FULL STATS (Link)
OGDEN, Utah (November 5, 2016) – There’s no short-selling it. The final week of Big Sky Volleyball is going to be special.
After Saturday’s action, North Dakota took over the overall lead in the conference after a 3-1 win over Idaho and thanks to Idaho State’s five-set victory over Northern Arizona. That sets up a huge matchup between 12-2 UND and 11-3 NAU in Flagstaff next Thursday that could have strong hosting right intentions.
Northern Colorado and Sacramento State kept the pressure on its fellow division leaders, with the Bears sweeping Eastern Washington and the Hornets topping Portland State 3-1. Sac State moved into a tie for the south division lead with NAU, while UNC sits a game back of UND with a matchup against the Fighting Hawks next Saturday in Grand Forks.
Weber State got a crucial 3-0 win over Southern Utah to take a one-game lead for the eighth spot in the Big Sky tournament picture. Eastern Washington still is in position for the seventh spot, with Idaho in the ninth spot.
Montana snapped a skid in solid fashion with a sweep over rival Montana State Friday, dwindling the Bobcats’ chances towards a tourney bid.
With several different hosting, seeding and tourney spot clinching scenarios possible, the final week of the Big Sky regular season looks to be one for the ages.
Montana 3, Montana State 0 (Friday): Missy Huddleston had 12 kills and eight digs, Ashley Watkins chipped in 10 kills, 20 assists and six digs and Montana took round two of the Brawl of the Wild in Dahlberg Arena.
The Grizzlies (5-19, 2-12 Big Sky) hit .231 in snapping an 11-match losing streak with a victory over their rival. Lone seniors on the team Raegan Lindsey (24 assists, 11 digs) and Sadie Ahearn (17 digs) turned in strong performances on senior night and Alexis Urbach put together 10 kills for Montana.
UM hit .368 to open the match with 17 kill and three errors, and broke a late 18-all tie ending the set on a 7-2 run with five errors by MSU. The Grizzlies worked to leads of 4-0, 16-12 and 22-17 before MSU made a late run in the second. The Bobcats mustered four straight points to go up 24-23 and grab set point, but Montana answered with three straight points, as Mykaela Hammer kept the set alive with a block along with Watkins, and sealed the 26-24 win with a kill. UM built a five-point cushion in the third set and rode it to a 25-19 victory and the match.
MSU (5-18, 3-11) was held to .169 hitting with 36 kills and 16 errors, but did have a slight advantage blocking. Alexandra Rader and Chase Doughty each led the Bobcats with nine kills and libero Allyssa Rizzo grabbed a match-high 18 digs.
North Dakota 3, Idaho 1: Tamara Merseli finished with a match-high 21 kills on a .312 hitting clip and team-high 18 digs, Chelsea Moser and Faith Dooley Chipped in nine kills apiece and North Dakota topped Idaho in four sets.
The Fighting Hawks (21-9, 12-2) toted a .279 hitting percentage and 5-2 blocking advantage. Sydney Griffin guided the offense with 48 assists, 13 digs and six kills on eight swings while Ashley Brueggeman added eight kills.
UND came out swinging to start with 21 kills on a .405 hitting percentage, as Merseli had seven of her kills in the first set, including three straight to cap a 10-3 start to the match on the way to a 25-18 win. Idaho responded with a 4-0 spurt in the second set, building a six-point cushion before tying up the match 25-21.
A .333 hitting clip and a 5-0 spurt gave UND a 20-10 lead in the third set, easing to a 2-1 lead with a 25-14 decision. Merseli and Brueggeeman each had two late kills to help UND erase a 16-18 deficit, scoring nine of the last 10 points to pull away 25-19 and take the match.
The Vandals (9-17, 4-10) hit .188 and fell a game back of Weber State in the tournament hunt. Sarah Sharp and Kaela Straw combined for 33 kills to pace Idaho and Terra Varney earned a match-high 21 digs.
Northern Colorado 3, Eastern Washington 0: Alex Kloehn and Emily O’Neil combined for 19 kills on just 27 attempts as Northern Colorado earned a home sweep over Eastern Washington.
The Bears (17-9, 11-3) muscled a .337 hitting percentage with 44 kills while continuing to keep some pressure on division and overall leader UND. Kim Weissmann led UNC with 11 kills and Ashley Guthrie dished out 38 assists in the sweep.
