HONOLULU, Hawaii – In the first of two weekend matches in the Stan Sheriff Center, the Northern Arizona volleyball team fell to Hawai'i, 25-12, 25-10, 25-12 Friday night. Redshirt junior
Kaylie Jorgenson led the Lumberjacks (4-6 overall) with nine kills on the evening.
"There were some similarities to matches we've had (this year) where we don't come out with enough intensity to put our footprint on the match and it affects so many pieces of our game," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "It's something that we can control and get better at and the team is really determined to grow our aggressiveness. We'll regroup and be a better version of ourselves tomorrow."
The Lumberjacks notched the opening point with redshirt sophomore
Ohiyah Shirley acing the Rainbow Wahine before the home team proceeded to go on a momentum-shifting 8-0 run aided by four NAU attack errors. Armed with their sizeable advantage, the home team used five service aces to control the first set. NAU was also limited to just six kills and hit .000 to start the match.
Jorgenson powered four kills in the second set, but the Rainbow Wahine's serve continued to be a thorn in the Lumberjacks' side. Hawai'i recorded three aces during an 11-3 run to start to the second set and in all it tallied five aces in the set. The Rainbow Wahine was also buoyed by a .462 hitting percentage to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
NAU came out of the intermission with a renewed energy and it was redshirt freshman
Kasie Gilfert who led the early charge with two kills on NAU's first three points. The Lumberjacks trailed just 6-5, only for the Rainbow Wahine to score eight of the next 10 points including five straight heading into the media timeout. Hawai'i never looked back and completed the sweep, finishing the night with a .389 hitting percentage over three sets.
The Lumberjacks only managed to hit .025 and yielded 13 Rainbow Wahine service aces. NAU's defense was led by junior
Jordan Anderson, who tied for match-high honors with 12 digs. Gilfert and redshirt sophomore
Victoria Ewalefo each chipped in two blocks as part of the Lumberjacks' 4.0 team blocks.
The Lumberjacks return to the Stan Sheriff Center court Saturday night for a 10 p.m. Arizona time match start. Saturday's match versus Hawai'i will be NAU's final before heading into Big Sky Conference play.
