Box Score
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (November 17, 2016) – A team that sputtered a bit at the end of the regular season, defending champion Northern Arizona seems to be regaining the form that helped it dominate this tournament a year ago. The No. 3 Lumberjacks earned a 3-0 sweep of sixth-seeded Portland State in the Big Sky Volleyball quarterfinals Thursday.
After the 2016 Big Sky Volleyball Championship, presented by Red Lion Hotels Corporation, had a five-setter to open the tournament, NAU made the second one much quicker lasting an hour and 23 minutes. Jensen Barton tallied 27 assists, 10 digs, four service aces and five kills, Lauren Jacobsen notched her 21st double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs and Abby Akin added 10 kills on 16 swings with four blocks.
NAU dominated in multiple facets, swinging at a .284 hitting clip with just six errors, blanking PSU in blocking 11-0 and adding nine service aces. Kaylie Jorgenson chipped in seven kills, Addy Lofstedt and Brittni Dorsey each added four blocks while Sydney Lema and Brooke Donnelly tied with Jacobsen and Barton for team-highs in digs.
The ‘Jacks hit .333 to open the match, breaking an 11-all tie with a 7-1 run fueled by aces from Hannah Cherry and Jordan Anderson while Dorsey had a hand in two blocks to go up 18-12. The teams went back and forth from there before Akin nabbed two late kills with one from Jorgenson in between scoring the last three points to win 25-18.
NAU was just getting warmed up, firing a .407 hitting percentage while holding PSU to a .000 percentage in a dominant 25-10 second set. NAU pulled away early with a 10-0 run fueled by Barton with a kill, three service aces and an assist for an 11-3 lead. The Lumberjacks continued to throttle as Jacobsen had four late kills in the set to win going away.
Portland State got things going to make the third set a little more interesting. The teams went back and forth exchanging runs before PSU took a late 19-18 lead. Jacobsen responded with two kills sandwiched around a Dorsey ace for a 3-0 spurt, and NAU scored three of the last four points, including consecutive kills from Akin and Lofstedt to end the match 25-22.
The Vikings were shut down with a .064 hitting percentage and just 28 kills to 21 digs. Senior Big Sky first teamer Pati Anae led PSU with 10 kills and nine digs while Tasha Bojanic had a match-high 22 digs.
Dating back to last season, NAU has put together brief, yet convincing performances in the postseason having earned its fourth straight sweep in the Big Sky tournament. Last year the Lumberjacks didn’t drop a set and hit a tournament-record .348 percentage on the way to capturing the 2015 title.
NAU will face No. 2 Sacramento State in the semifinals Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT. The matchup pits the top two teams from the league’s south division, and they split the season series. Having swept each other on their home floors this year, a championship berth will be on the line in the rubber match.