FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – To followers of the Northern Arizona volleyball team, the 2017 season can be viewed as a "rebuilding" season. But that is not how head coach Ken Murphy sees it. In fact, he opts for another "r" word to when reflecting on his recently completed fifth season at NAU.
 
"When I look back at this group, the thing I admire is how resilient they were," Murphy said. "We kept pushing, we kept trying to get better and we came to the gym with great intent every day. It was a year that every time we felt like we made a little bit of progress, something happened that made us change our lineup or our systems. A lot of teams would have quit, but that says a lot about the character of our team."
 
Resiliency. The Lumberjacks epitomized that from the first serve of the season to the last point, literally.
 
In the season opener, NAU fought back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Southern Illinois in five sets. As if rallying from dropping the first two sets was not enough, the Lumberjacks trailed 7-1 in the fifth set before triumphing in the end.
 
Fast forward three months to the first round of the Big Sky Championships where coincidentally the 'Jacks found themselves in almost an identical situation. Having dropped two of the first three sets and with their season hanging in the balance, NAU faced an 8-1 deficit to Portland State in the fourth set only to put itself in a position to play on when tied at 22-22.
 
Of course their season would reach its end that night, but three months could be summed up in those two matches that bookended a season of growth.
 
"We kept putting ourselves in situations you never want to be in a match, but we'd always respond," Murphy said. "If we lost a set, if we were down, if we lost a match that hurt us, we'd respond. All of those are great lessons for a younger group moving forward. In sports, we always get measured on winning a championship or winning 20-something matches, but there's things about this team that I'm proud of as much as anything we've ever accomplished."
 
Rebuilding is a word that Murphy will not use for the Lumberjack volleyball program. Expectations are always high, and this season was no different even when considering the youth and inexperience the team had to in August. Pushing towards a championship was always the goal even as injuries struck, but the 'Jacks never folded under the challenges.
 
An injury to senior Dani Westfall the week of NAU's season opener threw a wrench into plans of a 6-2 system that they had been implementing since the spring. Sophomore Sydney Lema missed six straight matches heading into conference play, then redshirt sophomore Victoria Ewalefo suffered a season-ending injury sidelining her for the final three weeks. Yet the Lumberjacks kept plugging along with players stepping up from every direction.
 
The Lumberjacks' non-conference schedule was brutal by design with four opponents – CSU Bakersfield, Hawai'i, Miami and Western Kentucky – advancing to the NCAA Tournament at season's end. That list does not include Arizona State and Utah State, both of whom reside just outside the RPI top 150.
 
After a 1-2 opening weekend at the Miami Best Western Sycamore Inn Invitational – with both of NAU's losses coming to Western Kentucky and Miami – the Lumberjacks rebounded by going 2-1 the following weekend at South Dakota State's Hampton Inn Jackrabbits Invitational.
 
While the second weekend was encouraging, the Lumberjacks' lone loss to CSU Bakersfield was one that they were not proud of. That loss was quickly redeemed during NAU's home tourney, where redshirt junior Kaylie Jorgenson and freshman Heaven Harris powered the 'Jacks to a win over the Roadrunners. Although NAU also fell to Arizona State at home that weekend, the Lumberjacks played in front of the second-largest crowd in school history of 1,190.
 
After two losses to Hawai'i, the Lumberjacks carried a 4-7 record into the conference schedule with Jorgenson and Harris already asserting themselves as all-conference caliber players. Jorgenson was named to all three All-Tournament teams during the non-conference slate, while Harris joined her on two.
 
Still, questions remained after NAU started conference play with only two wins in its first six matches. Of their four losses, two were five-set home defeats to Northern Colorado and Idaho while the other two were puzzling sweeps to Weber State and Eastern Washington.
 
But NAU's resiliency paid off as the Lumberjacks won seven of their final 10 matches from there starting with an impressive road win at Portland State. Sophomore Abby Akin's emergence as a bonafide third attacker corresponded with NAU's end-of-season run as she tallied six of her seven double-digit kill matches during this span.
 
The highlight of the season came on Oct. 26 when NAU knocked off Sacramento State in the Rolle Activity Center in a five-set thriller. Jorgenson, Akin and Harris all set career-highs in kills that night as the Lumberjacks handed the Hornets their only conference loss of the season. Sacramento State would wind up winning the Big Sky regular season title and hosting the conference tournament.
 
Although NAU's season came to a close at 13-15 overall, including a 9-7 conference record, and short of a championship, the Lumberjacks have so many positives to take away. Emerging from a season that included 10 matches against teams in the RPI top 150 with a wealth of experience will only help the returning players – and what a cast of returners the Lumberjacks will have next season.
 
"We're very aware of where we need to be," Murphy said. "We played such a high level of competition this season that we're not going to have any surprises. We have a great barometer moving forward that next year when we have challenges just as stiff, we're not going to be afraid and we'll be more prepared."
 
Jorgenson, Akin and Harris will all be back following all-conference seasons. Jorgenson and Akin were named to the All-Big Sky First Team, while Harris earned a spot on the Second Team.
 
Jorgenson led the entire conference with 4.17 kills per set in league play and finished her first season as a six-rotation player third in the Big Sky with a team-leading 3.77 kills per set. She also led the team in total digs. Akin averaged a career-best 2.01 kills per set in addition to leading the Lumberjacks – and ranking in the top 10 of the conference – in hitting percentage (.364), aces (32) and blocks (106).
 
Meanwhile, Harris was by far the best freshman in the Big Sky and rightfully was voted the conference's Outstanding Freshman. Harris ranked second on the team with 2.76 kills per set on .355 hitting and 73 total blocks.
 
NAU's three all-conference players are far from the only Lumberjacks set to return next fall. Lema will return after averaging 2.46 kills and 3.62 digs, as will sophomore Abby Stomp after starting all but one match at setter and ranking seventh in the Big Sky with 9.07 assists per set. Junior Jordan Anderson will enter her final season having averaged 3.60 digs per set this fall and serving as NAU's libero in the final 19 matches.
 
Ewalefo (.350 attack percentage, 0.96 blocks per set) will be working back from her injury, but redshirt junior Brittni Dorsey also returns for her senior season after finishing strong in Ewalefo's absence with a .417 hitting percentage in the last five matches.
 
While this season may have been NAU's first sub-.500 season in seven years, NAU's returners will undoubtedly reap the benefits of the lessons learned and adversity faced this season.
 
"We came out of last spring, and even two-of-days, with a lot of high hopes but also uncertainty about who will fill roles and what we were going to look like," Murphy said. "We'll come out of this (upcoming) spring knowing exactly who we are. Having gone through this season as a group and returning so many players, I don't have any doubt that we'll be ready for the next step."
 
NAU's rollercoaster season rivaled the best that any theme park has to offer. However, the beauty of a rollercoaster is that after every drop, an upward climb is sure to follow – and that is what has the Lumberjacks excited for what is to come.