MATCH NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Northern Arizona volleyball team is riding their longest win streak of the season, and the longest active streak in the conference, at four matches into the week with head-to-head meetings with Weber State on Thursday and Idaho State on Saturday in the Rolle Activity Center. Thursday's match versus the Wildcats is slated for 7 p.m. while the Bengals and Lumberjacks will get started at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

"We look as last weekend as a confidence booster," said head coach Ken Murphy. "It gives us a greater understanding of the level that we can compete at. We respect these two teams this week a lot and we've had good matches with them. But we also know we have two weeks to keep getting better to try to peak at the right time of the year."

NAU is 7-5 in the Big Sky and 11-12 overall following impressive victories over Sacramento State and Portland State last week to begin a four-match homestand. The Lumberjacks will look to avenge a loss to Weber State back on Sept. 30, while they will also try to slow down Idaho State, who has been red hot since suffering a three-set loss to NAU on Sept. 28. Redshirt junior Kaylie Jorgenson pounded a career-high 26 kills to pace NAU in its win over Sacramento State last Thursday and now leads all players for the first tme this season with 4.28 kills per set in league play. Her 197 kills in league play are also the most by any player. Sophomore Abby Akin was one of two Lumberjacks to be honored by the Big Sky this week after posting 27 kills and averaging 3.00 per set in NAU's victories last week. Akin upped her hitting percentage to .413 in conference play and .361 overall. The Lumberjacks' second Player of the Week was freshman Heaven Harris, who was honored for her blocking rather than her hitting last week. While she averaged 3.56 kills per set, Harris was exceptional at the net totaling 14 blocks to keep Sacramento State and Portland State at bay.

The first 200 NAU students to click on the exclusive offer available in the Lumberjack Loyalty app will receive an exclusive prize. For Thursday's Throwback Decades Night, fans are encouraged to wear throwback outfits for a chance to win an NAU cookie.

Both matches will be televised locally in Flagstaff on NAU-TV Channel 4 and 104, as well as streamed online at pluto.tv or the Pluto TV app on Channel 239.

Defensive Improvement: It is easy to look at NAU's .274 team hitting percentage during the Lumberjacks' current four-match win streak, but the focus should really be on NAU's strides on defense. Over the last two weeks, opponents are hitting a combined .185, including a current stretch of three straight matches in which the opposition has hit below .200. It is the first time this season that the Lumberjacks have held their opponents under .200 in three consecutive matches. Redshirt sophomore Victoria Ewalefo and Harris have totaled 19 and 17 blocks respectively during the Lumberjacks' win streak. Ewalefo is pacing the team with 1.36 blocks per set in the last four matches. Akin has chipped in 14 blocks as well.

Player of the Week Sweep: Following NAU's perfect weekend at home versus the top two offensive teams in the conference, Akin and Harris swept the Big Sky's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards on Monday. Akin, who received two Defensive Player of the Week honors last season, picked up her first offensive award after recording a career-high 16 kills as NAU handed Sacramento State its first conference loss of the season. She hit a season-best .615 versus the Hornets and then tallied 11 kills versus Portland State. For the weekend, Akin averaged 3.00 kills per set and hit .429. Harris totaled 14 blocks in two matches to earn her first career conference weekly honor. Harris posted a season and career-best seven blocks against both Sacramento State and Portland State to help limit the two teams to a .173 combined hitting percentage. She wound up averaging 1.56 blocks per set, an outstanding number for an opposite side hitter.

NAU Quick Hits: Jorgenson's 26 kills last Thursday was the fourth-most in a single match in the Big Sky this season...Junior Jordan Anderson leads the Big Sky in ace average (0.51 per set) and total aces (23) in league matches...Harris (.417) and Akin (.413) rank third and fourth respectively in hitting percentage in league play...The Lumberjacks rank No. 34 in the nation with a Big Sky leading 1.55 aces per set...NAU also cracks the top 50 nationally at No. 50 in digs per set with 16.53.

About Weber State: Weber State remains squarely in the mix for the eighth and final spot in the Big Sky Championships with a 4-8 mark in conference after sweeping Eastern Washington and falling in five sets to Idaho State last week at home. The Wildcats are 6-18 overall. Weber State leads the Big Sky with 2.68 blocks per set overall this season and rank third in conference play with 2.41 per set.  After a slow start to the season offensively, the Wildcats have picked up their attack in league play, ranking fifth in the Big Sky with a .230 hitting percentage. Amanda Varley and Andrea Hale both tallied 13 kills versus the Lumberjacks in the teams' first meeting this season. Varley leads the Wildcats with 3.42 kills per set for the season, but Varley and Hale have both totaled 170 kills in league play at an identical average of 3.70 per set.

About Idaho State: Idaho State became the fourth team to lock up a spot in the Big Sky Championships by virtue of a three-set win at home versus Idaho and a five-set victory at Weber State last week. The Bengals, since starting conference play with three losses, have gone 8-1 in their last nine matches and are now 8-4 in the conference with an 11-14 overall mark. Idaho State has made its run up the conference standings behind an improved defensive effort as its opponents have hit just .200 in league play, which is fourth-best in the Big Sky. The Bengals' defense has offset their offense which is attacking at just a .188 clip in league play and averaging the second-fewest kills per set at 12.40. Abby Garrity ranks eighth in the conference with a team-best 3.44 kills per set, but she tallied just six kills in Idaho State's loss to NAU at home. Haylie Keck leads the Big Sky with 0.41 aces per set and ranks second with 4.74 digs per set.