UNC hit over .400 in the first two sets and held EWU to a negative percentage in the third. After seven ties and two lead changes in the first set, UNC closed the set on a 7-1 run sparked by three O’Neil kills. The Bears hit .531 with 19 kills and eased to a nine-point lead before taking the set 25-14. UNC pressured EWU to 10 attack errors compared to seven kills, building a cushion to take the match 25-20.
EWU (11-12, 6-8) was held to .105 hitting with 18 attack errors to 28 kills while dropping its third straight as the Eagles continue to fight for a tournament spot. Ashley Seiler paced EWU with 10 kills and Regan Harr had 23 assists with eight digs.
Weber State 3, Southern Utah 0: Amanda Varley had 11 kills, Taylor Kinikini tallied 31 assists, six digs and four blocks and Weber State swept Southern Utah.
The Wildcats (14-10, 5-9) out-blocked SUU 9-5 and had a .220 hitting percentage, earning a key win to give WSU a game lead for the eighth and final league tournament spot heading into the last weekend. Rylin Roberts grabbed eight kills, Aubrey Sanders added six blocks and Thamires Cavalcanti was the lone player with double-digit digs at 15.
WSU prevailed from a close first set, scoring the final three points as Varley had two kills and Andrea Hale had one in between to take the set 25-21. The Wildcats used a 14-2 surge to take over the second set and ultimately win 25-17. WSU broke a 19-all tie with a 3-0 spurt, then twice responded with kills after SUU had pulled within one, with Varley’s providing the 25-23 match point.
SUU (4-22 2-12) was limited to .106 hitting with 23 errors. Chennin Benson paced the Thunderbirds with a match-high 14 kills.
Idaho State 3, Northern Arizona 2: Marissa Todd put together 17 kills and 18 digs, Brooke Pehrson chipped in 17 kills with five blocks and Idaho State outlasted Northern Arizona in five sets.
The Bengals (15-12, 10-4) made a big splash knocking NAU, the team that swept them in the championship last season, out of the overall lead in the Big Sky. Hayley Farrer distributed 45 assists with 14 digs and six kills, Abby Jensen finished with nine kills and 23 digs and Haylie Keck added 27 digs.
NAU (21-6, 11-3) took the early lead hitting .389 and scoring five of the last six points to win 25-17. ISU built an 18-10 lead, and held off a long NAU rally, ending on a 4-1 run after NAU took a late 23-22 lead. The teams traded convincingly-won sets, with NAU taking the third 25-11 and ISU earning a 25-13 fourth-set win to set up a classic fifth.
ISU went up 8-4 in the fifth set, only to see NAU storm back with a 6-0 run. After a 3-0 ISU spurt, the teams traded points before NAU set up match point. The Bengals wound up fending off three match points before scoring the final three points on kills from Todd, Pehrson and Chloe Hirst to take the match 18-16.
The Lumberjacks had the advantage in most statistical categories, but couldn’t grind out the critical win now sitting a game back of UND with a big matchup against the Fighting Hawks in Flagstaff set for next Thursday. Jensen Barton recorded her third triple-double of the season with 10 kills, 47 assists, 21 digs and five blocks and Lauren Jacobsen had 17 kills with 17 digs. Hannah Cherry had a career-high 29 digs and Brittni Dorsey had five service aces with eight blocks for NAU.
Sacramento State 3, Portland State 1: Madeline Cannon toted a .459 hitting percentage with 20 kills while Mikaela Nocetti (17 kills, 14 digs), Shannon Boyle (12 kills 19 digs) and Kennedy Kurtz (45 assists, 15 digs) each notched double-doubles to head a balanced Sacramento State effort in a home victory.
The Hornets (17-11, 11-3) have won six straight and moved into a tie with NAU for the south division lead, currently holding a tiebreaker if the season ended today. Sac State hit .252 as a team with nine blocks and Lexie Skalbeck tied for a match high with 19 digs.
Sac State hit over .400, pushed out to 14-6 and 23-13 leads on the way to a 25-15 win in the first set. PSU punched back closing the second set on an 11-1 run, including the final eight points. Sac State erased an early five-point deficit, fighting to tie up the score before three late kills from Cannon sparked a 5-1 surge to close the set, 25-21. Sac State hit .350 and pulled away with a 9-1 run, ultimately taking the match 25-14.
PSU was held to .164 hitting and couldn’t contain Sac State’s balanced attack. Pati Anae (14 kills, 14 digs), Caitlin Bettenay (10 kills, 13 digs) and Erin Clark (35 assists, 16 digs) each recorded double-doubles for PSU while Tasha Bojanic tied with Skalbeck for the match-high in digs.