FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 8, 2024) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team will hit the road this week to play two matches as they continue their Big Sky Conference campaign. The Lumberjacks will play against Sacramento State on Thursday Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. Mountain Standard time and Portland State on Saturday Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. MST.
Northern Arizona is coming off a loss against Northern Colorado at home where it fell in three sets 30-28, 25-13, 25-19. The Lumberjacks currently stand at 7-7, 0-3 on their season.
In the current Big Sky Conference standings, Taylor Jacobsen sits in second place with a 3.74 kills per set average. Hannah Stoddard is in the top 10 with 2.80 kills per set. Keira Hall is in 10th for assists with an average of 4.94 per set. Avery Gottschalk has an average of 1.09 blocks per set which places her in ninth in the conference. Millie O'Ketter leads the Big Sky in digs with 4.96 per set, and Jacobsen sits in seventh with 3.54 per set. Jacobsen also places third for points with 4.21 per set.
The last time the 'Jacks met the Sac State Hornets, they suffered a 3-1 loss and are 24-42 in the all-time series dating back to 1991. Northern Arizona leads the Portland State Vikings 31-25 in the all-time series, but have lost the last four matches.
The two upcoming opponents most recently played each other on Friday and Sacramento State hit a season-high .421. They swept the Vikings in three sets 25-14, 25-19, 25-14 on their home court "The Nest."
The Vikings totaled a .105 hitting percentage and tallied 30 kills, their second-lowest kill total of the season.
For the Hornets, Caitlin Volkmann, a senior outside hitter posted a match-high 12 kills with a .579 hitting percentage and six blocks. Bridgette Smith had 11 kills, seven digs and a .304 hitting percentage, and Ellie Tisko seven kills and career-best .700 hitting percentage.
Reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week Carisa Barron led the Vikings with 11 kills, making it her third consecutive match with double-digit kills. Ella Hartford added a team-high 26 assists and seven digs, while Reese Biedermeier led with four blocks. The Vikings tallied three service aces compared to the Hornets' seven.
The loss dropped the Vikings to 3-11 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky action, while the Hornets improved to 10-6 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
Sacramento State now sits atop the conference standings with a 3-0 record, followed by Idaho State, Weber State, and Montana State, all with 3-1.
Live coverage of the games will be available on ESPN+ along with live stats.
To keep up to date with the Northern Arizona women's volleyball team, like us on Facebook and follow us on X and Instagram.
