PORTLAND, Ore. (November 8, 2025) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team earned a four-set victory over Portland State on Saturday night inside Viking Pavilion, 25-17, 25-19, 24-26, 25-18.
The Lumberjacks opened the match strong, using a balanced start at the service line and net to take control early. A service ace from Keira Hall put NAU on the board first, and the Lumberjacks found rhythm behind kills from Hanah Stoddard, Kylie Moran, and Avery Gottschalk to go ahead 14-9 midway through the set. Portland State cut the deficit to 12-15, but NAU responded with a 9-4 closing stretch that included a Gottschalk ace, multiple blocks from Gigi Greenlee, and a set-clinching error forced by the NAU front line for a 25-17 win.
Set two featured several lead changes before NAU took control down the stretch. After early ties to 9-9, the Lumberjacks used a combination of strong setting from Ella Hosfeld and key kills from Gottschalk and Stoddard to build a 17-13 lead. Portland State pulled even at 18-all, but NAU steadied behind its front-row defense, recording three blocks over the final points and closing the frame on an 8-1 run. Stoddard and Hall connected late for back-to-back kills, and the Lumberjacks sealed the set 25-19 after a Portland State attack error to move ahead 2-0 in the match.
The Vikings extended the match in the third, 26-24, after a tightly contested set that featured 12 ties. NAU led 22-21 before Portland State rallied to force extra points.
NAU jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third set behind an ace from Hall and kills from Stoddard, Wadsworth, and Greenlee. The Vikings responded with a run to take the lead 17-20, but the Lumberjacks bounced back with a 6-0 run that included Moran delivering an ace and kills by Greenlee and Stoddard. NAU appeared poised to complete the sweep. However, PSU fought back to even the set at 24-24 before the Vikings capitalized on late NAU errors to edge out the frame, 26-24.
Northern Arizona answered emphatically in the fourth, hitting a match-best .343 while recording five team blocks. Moran powered the attack with seven kills in the frame, and NAU pulled away late on a 7-3 stretch to finish the set 25-18 and secure the road victory.
Moran led all players with 13 kills on .225 hitting, while Stoddard added 12 kills, Wadsworth had 10 and Gottschalk nine on an efficient .600 clip.
Stoddard became the 17th Lumberjack in program history to be part of the 1,000 kills club with her current career total standing at 1,007.
Libero Melia Barlow anchored the defense with 27 digs, while Greenlee contributed nine total blocks and setter Hall tallied 24 assists and led with four service aces. Northern Arizona totaled 13.0 team blocks to just 3.0 for Portland State.
With the win, the 'Jacks improved to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in Big Sky to regain the top spot in the standings, while Portland State dropped to 11-13 and 7-6.
NAU will return to action at home next week to face Weber State on Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. MST and Idaho State on Nov. 15 at 11 a.m. MST as they celebrate senior day. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.
Stay up to date with the NAU women's volleyball team by following the Lumberjacks on Instagram and X.
