EDINBURG, Texas – The Northern Arizona volleyball prevailed early and broke away late in their second match of the day, picking up their fifth straight win to begin the season in the process at the UTPA Fieldhouse. The Lumberjacks earned the four-set victory, 25-21, 25-27, 25-12, 25-19, over a talented Lamar squad to improve to 5-0 this season and 2-0 at the UTPA Tournament heading into their tournament finale on Saturday.

The third set proved to key Friday afternoon, as it has been thus far this season with the Lumberjacks notching a win in the tiebreaking set in each of the four matches that has been split 1-1 after two. But against Lamar, the set was crucial in breaking open an extremely close match until that point. Tied at three points apiece, the Lumberjacks rolled off nine straight points and 13 of the next 14 in all to take the first commanding lead for either team. The outburst was all they needed to set the tone for the fourth and final set.

"(The third set) was good because we got back into our own flow," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We played much better defense and that's where we get our energy. It was good to see us turn it on in that set and carry that momentum into the last set."

Like its three predecessors, the fourth set was an even battle at the onset before NAU snapped a 6-6 tie with five of the next six points capped by freshman Kayla Guerrero's first career ace, making her collegiate debut. That gave the Lumberjacks a four-point cushion that they maintained the rest of the way. Down as many as five points, the Lady Cardinals got within 22-19 late, but consecutive block assists by sophomore Isabelle Gosar, first with sophomore Lauren Jacobsen and the final with sophomore Jensen Barton, secured the hard-fought NAU win.

The teams essentially traded points – and leads – throughout the majority of the opening set with neither team holding a lead bigger than two points until the very end. After a Lamar kill made the score 22-21 in favor of NAU, the Lumberjacks picked up the last three points. By the time senior Sydney Kemper's ace hit the deck, the Lumberjacks had the early lead, successfully overcoming an early 7-3 shortcoming.

The second set was as close as it comes, featuring 14 ties and eight lead changes, once again with neither team able to establish sustained control. For the first time this season, the Lumberjacks were forced to extra points in a set and junior Janae Vander Ploeg's kill put NAU on the brink of a 2-0 lead at 25-24 and set point. The Lady Cardinals were able to take the next three points to even the match, setting up the 'Jacks' third set dominance.

As a team, NAU hit .324 – its third match above .300 this season – and recorded sets above .400 in the final two. The Lumberjacks were able to overcome their highest opponent hitting percentage in the early season, .236 by Lamar, with an even more efficient performance with Barton running the show with 48 assists. Vander Ploeg totaled a season-best 19 kills and was one of three Lumberjacks with double-digit kills with Jacobsen (15) and Kemper (11) joining her.

Defensively, the Lumberjacks outdug their opponent for the second time in two matches on Friday, holding a 65-60 advantage. Redshirt junior Stacia Williams continued her strong play equaling her career-high with 23 digs and Vander Ploeg notched her fourth double-double with 15 digs. Both Gosar, who hit a match-best .583 with seven kills in her first career start, and Barton posted a team-best four blocks.

"Our intensity level was really high on defense in this morning's match and we were able to take control of the match through that," Murphy said. "We created a ton of opportunities to score points. This afternoon, our offensively was working really well. We didn't play the same level of defense, but we were able to still apply pressure. It was two different matches."

NAU, who defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earlier on Friday in four sets, aims to complete a second consecutive perfect weekend on Saturday versus tournament host Texas-Pan American. First serve is at approximately 12 p.m. Flagstaff time.