FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – After splitting the first two sets, the Northern Arizona volleyball team needed a spark, and found it in an unlikely source in redshirt freshman Kaylie Jorgenson. Jorgenson provided the Lumberjack attack with a lift and junior Jensen Barton had an outstanding all-around performance, as NAU survived a scare from Weber State Thursday night to extend its win streak to a season-high five matches, 24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-18.

"We came out a little flat and a little distracted," said head coach Ken Murphy. "But the sign of a team with character is the ability to turn it around. Most of the night, Weber State made it tough for us to get into a rhythm, but we kept fighting. We kept working for it, and that's a sign of a good team."

The Lumberjacks hit only .100 in the opening set, as the Wildcats came into the Rolle Activity Center and stole the opener. Even with Weber State hitting .333, the Wildcats were unable to gain a significant advantage only leading by as much as three at 22-19. Senior Janae Vander Ploeg put down a kill on the following point, and Barton followed with her first three of a career-high tying five aces in a row to seemingly turn the tide. Another kill by Vander Ploeg put NAU at set point, 24-23, but Weber State held it off to bring the set to its 18th tie. The Wildcats put a bow on the first set on the next two points, putting NAU in a 1-0 hole for only the seventh time this season.

NAU immediately responded, grabbing a 4-1 lead but saw it vanish as Weber State used a 7-2 run to take a 14-10 advantage. The 'Jacks played from behind, pulling even on three occasions before redshirt senior Stacia Williams aced the Wildcats to put NAU back in front, 19-18. The Lumberjacks were two points away from evening the match, 23-20, but saw their lead cut to one before senior Payton Bock and Barton sent a Wildcat attack back. Bock then snuck a kill behind the Weber State back row for set point, securing the 1-1 tie into intermission.

Still struggling to find an offensive rhythm though, Jorgenson was inserted into the lineup to start the third set. In just her third appearance of the season, and first since Sept. 5, she knocked a kill off the Weber State block on her first swing to cap a 3-0 opening spurt for NAU. The Wildcats overcame the short burst by the 'Jacks and took the lead, only for NAU to use a four-point run to snap a 10-10 tie. A 6-0 run later was all the Lumberjacks needed to bust open the set on their way to moving a set closer to victory after they hit a match-high .409.

With the momentum clearly on their side, the Lumberjacks led wire-to-wire in the fourth set, taking the first six points including a pair off aces by junior Lauren Jacobsen. Weber State could only close to within four points the rest of the way, as Vander Ploeg, Jorgenson and Bock combined for 12 of the team's 15 kills in the set.

"We realized this was going to be a match that we were going to push a little harder and it wasn't going to come easy," Jorgenson said. "We said in intermission, this was a new match and you could feel it on the court. It was a team effort. The team and the coaches made it easy for me to step on the court and it was a lot of fun tonight."

Jorgenson finished the match with five kills after having her number called in the final two sets. She had previously recorded just two kills the entire season.

"Kaylie executed offensively just like she does every day in practice," Murphy said. "I was really proud of her to go into that situation and doing what she did. It gave us more offensive options out there and no doubt our level raised when she went into the match."

The Wildcats held the advantage in nearly every statistical category through the first two sets, but the Lumberjacks wound up outhitting the 'Cats, .224-.164 and outblocking them by a slim 11.0-9.0 margin. The Lumberjacks also held a significant advantage in service aces, 11-4.

Barton recorded five of NAU's season-high tying 11 aces, while Jacobsen added three and Williams tallied two. In addition to her five aces, Barton recorded seven kills on .636 hitting, 37 assists, seven digs and three blocks in a winning effort.

Vander Ploeg notched a match-high 17 kills, pulling her into a tie for second all-time in school history with 1,406 for her career. She also recorded eight digs and three blocks. Bock added eight kills and seven blocks and Williams posted a team-high 15 digs. Junior Addy Lofstedt also hit .385 for the night with six kills.

The win sets the stage for a South Division showdown with Idaho State, Saturday at Rolle Activity Center at 4 p.m. The Lumberjacks (16-4, 6-1 Big Sky) sit one game behind the Bengals, the division leader and Big Sky preseason favorite. Idaho State carries a nine-match win streak into Saturday's match including a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play.