PORTLAND, Ore. – To bust out of a slump, the Northern Arizona volleyball team put Portland State under pressure. Junior
Jordan Anderson accounted for half of NAU's 12 service aces to propel the Lumberjacks to a 25-23, 20-25, 28-26, 25-19 victory over the Vikings in Concordia Gym to snap a three-match losing streak.
"It was a really intense match with a lot of long rallies and really great defense on both sides," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "It was clean volleyball and I was proud of team for hanging in there and fighting for every point. They put together a really complete effort from start to finish."
Anderson became just the 10th player in school history to record at least six service aces in a match and had the best individual service performance by a Lumberjack in nearly 10 years since Kelly Verboom totaled a school record eight on Oct. 18, 2007.
The 12 Lumberjack aces increased NAU's total to 33 in its last three matches. Redshirt junior
Kaylie Jorgenson and sophomores
Abby Akin and
Abby Stomp each tallied two service aces each to account for the other six by the 'Jacks.
"We've been talking a lot about pressuring our opponents a little bit more and serving is a really good example of that," Murphy said. "Jordan had a serve going today and was really going after it. She is one of a bunch of players who have really strong serves on this team and it's about understanding how to use it as a weapon."
Not to be outdone, Jorgenson set a new career-high kills total for the second consecutive match, hitting .304 and pounding down a match-best 24. She also recorded 17 digs to notch her 12th double-double and was joined by Stomp in the double-double column, who herself recorded 49 assists and 11 digs.
NAU narrowly outhit Portland State – the Big Sky's leader in hitting percentage in league matches – by a .244-.242 margin to improve to 3-1 in conference play on the road. The Lumberjacks are now 7-11 overall and 3-4 in the Big Sky while handing the Vikings just their second loss in league play. The win was also NAU's eighth straight overall versus Portland State.
The 'Jacks nearly squandered an 8-2 lead, but showed great resolve to rally and take the opening set. Behind the first three Anderson aces and two kills by Akin, NAU temporarily stunned Portland State. The Vikings immediately answered with six points to bring the score back even and held as large of a lead as four at 13-9. However, NAU battled back from a total of four deficits of at least three points – the last coming at 23-20 – to sneak out the first set. Facing its last deficit of the set, Jorgenson and Akin took care of business, each totaling a kill and combining for a pair of blocks in a set-clinching 5-0 run.
After NAU used four service aces and five blocks to win the first set, Portland State collected itself and led wire-to-wire heading into the locker room even at one set apiece. The Vikings jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never trailed, leading by as much as seven. The 'Jacks did withstand three set points, two of which came from Akin kills, before the Vikings stuffed a Lumberjack attack to claim their only set of the night.
The Lumberjacks edged out the crucial third set, emerging from a set with 21 ties and eight lead changes. Sophomore
Sydney Lema held off Portland State's only set point at 24-23, and after ties at 25-25 and 26-26, the Lumberjacks closed it out. Jorgenson hammered a kill and a Viking error clinched the 2-1 match advantage for NAU.
NAU used a 4-0 run to surge ahead 16-13 and the 'Jacks never trailed again. Akin's second ace of the night, and the Lumberjacks' 12th and final, doubled NAU's lead late to 23-17 and NAU sealed the deal with ease. Jorgenson's seventh and eighth kills of the fourth set wrapped up the evening and sent the Lumberjacks into Saturday's match at unbeaten Sacramento State with a wave of momentum.
Freshman
Heaven Harris and Akin were efficient and effective once again offensively. Harris had 14 kills on .462 hitting while Akin added 11 kills on .429 hitting. Akin's six blocks also led all players with Lema pacing NAU with 21 digs.
NAU aims to knock off Sacramento State – the conference's last remaining undefeated team in Big Sky action at 7-0 – when the two teams square off at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
