utah 1 – Janae Vander Ploeg (20 kills, 15 digs) and Lauren Jacobsen (16 kills, 11 digs) each notched double-doubles as Northern Arizona grinded out a 3-1 victory over visiting Southern Utah.
Payton Bock contributed 11 kills at a .444 hitting clip with six blocks while Jensen Barton dished 47 assists with nine digs. Emma Grimsrud got the start for the Lumberjacks (23-4, 13-1) and had six block assists to help NAU to a 14-6 advantage in blocking. NAU hit .241 in winning its 12th straight match to tie a school record.
After SUU took the first set, the ‘Jacks answered back strongly in the second, holding the Thunderbirds to negative hitting for a 25-16 win. NAU scored the last three points to take the third set, then squeaked out a 26-24 decision in the fourth for the match.
Chennin Benson finished with 17 kills while Remo Gaogao chipped in 11 kills with 11 digs for the Thunderbirds (15-12, 6-8). Faith Ma’afala recorded 46 assists with eight digs and five kills. With the loss and a PSU win, SUU couldn’t seal up the remaining tournament bid.
Idaho 3, Eastern Washington 1 – Tineke Bierma headed a balanced Idaho attack with 11 kills as the Vandals assumed control of the North Division with a 3-1 win over visiting Eastern Washington.
Idaho (13-13, 10-4) hit .267 overall, with Katelyn Peterson (nine kills, 11 digs) and Becca Mau (eight kills) finishing as one of seven Vandals with five or more kills.
UI pounced on EWU early, hitting .400 on the way to a 25-12 win in the first set. A 5-0 run late in the second set helped Idaho go up 2-0 with a 25-21 win. EWU kept the match going with a 25-20 win in the third, but Idaho hit .417 to push for the 25-21 victory and the match.
Jessica Gilbert paced EWU (14-11, 9-5) with 17 kills and Ashley Seiler added 14 with six digs for the Eagles.