Volleyball Stifles Sacramento State in Big Sky Quarterfinal Sweep

GREELEY, Colo. (March 31, 2021) – In the Northern Arizona volleyball team's first opportunity at March Madness, the Lumberjacks smothered Sacramento State to advance to the Big Sky semifinals. NAU (10-5) opened the conference tournament in Bank of Colorado Arena with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-17 sweep, to move on to play top-seeded Weber State on Friday at 3 p.m. MST.
 
"Our defense was really locked in," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We blocked within our system really well. Our defense created some unforced errors on their side for sure and you can every night if you play defense. We did a really good job getting into that flow right away today."
 
NAU forced Sacramento State into 28 attack errors – with 22 unforced – as the Lumberjacks limited an opponent to a negative percentage for the first time this season. The Hornets (10-7) hit -.009, including -.171 in the morning's opening set. In particular, NAU neutralized Sacramento State's kills leader Bridgette Smith – the spring's Big Sky Freshman of the Year – to four kills and nine errors on 31 swings.
 
While the Lumberjacks only had one more kill (28-27) than the Hornets, NAU committed 17 fewer attacks. The 'Jacks also controlled the service line, recording 12 aces to just three by the Hornets.
 
Freshman Lyla Hollis led the ace assault with a career-high six, tying the school record in a three-set match. She is the fourth Lumberjack to record six aces, and the first since Jennifer Rogers in 1992.
 
"We've been back and forth this season between being too aggressive and being too easy," Murphy said. "The last couple of weeks we settled into a good groove in practice about how to execute our serves in matches. This was the best that we served this year. If we can serve like this the rest of the tournament, I feel a lot of good things can go our way."
 
Despite the lopsided first set score, it was actually the Hornets who held the early momentum scoring four straight points to take an 8-6 lead. But Hollis turned the tide immediately, recording the first three of her half dozen aces during a 7-0 run. When Hollis was not acing the Hornets, she created havoc as Sacramento State errors accounting for the other four points in the run.
 
NAU wound up closing the first set by scoring 19 of the final 24 points, but Sacramento State recovered to grab an initial 4-0 second set lead. The Hornets appeared poised to even the match, keeping the Lumberjacks at bay until junior Aubrea Bandfield gave NAU its first lead at 17-16 with an ace.
 
Sacramento State quickly scored the next two points, only for NAU to rip off a 5-0 run with Hollis once again at the service line to take the lead for good at 22-18. After the Hornets closed the gap to 22-20, sophomore Taylor Jacobsen provided the 'Jacks with sideout with one of her team-leading 10 kills. NAU wrapped up the second set two points later.
 
Having denied Sacramento State the opportunity at a second set win, NAU blitzed the Hornets with an 11-2 third set opening run featuring three aces by Jacobsen. NAU led wire-to-wire in the final game with senior Heaven Harris putting the hammer on the match. Harris recorded four kills and three blocks in the third set alone, propelling NAU to its third consecutive semifinal appearance.
 
"Today, we came out fearless knowing that every team in this tournament is going to be great competition," Jacobsen said. "We had to come out leaving it all out on the court with a ton of energy. We executed our defense, frustrated their hitters and did what we do out there."
 
Both teams registered 6.0 team blocks and Sacramento State had the slight edge in digs, 50-47. Both Harris and freshman Jordan Elder recorded a team-high three blocks, while freshman Millie O'Ketter led all players with 22 digs.
 
NAU and Weber State will play in the first of two semifinal matches in Greeley. The teams split the regular season series with the Lumberjacks handing the Wildcats their only blemish so far on a 16-1 spring campaign. Friday's semifinal will be available on Pluto TV Channel 1050.
 
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