FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona volleyball team fought back from three set points in the first set and cruised to victory from there Thursday night, sweeping Montana, 26-24, 25-17, 25-10. The Lumberjacks picked up their fourth conference win and is now 4-1 in the Big Sky and 13-3 overall following their fourth sweep in six home matches this season.

"I thought once Montana got to 22 (points in the first set), we controlled that set and we just had to catch up a bit," said head coach Ken Murphy. "I thought we played the rest of the match at that level and raised our standard."

The first set was a back-and-forth affair as the teams exchanged sizeable runs. It was the Grizzlies who stepped out first, leading 12-7, before junior Janae Vander Ploeg led a 6-0 NAU run with three kills. The Lumberjacks' 13-12 lead was short lived though as a 5-0 Montana run put them back out in front 20-16.

Montana led by four points at 22-18 and had set point at 24-21, but NAU put together a late rally started by a kill from senior Taylor Stephens. Another Stephens kill tied the match at 24-all and forced extra points, which NAU would quickly claim courtesy of an ace by senior Sydney Kemper and Vander Ploeg's sixth kill of the opening set.

The 'Jacks finished the first set with a flurry, winning the final five points and carried that straight into the second set in which they jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Montana would get as close as 16-13, but NAU's fast start was too much for the visitors to overcome. Sophomore Jensen Barton contributed two aces down the stretch as NAU hit .387 in the second set win compared to just .121 by Montana to claim the 2-0 lead in the match.

The Lumberjacks only got better in the third set, hitting .444 and forcing the Grizzlies to hit a negative percentage, -.030, in rolling to the sweep. The set was even to start, with the teams tied for the fourth time in 12 points at 6-6, but the Lumberjacks finished by winning 19 of the final 23 points. The NAU middle of junior Payton Bock and sophomore Isabelle Gosar was nearly unstoppable in the final set, combining for seven of the team's 14 kills.

"We played tighter defense after the opening when we figured out what they were doing," Murphy said. "We also got into a rhythm and started distributing the ball to Sydney and Payton a little more and killing the ball in transition."

The Lumberjacks finished the match hitting a season-high .343 with Barton recording 39 assists. Vander Ploeg and Kemper finished in double-figures in kills with 11 and 10 respectively, while sophomore Lauren Jacobsen and Bock added eight and seven respectively.

NAU won the offensive side of the net by holding Montana to a .113 hitting percentage as the Lumberjacks' defense was strong yet again outblocking the Griz, 9.0-6.0, and outdigging them 49-38. Vander Ploeg led NAU with four blocks and Jacobsen added three, including a team-high two of the solo variety. Kemper picked up a double-double with a match-high 13 digs and was joined in double-digit digs by Jacobsen (12) and Vander Ploeg (11). Vander Ploeg's double-double was her team-best ninth of the 2014.

NAU – the Big Sky leader in aces per set – also was dominant at the service line with seven aces to two by Montana. Kemper recorded a season-high three aces.

The Lumberjacks finish the weekend on Saturday with Montana State in the Rolle Activity Center at 7 p.m. The match will be the team's Think Pink game for breast cancer awareness. All fans are encouraged to wear pink, with those arriving in pink receiving a $3 ticket at the door.