MOSCOW, Idaho – Slow starts put the Northern Arizona volleyball team in holes they could not climb out of on Thursday night as they fell in three sets to Idaho, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15. NAU's loss in its first road conference match of the season dropped its record to 2-1 in Big Sky play and 11-3 overall.

"Idaho did a really good job of keeping its errors down and applying pressure," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We didn't keep our composure through certain stretches in the match, but there are a ton of things to learn from tonight. The stress of this environment was important for us to experience and when we have another opportunity like this, we'll be better."

The Vandals began the match by taking seven of the first nine points and held a 14-9 score before the Lumberjacks made their move. Junior Janae Vander Ploeg's kill started a 4-0 run and followed with an ace at the service line, forcing an Idaho timeout with its lead trimmed to 14-13. NAU managed to take a 18-17 lead off a kill by junior Payton Bock, but three straight points by Idaho with the set tied at 19-all was the difference maker. Sophomore Lauren Jacobsen kept NAU in the set, fighting off the Vandals' first set point at 24-23 before they closed it out on the next point cutting NAU's rally short.

The Lumberjacks managed to hit a match-best .282 in the first set with four kills apiece by Vander Ploeg and Jacobsen, but the Vandals executed their offense to the tune of a .394 clip.

"In the first set, we just had to settle into the match," Murphy said. "We came back and tied it and we had a lot of things going our way. But as soon as we had our defense figured out, we stopped executing offensively and it was just one of those nights."

Trying to even the match at one set each, the Lumberjacks played tough in the second set and took a 15-13 lead midway courtesy of a solo block and a kill by Vander Ploeg. Sophomore Jensen Barton's dump shot over the net maintained NAU's two-point edge, 16-14, only for the Vandals to run off with the next eight points. In all, Idaho claimed 11 of the final 13 points of the set to claim a 2-0 lead.

Idaho carried its late momentum in the second right into the third set when it found itself ahead 13-2 after an 11-0 run. The Vandal lead grew to as many as 15 at 22-7 before senior Sydney Kemper slammed down a pair of kills in a span of three points to close the deficit to 22-10. Although the Lumberjacks won eight of the final 11 points of the match, the Vandals' quick start proved to be too much to overcome.

The Vandals became the first team to hit above .300 against the Lumberjacks this season, outhitting NAU .323-.237. Williams and Jacobsen each led NAU defensively with 17 digs, with Jacobsen setting a new season-high in the process. Vander Ploeg led the 'Jacks with nine kills offensively while Bock hit .417 – her seventh straight match above the .400 mark.

NAU will try to earn a split of its first conference road trip of the season on Saturday when it travels to Cedar City, Utah to play Southern Utah at 6 p.m.