PORTLAND, Ore. (October 9, 2021) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team frustrated Portland State into an erratic first set, but the rest of Saturday night's matchup between two of the Big Sky's top teams went the Vikings' way. Portland State hit .348 in the final three sets, coming away with a 18-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 victory.
"We were inconsistent tonight with our pressure," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "When we were focused, Portland State really had a really hard time with what we were doing defensively. We just couldn't sustain for long periods of time."
In the first set, NAU forced Portland State into 11 attack errors and a .000 hitting percentage, but the Vikings found their footing and used an effective offensive effort to overcome the early deficit. The Vikings only had a combined 10 attack errors in their three set wins.
While NAU only had 15 attack errors in the match, the Lumberjacks only had 44 kills to 60 by the Vikings. A big reason for that was Portland State holding a commanding 81-60 dig advantage with the 81 digs marking a new season-high for an NAU opponent this season.
The Lumberjacks were led offensively by redshirt junior
Morgan Gappmayer, who set a new career-high with 14 kills while hitting .342. Gappmayer also recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 digs. Both senior
Ryann Davis and sophomore
Savannah Bloom each had six kills on 14 attempts resulting in a .429 hitting percentage.
Behind a season-high tying 18 digs by sophomore
Millie O'Ketter, the Lumberjacks' 60 digs were their second-highest output this season. NAU also held a 7.0-4.0 block advantage.
Despite the final numbers, NAU's defense gained the early edge, powering a first set win for the 'Jacks. Eight of NAU's first nine points came via Portland State swinging errors, and a 4-0 Lumberjack run swung the lead in NAU's favor, 10-6. The momentum was completely on the Lumberjacks' side all the way to 23-12 before the Vikings made things a little interesting.
NAU managed to finish out the first set on Gappmayer's fifth kill of the game, but not before Portland State scored six of the final eight points. That run, even in a losing effort, gave the Vikings some confidence going into the second set – a close set that went to the home team.
Portland State hit .500 in the second set, scoring 17 of its 25 points on kills, and the Vikings' offense negated the Lumberjacks' own exploits. NAU hit .333 in the second game – its best set percentage of the night – but a crucial 4-0 Portland State run was enough for the Vikings to even the match. The four-point surge came with the set tied at 15-15 – the 13th tie of the game – and the Vikings never trailed again.
In the critical third set, it was the Lumberjacks who struck first with three of junior
Taylor Jacobsen's four aces on the night coming during a 9-4 opening run. The Lumberjacks' control of the set slowly slipped away though as the Vikings eventually tied it at 19-19. However, the crucial point of the set – and maybe the entire evening – went to the Vikings a few points later.
After a Jacobsen kill gave NAU a 21-20 edge, a Portland State error initially gave the Lumberjacks a 22-20 lead. But the Vikings successfully challenged the call on the court as replay ruled a Lumberjack touch on the swing, with the overturn once again tying the score at 21-21. Portland State would go on to score the next four points, finishing the game on a 5-0 run.
The fourth set was all Vikings with the exception of an extended run that almost brough the 'Jacks back. Down 16-6, Jacobsen sided out with a kill and senior
Aubrea Bandfield, who led NAU with 23 assists, served the Lumberjacks to six consecutive points. The run trimmed Portland State's lead to 16-13, but NAU never got closer.
"In the third set, we were up by a good margin and made some undisciplined plays and let a couple of simple things get away from us," Murphy said. "We just need to have that consistency to finish out those sets. Same thing in the fourth; we got off to such a slow start, but had everything we needed to come back and we were just too inconsistent and undisciplined."
With the win, Portland State remains tied for second in the conference at 5-1 in league play. Meanwhile, NAU falls into a tie four fourth with a 4-2 conference record.
The Lumberjacks, now 6-9 overall, will finally return to the Rolle Activity Center next week for the start of a four-match homestand. NAU will host Idaho State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and will wrap up the week on Homecoming Saturday at 6 p.m. versus Weber State, the current unbeaten league leader.
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