MATCH NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Northern Arizona volleyball team makes a quick stop at home this week before heading right back out on the road with four consecutive matches away from Flagstaff over the next two weeks. Before that stretch though, NAU will host Eastern Washington and Idaho in the Rolle Activity Center starting with the Eagles on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Lumberjacks' annual breast cancer awareness match. NAU and Idaho will face off at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

"Last weekend we saw two different versions of ourselves," said head coach Ken Murphy. "Offensively, we've got so many things going in the right direction and we're starting to see that our outcomes are determined by our defense. This week, we need to keep investing ourselves knowing that the more play defense, the more we block and put pressure on our opponents, the more likely we are to have success. I think since I've been at NAU, that's always been the recipe and this team is figuring out what that means."

Freshman Heaven Harris was nearly unstoppable at the net last week, hitting .611 and .615 respectively against Idaho State and Weber State. After totaling 22 kills on only 31 total swings, Harris' season hitting percentage now sits at .378 - third-best in the Big Sky - while her kill average increased to 2.48 per set. Redshirt junior Kaylie Jorgenson continues to pace the Lumberjacks in kills at 3.48 per set as she moved up yet another spot to fourth in the conference. Her weekend included a team-high 13 kills at Weber State on Saturday on .367 hitting, marking the second straight week in which she hit a season-best. Sophomore Abby Stomp and senior Dani Westfall have successfully split the setter duties in NAU's 6-2 rotation over the last two weeks. With the setting tandem, NAU has hit better than .250 in all four conference matches thus far after doing so just three times in 11 non-conference matches.

For Thursday's breast cancer awareness match, all fans are encouraged to wear pink. The first 300 students will receive free pink sunglasses as part of NAU's Block Out Cancer match. All fans will receive free admission to Saturday's match prior to the NAU football Family Weekend game. The first 250 fans on Saturday will receive free brandanas.

Fans can also watch Thursday's match locally on NAU-TV. Both matches will be streamed online at pluto.tv or the Pluto TV app on Channel 239.

Clicking in Conference: Finally healthy, the Lumberjacks have discovered consistent success on offense for the first time all season through the first four matches of conference play. NAU ranks third during conference play in team hitting percentage at .277. After hitting under .200 in its last five non-conference matches, the Lumberjacks have been efficient and effective during the first two weeks in the Big Sky by hitting .255 or better in all four conference matches. NAU's current stretch of four straight matches with a hitting percentage of at least .255 is the team's longest since a streak of six consecutive matches from Sept. 3-15 last season. The team's top four hitters - Jorgenson, Harris, and sophomores Sydney Lema and Abby Akin - are all attacking at a higher clip in conference than they did in non-conference. Both Harris and Akin are third and fourth respectively in conference matches only at .486 and .479.

Head of the Class: Jorgenson, Akin and Harris - are tops among their league classmates statistically. Jorgenson leads all Big Sky juniors in kills per set with 3.48. Among sophomores, Akin has the highest hitting percentage (.332) and ace average (0.39). Speaking of hitting percentage, Harris is pacing all league freshmen with a .378 clip.

Recipe for Success: The Lumberjacks pride themselves on service pressure and their blocking, which then leads to their efficient offensive systems so it should be no surprise that those three elements have been key to their success early in the season. When NAU has held the advantage in service aces, it has a 5-1 record. The Lumberjacks are also 5-3 when they have outblocked their opposition. When NAU has outhit its opposition, the 'Jacks are 6-1. The win-loss splits are drastic with the Lumberjacks hitting .256 and averaging 1.95 aces and 2.19 blocks per set in wins while hitting only .187 with 0.82 aces and 1.91 blocks per set in losses.

NAU Quick Hits: Ken Murphy is just two wins shy of 100 at NAU...With 4.35 digs per set, senior Brooke Donnely ranks fourth in the Big Sky...In addition to Harris, Akin also ranks in the top 10 of the conference in overall hitting percentage in sixth at .332...The Lumberjacks rank fourth overall this season in hitting percentage in the Big Sky at .214...In conference play, the Lumberjacks lead the entire league with 2.79 blocks per set...Jorgenson is averaging 3.86 kills per set through the first two weeks of conference play.

About Eastern Washington: Eastern Washington was voted ninth by the league's coaches in the Big Sky Preseason Poll. The Eagles dropped two matches on the road last week to Northern Colorado and North Dakota. Eastern Washington is now 2-2 in conference and 5-8 overall. Ashley Seiler leads the Big Sky in kills per set at 3.94, but in conference play she is averaging just 3.19 per set. Megan LaFond ranks fifth in the Big Sky in digs with 4.30 per set overall, including an average of 4.88 per set in conference play. Eastern Washington ranks last in the conference with a team hitting percentage of .127, but is sixth in opponent hitting percentage at 2.02. The Eagles are fourth in both service aces (1.34 per set) and digs (15.53 per set).

About Idaho: Idaho finished seventh in the Big Sky Preseason Poll. The Vandals swept Northern Colorado to complete the second week of conference play last week, rebounding from a three-set loss to North Dakota. They have won three of their first four Big Sky matches - all by sweep - and hold an 8-7 overall record. Kaela Straw leads the team with 3.47 kills per set, good for fifth in the conference. Torrin Crawford has been a force offensively, ranking fourth in the league in hitting percentage at .339, in addition to ranking second with 1.49 blocks per set. Idaho's .240 hitting percentage is second-highest in the conference while also ranking second in blocks (2.69 per set) and service aces (1.49 per set). Opponents are hitting .201 against the Vandals which is fourth-lowest.