FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Kelli Dallmann led all players with 16 kills and a .419 hitting percentage as the Northern Arizona women's volleyball team defeated Montana State 3-1 at the Rolle Activity Center on Thursday night. The Lumberjacks won by scores of 25-14, 25-20, 21-25, and 25-22.

“I told them in the locker room I am their biggest fan,” said head coach Craig Choate. “But I was not thrilled with the last two games of this match. They started enthusiastic and played hard, then we got control, and you could sense a difference.”

NAU (8-13, 5-7 BSC) opened the match hitting a big number in the first set (.542) and a respectable number in the second (.270). With the Lumberjacks up 2-0, the team took a step back and totaled a match-low .077 hitting percentage in the set and a match-high 11 hitting errors. NAU totaled only nine hitting errors in the three other sets combined.

“For us we are all young and nobody wants to take control,” Choate said. “This is a fixable problem and we will grow out of it, but right now everyone wants to be the vice-president and not step on anyone's toes.”

After Montana State (3-19, 1-11 BSC) stole the third set, the Lumberjacks rebounded in the fourth frame and hit .280 to end the match. In all, three Lumberjacks posted double dig kills: Dallmann, Ashley Ames, and Jen Wilson. NAU had five players with more than 10 attempts hit over .200 for the match.

Dallmann recorded her eighth double-double with the 16 kills and 21 assists. She also recorded nine digs narrowly missing her third triple-double. Ames and Wilson each added 10 kills while Jana Mays-Robinson recorded a team-high 23 assists. Anna Gott cleaned up on the defensive end leading all players with 17 digs.

For Montana State, Kyla Hendry recorded a team-high 11 kills and Jodeen Rademacher added 10. Taylor Faught led all players with a match-high 42 assists.

The Lumberjacks will play Montana on Saturday, November 7 at 7:05 p.m. at the Rolle Activity Center. For NAU to gain ground in the Big Sky Conference, they need to defeat Montana who is currently fourth in the league standings.