EDINBURG, Texas – The Northern Arizona volleyball team improved to 4-0 this season in winning their first match of the UTPA Tournament Friday morning with a four-set victory, 25-14, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22, over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lumberjacks will play Lamar this afternoon in their second match of the day at approximately 2:30 p.m. Flagstaff time.

The early morning match time did not throw off the Lumberjacks' schedule to begin as they broke open an even first set. With the opening set tied at 5-5, NAU rattled off five straight points run to take a commanding 10-5 lead and it never looked back. Another 5-0 run including two blocks and a kill from senior Taylor Stephens gave the Lumberjacks an 18-10 lead after the Islanders had got within three and NAU finished the first set with three consecutive points.

The second set was much more closely contested. A&M-Corpus Christi held the early lead but NAU brought the scoreboard to a stalemate at 12-12 before an Islander 7-3 run gave them the slim cushion they needed to maintain a narrow edge throughout the remainder of the set. The Lumberjacks managed to stick around but was unable to retake the lead as the Islanders evened the match going into the third set.

Much like the first set, the Lumberjacks dominated and ran away without much contest. Responding quickly to the second set defeat, NAU strung together five straight points to start the third. The Islanders cut their deficit to 6-4, but the Lumberjacks answered behind the hot arm of Stephens, who contributed two kills during an ensuing 5-0 spurt. Kemper and Stephens each recorded four kills in the set as NAU failed to lead by less than six points the rest of the way.

After A&M-Corpus Christi found itself up 9-7 in the fourth set, a kill from sophomore Lauren Jacobsen was the first of five NAU points, including two aces by sophomore Jensen Barton, to put the 'Jacks in front by three for the final time in the match. The set was not easy though as the Islanders tried to force a deciding final set, trailing by one as late as 22-21 forcing a Lumberjack timeout. Back-to-back kills from Jacobsen and junior Janae Vander Ploeg out of the break put NAU at match point and Kemper's 16th kill of the match ended it two points later.

NAU's trio of outside attackers – Kemper, Jacobsen and Vander Ploeg – all recorded double-doubles. Kemper led all players with 16 kills along with 13 digs and four blocks. Jacobsen tallied 12 kills and 16 digs, while Vander Ploeg notched 10 kills, two aces and a career-high 25 digs.

The Lumberjacks outhit the Islanders .259-.064 and also held an 82-78 edge in digs. Both teams recorded 9.0 blocks each.

Junior Payton Bock finished with a match-best five blocks and Stephens, her counterpart in the middle, totaled a season-best 12 kills on a .611 hitting percentage. Barton handed out 47 assists along with nine digs and three aces at the line while redshirt junior Stacia Williams posted 18 digs.

NAU's match versus Lamar to conclude its first day at the UTPA Tournament can be watched live online here. Live stats for the match will be available here.