TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 16, 2021) – The path to a Big Sky Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth for the Northern Arizona volleyball team begins on Thursday versus No. 4 Montana State at 4 p.m. in Weber State's Swenson Gym. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, as will all of this weekend's conference tournament.
The Lumberjacks enter the tournament as the No. 5 seed after posting a 10-6 record in Big Sky play. NAU concluded the regular season at 12-13 overall having won four of its last five matches. Should NAU win, the Lumberjacks will advance to the semifinals versus the winner of No. 1 Weber State and No. 8 Montana on Friday at 7 p.m. The championship match is slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Weber State, the tournament host, and Northern Colorado shared the regular season title and are the top two seeded teams with Portland State ahead of Montana State and NAU. The Bobcats and Lumberjacks finished with identical conference records, but Montana State held the head-to-head tiebreaker via a 3-2 win on Oct. 21 in Flagstaff. Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Montana round out the tournament field.
The conference season featured its share of ups and downs as NAU not only having won four of five, but also started with a 4-1 mark. In between, the 'Jacks went 2-4. Still, the Lumberjacks head into the tournament with momentum on their side led by their three all-conference players.
Junior
Taylor Jacobsen, senior
Ryann Davis and redshirt junior
Morgan Gappmayer paced an NAU attack that recorded a season-high 67 kills in the regular season finale last Saturday, a 3-2 come-from-behind win at Idaho State. The trio combined for 43 of the team's total, including a season-best 25 from Jacobsen. Jacobsen, who earned All-Big Sky First Team honors on Tuesday, has been blistering hot over the last two weeks averaging 4.33 kills per set over the last four matches. That stretch has lifted Jacobsen's overall season average to 3.60, which ranks second in the conference.
Both Davis and Gappmayer were voted to the All-Big Sky Second Team and along with Jacobsen form one of the league's most potent offenses. In conference play, NAU ranked second in hitting percentage at .241 and fifth in kills per set at 12.64.
Sophomores
Millie O'Ketter and sophomore
Jordan Elder have been standouts as part of a solid NAU defensive effort as well. The 'Jacks allowed their opponents to hit only .168 in conference play, third-best in the Big Sky. Since NAU's last match against Montana State, O'Ketter has averaged 4.80 digs per set in her last seven matches. She finished the regular season third in Big Sky action with a dig average of 4.49. Elder ranked 10th in the conference play in blocks at 1.02 per set.
Montana State won three of its final four matches of the regular season, although the Bobcats head into the conference tournament on a 3-0 loss to Sacramento State. The Bobcats did pick up an impressive 3-2 win at Portland State last Thursday to start the week, as they take a 14-13 overall record and identical 10-6 Big Sky mark as the Lumberjacks into the tournament.
The Bobcats placed four players on the All-Big Sky Second Team in Hannah Scott, Emma Pence, Kira Thomsen and Jordan Radick, who was named the Big Sky's Outstanding Freshman. Scott leads the team in kills at 2.97 per set. Pence is on the of nation's top blockers, ranking second in the country with 141 blocks and 12th with 1.37 blocks per set.
NAU is seeking its third conference title in the last seven seasons and first since 2018. The Lumberjacks have advanced to the semifinals in each of the last three seasons and a total of six times in head coach
Ken Murphy's eight years.
To stay up to date with the NAU volleyball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
Twitter and
Instagram.
