Volleyball Travels to Sacramento State

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – After splitting last weekend’s Big Sky matches against Weber State and Idaho State, Northern Arizona volleyball will play its first league road match against Sacramento State on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. NAU is 4-7 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky this fall.

With the completion of the non-conference schedule, NAU opened league play at home against Idaho State. The Lumberjacks were already without sophomore outside hitter Lexi Sullivan and lost junior middle blocker Chelsea Cheeley against the Bengals.

The women forced Idaho State to a fourth set, but fell 3-1 at the Rolle Activity Center. Kelli Dallman led NAU with her first-career triple double with 17 assists, 14 kills, and 14 digs.

On Saturday, the Lumberjacks adjusted to lineup changes and defeated Weber State 3-1 in a match where five NAU freshmen played in all four sets. NAU broke a three-match losing streak against the Wildcats.

Sacramento State is 7-6 in 2009 and will play its conference opener against the Lumberjacks. The Hornets have one more non-conference match against Nevada on Tuesday, Sept. 22 before facing NAU.

Live Stats and Webcast
For Thursday’s match, live stats will be available through www.hornetsports.com. Click the following link to enter the Sacramento State volleyball section for live stats. A free webcast will be available through Big Sky TV at www.bigskytv.org. Click the previous link and follow the instructions to register.

Triple-Double Dallman
Freshman Kelli Dallman recorded her first career triple double collecting 17 assists, 14 kills, and 14 digs in a 3-1 loss to Idaho State in the conference opener. Dallman is second on the team in kills (3.05 kpg) and assists (2.12 apg) and third in digs (2.02 dpg).

Gott Digs Top Libero
Freshman libero Anna Gott was recognized as the Fiesta Bowl Tournament’s best libero with 45 digs over the weekend, an average of 15 per match. Gott, a native of Mesa, Ariz., recorded 23 digs against Wyoming, the highest dig total of any player at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament.

Campbell Makes it Two
Freshman outside hitter Lauren Campbell was placed on the Fiesta Bowl All-Tournament team, the second all-tournament selection on the year for the 5-8 freshman from Covington, Wash. Campbell led all players in The Citadel win with 13 kills and a career-high .444 hitting percentage. She also added seven digs and three blocks. Campbell had a match-high 19 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and six digs against Wyoming. Campbell put up 12 kills and eight digs against Utah State. Campbell was the only player in the tournament to record double digits in kills all three matches played.

Freshmen Trio
Anna Gott, Kelli Dallman, and Lauren Campbell are the only Lumberjacks to start all nine matches and appear in all 34 sets. Gott, Dallman, and Campbell are three of NAU’s four freshmen who have seen significant playing time this fall.

At the Trojan Invitational
NAU went 1-2 at the Trojan Invitational co-hosted by No. 21 Pepperdine and No. 16 USC. The Lumberjacks lost 3-0 to both Pepperdine and USC, but posted their second win of the year against Florida Gulf Coast 3-1. As a team, NAU hit .289 against Florida Gulf Coast, its highest hitting percentage to date this season. Sophomore outside hitter Lexi Sullivan was the lone Lumberjack to earn all-tournament honors

Sullivan on All-Tournament Team
The 6-0 outside hitter led NAU with 41 kills in three matches this past weekend. She recorded double-digit kills in all three matches and in six matches this year has finished below 10 kills just once. She posted hitting percentages of .243, .289, and .333 in matches against No. 21 Pepperdine, Florida Gulf Coast, and No. 16 USC. For the season, Sullivan leads the Lumberjacks in total attacks (259) and kills per set (3.64) starting all six matches for NAU and appearing in all 22 sets.

At the Bronco Invitational
Northern Arizona volleyball finished third at the 2009 Boise State Bronco Invitational. The Lumberjacks were 1-2 in three matches over two days with a win over Boise State (3-1) and losses against CS Northridge (3-2) and Tulsa (3-0). The Lumberjacks nearly pulled off a pair of upsets as they were tied 12-12 in the fifth set against Northridge and within two points (22-20) in the second and third sets against Tulsa.

Long Time Coming
Earlier this season, the Lumberjacks defeated Boise State for the first time since 1995, a four-set home win. At that time, Boise State was a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Broncos later accepted an invitation to the Western Athletic Conference departing from the Big Sky in 1996. NAU swept Boise in the 1995 season (3-0 and 3-2) and has since only played NAU twice in the past 14 years.

Tournament Honors for New Lumberjack
Lauren Campbell, playing in her first tournament as a collegiate, was selected to the Bronco all-tournament team. In three matches, Campbell totaled 34 kills, 37 digs and four blocks. In the Lumberjacks 3-1 win over Boise State, Campbell, a freshman outside hitter from Covington, Wash., posted a double-double with a game-high 18 digs, 14 kills, and a .244 hitting percentage. She equaled the feat on Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Cal State Northridge with 15 digs and 13 kills. Against tournament champion Tulsa, Campbell added seven kills and four digs in a three-set loss.

Debut Weekend
Freshmen Lauren Campbell, Anna Gott and Kelli Dallmann submitted noteworthy debuts at the Bronco Invitational. Campbell, from Covington, Wash., posted a double-double with a game-high 18 digs, 14 kills, and a .244 hitting percentage against Boise State. Gott, from Mesa, Ariz., totaled 28 digs in her first collegiate match against Boise State. Dallmann, from Peoria, Ariz., filled up the stat line as well with a team-high .292 hitting percentage, 11 assists, 10 kills, eight digs, and four service aces in the Lumberjacks 3-2 loss to Cal State Northridge.

The Young Get Younger
The Northern Arizona volleyball roster consists of 11 freshmen and sophomores. Junior Chelsea Cheeley and senior Jana Mays-Robinson are the only upperclassmen on the 2009 roster. At the Fiesta Bowl Tournament, the Lumberjacks started five freshmen and sophomores (including freshman libero Anna Gott) and five others saw significant playing time.

Series History
NAU is 7-24 all-time against Sacramento State. The Hornets defeated NAU in Sacramento, Calif., last year (3-1), but the Lumberjacks earned the split with a win (3-0) at home.

Media/Practice Information
The Lumberjacks will practice Monday and Tuesday this week from 2-4:30 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center. Media wishing to attend practice should contact Joe Scacco at 928-523-6330 or joseph.scacco@nau.edu.

History
What is the history of Northern Arizona volleyball? We're glad you asked. Going back to the old AIAW days, NAU has been a player in women's intercollegiate athletics for 34 years. In its 22 years in the NCAA, NAU has posted nine winning seasons and 15 with double digit wins. The Lumberjacks have reached the postseason 14 of the past 18 years. In 1999, NAU went to the NCAA tournament suffering a 3-0 loss to No. 5 North Carolina.