HARRISONBURG, Va. – Senior Janae Vander Ploeg and junior Lauren Jacobsen each recorded a match-high 16 kills as the Northern Arizona volleyball team opened the 2015 season in style with a 25-19, 25-15, 25-22 sweep of Lehigh. The match was the first of two at the JMU Classic for the Lumberjacks on Friday with a second match against James Madison this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

"We had great effort and particularly our defense was really tight," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We blocked the ball well, forced Lehigh into difficult situations and we did a good job of keeping our offense under control."

The Lumberjacks, who finished last season 10th in the country in blocks, stifled the Mountain Hawks at the net totaling 11 blocks in their three-set win. Seven of those blocks came in the first set as Lehigh, a 22-win team from a year ago, was limited to just .029 hitting in the opening set and .055 for the match.

NAU struck fast and early to open the match, rattling off six straight points beginning and ending with Jacobsen kills. The 6-0 run put the 'Jacks in control of the set at 8-3, but the Mountain Hawks fought back to within 11-9. From there, Vander Ploeg ignited a defining 7-0 spurt that gave the Lumberjacks all the space they needed. She later hammered down her sixth kill of the first set to close the opening stanza.

Jacobsen got the Lumberjacks rolling in the second set with three kills to spark a 5-1 NAU start as it never trailed. The Mountain Hawks tied the set at 9-9, but Vander Ploeg quickly got the Lumberjacks a sideout with a kill. Senior Jordan Leiter, making only her second career start as a 'Jack, then aced Lehigh and NAU was on its way taking eight of the next nine points to seize control, 17-10, before wrapping up the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Unlike the first two sets which featured just four ties and one lead change combined, the third set was a back-and-forth affair with a total of 16 ties and eight occasions which the lead was exchanged. Lehigh held the advantage in the first set, forcing NAU's first timeout of the match following a pair of Lumberjack errors that put the Mountain Hawks ahead 6-4. Behind Vander Ploeg's arm, NAU took the lead at 9-8 with three kills during a four-point spurt from the 'Jacks before Lehigh evened it up at 10-all.

Midway through the set, the teams remained tied at 15-15 until the Lumberjacks had to call their final stoppage of the set down 20-18. Vander Ploeg quickly answered with a kill coming out of the timeout, setting NAU on its final run of the match. Junior Addy Lofstedt snapped the final tie at 22-22 with a kill and when Jacobsen's 16th kill of the match hit the ground, NAU had scored the final three points as part of a 7-2 match-clinching run.

"The third set was a really good test for us because Lehigh was playing really well," Murphy said. "They really challenged us and we were able to stabilize our side of the net. The last three points were really outstanding plays, but they weren't unusual plays. The team was relaxed and confident in the way we always do things in crucial situations."

For Jacobsen, the 16 kills were a career-high. Vander Ploeg hit .341 with just two errors on 41 swings and added 16 digs to go along with her 16 kills for her first double-double of the season. Leiter recorded her first career double-double herself with 39 assists and 14 digs back in her home state of Virginia. Controlling the net were Lofstedt, who tied her career-high in her first start since Nov. 9, 2013, and senior Payton Bock who each tallied five blocks. Redshirt freshman Emma Grimsrud added four blocks as she made her Lumberjack debut in the starting lineup.

NAU for the match hit .244 and raised its hitting percentage throughout the match, hitting a match-high .279 in the final set. The Lumberjacks outdug the Mountain Hawks 57-42 and held the blocking edge at 11.0-9.0 as they won their ninth season opener in the last 10 years.

The Lumberjacks will play the tournament host James Madison this afternoon in a match that can be listened to live at this link.