FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 27, 2022) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team looks to pick up their first conference win of the season, and snap an extended skid, with a pair of home matches versus Sacramento State and Portland State in the Rolle Activity Center this week. ESPN+ will stream both matches with NAU hosting Sacramento State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Portland State on Saturday at 12 p.m.
NAU (1-8, 0-2 Big Sky) enters the week having dropped its first two league matches of the season last week. After a five-set loss to Montana last Thursday at home, the Lumberjacks traveled to the two-time defending Big Sky regular season champions Weber State on Saturday where they fell in four sets.
The 0-2 start in conference play is just the sixth such start in program history. However, despite the rare occurrence, there is precedence for NAU to bounce back from such a start. In 1997, the Lumberjacks rebounded from an 0-2 Big Sky start to finish third in the league with an 11-5 record. Three years later, NAU won 12 of its final 13 matches after starting 0-3 in league play to share the conference regular season title.
To notch their first Big Sky victory of the season and break a six-match losing streak overall, the Lumberjacks will welcome in two of the Big Sky's four 2-0 teams after the first weekend of play. NAU will have recent history on its side as well having won 13 of the last 14 meetings versus Sacramento State and eight straight versus Portland State in Rolle.
Senior
Taylor Jacobsen recorded a career-high 28 kills last Thursday versus Montana, which reset her career-high for the second straight match, before missing the Weber State match on Saturday. Jacobsen ranks seventh in the country with 5.13 kills per set and is eighth with 5.63 points per set.
In her absence, redshirt freshman
Kacee Moore logged a team-high 11 kills versus the Wildcats, marking her third straight double-digit kill match. Since making her debut two weeks ago, Moore is averaging 2.28 kills per set. Freshman
Kylie Moran also returned to action in her first extended run since Sept. 2 against the Wildcats and posted a season-high eight kills.
The Lumberjacks also got effective offensive weekends by juniors
Jordan Elder and
Savannah Hasson last week as the pair rounded into form. Elder totaled 18 kills and hit .333, while Hasson recorded 13 kills on .296 hitting combined versus Montana and Weber State.
Defensively, juniors
Millie O'Ketter and
Kate Hatch continued to lock down with both players reaching double-digit digs in both matches. O'Ketter, coming off a season-high 27 digs versus Weber State, ranks 55th in the country with a Big Sky leading 4.53 digs per set, while Hatch – who has posted four consecutive double-doubles – is averaging 3.21 digs per set.
Sacramento State completed a 2-0 opening weekend of conference play with victories over Idaho and Idaho State and are 6-8 overall as a result. The Hornets, in the top 20 nationally in both total aces (103) and blocks (140.0), have won four of their last six matches after starting the season with a 2-6 record.
Caitlin Volkmann is averaging a team-high 2.80 kills per set and is hitting .221. She also ranks third on the team with 18 service aces. Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin ranks 16th in the country, and leads the Big Sky, with 68 blocks. Kamba-Griffin also is 51st nationally with a conference-leading 1.24 blocks per set.
Portland State opened conference with an impressive home sweep of Weber State before concluding the weekend with a five-set win at Eastern Washington. Riding a three-match winning streak and winners of four of their last five, the Vikings – who are third as a team in kills per set (12.41) and fourth in hitting percentage (.208) in the league – are 7-6 overall.
Sophia Meyers, in her first season at Portland State after transferring from Montana, leads the Vikings with 3.31 kills per set and is hitting an impressive .234. Meyers is also second on the team with 2.98 digs per set. Ellie Snook, the two-time Big Sky Libero of the Year, is second in the league with 4.18 digs per set.
All fans at Thursday's match will be entered into a raffle for a polaroid camera and record player, while the first 100 students at Saturday's match will receive free coffee and donuts in honor of International Coffee Day.
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