GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Led by the one-two combo of junior Janae Vander Ploeg and senior Sydney Kemper, the Northern Arizona volleyball team notched an all-important victory against North Dakota with big implications on Thursday. The duo combined for 27 kills propelling the Lumberjacks to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-18 sweep, dealing UND its first home loss this season and first in 11 matches dating back to Nov. 8, 2013.

In a match between a pair of teams in the mix to host the Big Sky Championships, the Lumberjacks improved to 7-2 in conference play and 16-4 overall, while UND – the Big Sky North Division co-leader entering the match – saw its conference mark drop to 6-3.

"Both (Janae and Sydney) played great and when they hit the ball well, our team is going to have success" said head coach Ken Murphy. "Tonight was a great example of that. We knew North Dakota has a really tough environment to play in and our team took that challenge. We did a great job of focusing on our side of the net and playing the type of match we want to play. We had a lot of energy."

North Dakota held the early lead in the first set, 13-10, ­before what turned out to be a critical service error. Redshirt junior Stacia Williams followed with a service ace and Vander Ploeg knocked down one of her five first set kills to tie the score at 13-all. After a UND point, Kemper evened the score yet again with a kill before serving an ace to give NAU a 15-14 lead it would not relinquish. By the end of a 6-0 run, the Lumberjacks grabbed a 19-14 advantage. UND remained close until late, trailing 23-20, but two final points by NAU put the Lumberjacks in the driver's seat.

NAU fell behind for the second consecutive set, 9-7, in the second stanza, but a 4-0 run started by a Lauren Jacobsen kill put the 'Jacks in front. North Dakota, who along with NAU entered Thursday with the two-best overall records this season, desperately tried to keep the set close in attempt to even the match. Consecutive UND points sliced the Lumberjack lead late to 22-20, until Vander Ploeg took over. The junior's 12th kill of the match and her first of two service aces were a part of the Lumberjacks taking the last three points and a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Unlike the first two sets, the Lumberjacks stepped on the gas pedal from the start of the third with the first five points. UND responded by winning the next three only for NAU to take the following six for an 11-3 lead. Coming out of its timeout, North Dakota went on a 4-0 run only for the Lumberjacks to answer for the second time with four points of its own. The Lumberjacks eventually got to match point at 24-13 on a kill by sophomore Isabelle Gosar, but UND clung on by holding off five match points before an attack error completed the NAU sweep.

"The process is just gaining confidence in the things that we do," Murphy said. "Every time we have a match like this, we believe more that if we control our side of the net and play with great energy then we can have great success in any match we play. We know Saturday is going to be another tough match, but if we control the things we do, we'll have a really good shot."

Led by Vander Ploeg's .424 clip and Kemper's .320 percentage on the outside, NAU hit .277 for the match compared to .155 for UND. Sophomore Jensen Barton recorded 32 assists in the match, efficiently running the Lumberjack attack.

Defensively, Gosar posted a match-best five blocks as the 'Jacks held a 7.0-5.0 advantage in blocks between the conference's top-two blocking teams. Williams led the Lumberjacks with 12 digs while Jacobsen added 10 in a solid team back row performance.

NAU completes its two-week road swing in Greely, Colo. against Northern Colorado on Saturday at 6 p.m. Arizona time.