OGDEN, Utah – The Northern Arizona volleyball team posted a successful start to their critical four-match road swing on Thursday, picking up their fourth consecutive win against Weber State. The Lumberjacks swept the Wildcats, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18, and did not trail on the scoreboard until the third set in a dominant team performance on both sides of the net.

"I thought it was a really complete team effort tonight, no doubt about it," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We were executing on offense the way we wanted to do. Weber tried to do some things to slow us down and we were able to make adjustments. On the other side of the net, we were strong and took them out of the things they wanted to do."

Junior Payton Bock began the match with a kill right down the center of the court and set NAU in motion as the Lumberjacks led wire-to-wire in the first stanza. The 'Jacks steadily pulled away from the Wildcats and led 18-10 following four straight points after Weber State got within 14-10. Weber State gained some late momentum, but the Lumberjacks claimed the set off an attack error, the Wildcats' eighth of the set.

After three consecutive Wildcat points to pull to 5-4, the Lumberjacks broke open the second set with a 7-0 run, which included two kills apiece by senior Taylor Stephens, junior Janae Vander Ploeg and sophomore Jensen Barton. The resulting eight-point cushion was more than enough for NAU to eventually stake it to a 2-0 lead in the match. The Lumberjacks maintained at least a seven-point lead the rest of the set, clinching on a combo block by Bock and senior Sydney Kemper.

After not holding a lead through the first two sets, Weber State found itself ahead 6-5 before four straight points beginning with a Lauren Jacobsen kill put NAU back in front for good, 9-6. Although the Wildcats clawed back to 10-9, another four-point stretch by the Lumberjacks aided by three Weber State errors extended their lead out again. From there, NAU held a comfortable margin and got to match point off Vander Ploeg's eighth kill, and wrapping up the sweet on the next point.

NAU's offense clicked once again, hitting above .300 for the fourth match in a row during its current win streak. Barton distributed 33 assists as four Lumberjacks – Jacobsen, Kemper, Vander Ploeg and Bock – each posted eight kills with Stephens chipping in six.

While NAU hit .313 for the night, its block was strong with 10.0 blocks led by five each from its middles, Bock and Stephens. The Lumberjacks' net play played a big role in holding Weber State to only a .040 hitting percentage.

NAU's back row play spearheaded by redshirt junior Stacia Williams, who totaled a team-best 12 digs, was key in the team's effective offensive attack providing solid first contact particularly on serves as Weber State recorded just one ace in the match.

"We received maybe as well as we have all year," Murphy said. "We were in a really good rhythm and working together really well. Our defense was exceptional. Stacia played a solid left back and Sydney and Jensen also played really well. It was a big part of our success."

The Lumberjacks (15-3 overall) will now make the short trip to Pocatello, Idaho for a first-place showdown with Idaho State, who defeated Southern Utah on Thursday in four sets. Both NAU and ISU will carry an identical 6-1 record into Saturday's match at 6 p.m. Flagstaff time, with the winner holding sole possession of first atop the Big Sky South Division at the midway point of conference play.