The Northern Arizona volleyball team risks its 21-match home-court winning streak -- second longest in the nation -- against two Big Sky Conference opponents this week.
On Thursday at 7 p.m., the Lumberjacks host Portland State at Rolle Activity Center in a game that can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona. The Lumberjacks then return to Rolle on Saturday at noon to take on Sacramento State in a battle of Big Sky South Division co-leaders.
NAU is 15-4 overall and 5-1 vs. Big Sky competition after suffering its first conference loss last week at Eastern Washington.
"Last week gives us a really great chance to refocus and get back to the things that we do well," coach Ken Murphy said. "I'm hoping that we learn that we need to be the best version of ourselves we can be every day. It's normal for a team to go through a season and have ups and downs. The really good teams learn from those experiences and we're looking forward to growing this week and becoming a better team."
NAU senior Lauren Jacobsen ranks second in the Big Sky with 4.37 kills per set. Senior Jensen Barton ranks first in hitting percentage (.384), and freshman Abby Akin is third (.356).
Portland State (10-8, 2-4) is led by Pati Anae, who leads the Big Sky with 4.43 kills per set.
Sacramento State (11-9, 5-1) split a pair of road matches last week, losing to North Dakota in five sets and defeating Northern Colorado in four. Shannon Boyle is fourth in the conference in kills (3.2 per set), and Kennedy Kurtz ranks first in assists (11.29).
NAU swept both matches against Portland State last season and won two of three vs. Sacramento State.
Minnesota (25) is the only Division I school in the nation with a longer home-court winning streak than NAU.
