Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, December 4
Ogden
2:00 p.m.
Weber State University
22-9,14-3Big Sky
3
vs
1
Portland State
20-11,13-4Big Sky
1
2
3
4
F
Portland St.
25
13
20
23
1
Weber St.
16
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Robert Casey
Victorious Against the Vikings: Wildcats Advance to NIVC Quarterfinal
12/4/2021 5:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Weber State Wildcat Volleyball knocked out Portland State advance to the quarterfinal of National Invitational Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 (16-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-23) win to advance to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship quarterfinal.
The first set in Swenson Gym on Saturday probably didn't go as the Wildcat faithful had hoped it would. The Vikings, a familiar foe, came out of the gates fast and caught WSU on its back foot. They quickly got out to an 13-6 lead in the first set, and Weber State never recovered despite a late Wildcat rally. PSU took the first set 25-16, and Weber State was left to do some soul searching.
Whatever Jeremiah Larsen said in the huddle, it worked.
Weber State woke from its first set slumber, and started hitting, passing, serving, and dominating. The 'Cats pounced to a quick 9-2 lead prior to PSU going on a three-point run. After that, Kate Standifird took over at the service line. On her serve, Standifird rang up two aces and kept PSU out of system for a hot minute. The Wildcats scored six straight and the second set drama was over from there. Weber State took the set 25-13 and tied the match at 1-1.
The third set was significantly closer than the second, but Weber State was still able to control things with its dominant serve. In the first eight points of the set, Dani Nay hit a screaming serve for an ace, and Baylee Bodily served two of her own, and WSU went up 8-2. PSU never quite went away until the very end, though. As the set wore on and the Vikings kept chipping away, it got as close as 22-19 which forced Larsen to call timeout. After the break, Weber State took three of the next four points, and closed out the third set to give it a 2-1 advantage.
The fourth frame belonged to Nay, the 2021 Big Sky MVP. It seemed like everything that Ashlyn Power and company sent to Nay was dunked in kerosene, and the supernova outside hitter reminded everyone why she's one of the best to suit up in purple and white.
With another ace and five more kills in the fourth, Nay finished the day with 20 kills and four service aces and led the Wildcats to a highly competitive 25-23 fourth set win, and a 3-1 NIVC second round victory over a Big Sky opponent.
On a day that followed a somewhat less convincing win, a pleased Larsen said, "I like how we responded from the night before. I think we got better as the game progressed which was what we were hoping for.
Regarding the phenomenal play of his superstar outside hitter, Larsen noted, "Dani benefitted from Sam Schiess and Bailey having a good match. They played well and took attention so that Dani could take cracks from a fragmented block."
Schiess was electric in the offense, and swung for nine kills on 11 attempts for an astounding .818 hitting percentage. Bodily tallied seven kills on 15 swings.
Looking ahead, Weber State will move on to the NIVC quarterfinals for the second time in three years and will be playing UTEP. The date, time, and location of the match are still unannounced.
Larsen is just happy the squad is still playing volleyball this deep into the postseason. "We're excited about playing more volleyball," he went on to say. "UTEP is good, just like anybody else still playing. There are only 24 left playing volleyball, and we're fortunate to be one of those."
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The first set in Swenson Gym on Saturday probably didn't go as the Wildcat faithful had hoped it would. The Vikings, a familiar foe, came out of the gates fast and caught WSU on its back foot. They quickly got out to an 13-6 lead in the first set, and Weber State never recovered despite a late Wildcat rally. PSU took the first set 25-16, and Weber State was left to do some soul searching.
Whatever Jeremiah Larsen said in the huddle, it worked.
Weber State woke from its first set slumber, and started hitting, passing, serving, and dominating. The 'Cats pounced to a quick 9-2 lead prior to PSU going on a three-point run. After that, Kate Standifird took over at the service line. On her serve, Standifird rang up two aces and kept PSU out of system for a hot minute. The Wildcats scored six straight and the second set drama was over from there. Weber State took the set 25-13 and tied the match at 1-1.
The third set was significantly closer than the second, but Weber State was still able to control things with its dominant serve. In the first eight points of the set, Dani Nay hit a screaming serve for an ace, and Baylee Bodily served two of her own, and WSU went up 8-2. PSU never quite went away until the very end, though. As the set wore on and the Vikings kept chipping away, it got as close as 22-19 which forced Larsen to call timeout. After the break, Weber State took three of the next four points, and closed out the third set to give it a 2-1 advantage.
The fourth frame belonged to Nay, the 2021 Big Sky MVP. It seemed like everything that Ashlyn Power and company sent to Nay was dunked in kerosene, and the supernova outside hitter reminded everyone why she's one of the best to suit up in purple and white.
With another ace and five more kills in the fourth, Nay finished the day with 20 kills and four service aces and led the Wildcats to a highly competitive 25-23 fourth set win, and a 3-1 NIVC second round victory over a Big Sky opponent.
On a day that followed a somewhat less convincing win, a pleased Larsen said, "I like how we responded from the night before. I think we got better as the game progressed which was what we were hoping for.
Regarding the phenomenal play of his superstar outside hitter, Larsen noted, "Dani benefitted from Sam Schiess and Bailey having a good match. They played well and took attention so that Dani could take cracks from a fragmented block."
Schiess was electric in the offense, and swung for nine kills on 11 attempts for an astounding .818 hitting percentage. Bodily tallied seven kills on 15 swings.
Looking ahead, Weber State will move on to the NIVC quarterfinals for the second time in three years and will be playing UTEP. The date, time, and location of the match are still unannounced.
Larsen is just happy the squad is still playing volleyball this deep into the postseason. "We're excited about playing more volleyball," he went on to say. "UTEP is good, just like anybody else still playing. There are only 24 left playing volleyball, and we're fortunate to be one of those."
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Team Stats
PSU
Weber
Kills
52
51
Errors
21
13
Attempts
143
122
Hitting %
.217
.311
Points
60
69
Assists
51
48
Aces
5
11
Blocks
3
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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