POCATELLO, Idaho – Freshman
Heaven Harris continued to kill the ball at a high efficiency, sophomore
Abby Akin continued to be a wall at the net and the Northern Arizona volleyball team's sweeping ways continued as well on the road at Idaho State. With a 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 sweep, NAU won consecutive matches for the first time this season to up its record to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky.
"We played every point with really great focus and intensity tonight," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We were really resilient. If we lost a point, we scored the next one. It was easily the most complete effort we had this year."
Harris hit .611 – the best by any player this year – and led the Lumberjacks with 12 kills Thursday night. Five of her kills came in a six-point span to completely bust open the third set on the way to the Lumberjacks' second straight sweep. Akin meanwhile notched a match-high five blocks, one weekend after posting 13 in two matches, to aid NAU's efforts to holding Idaho State to only .091 hitting. The clip was the second-lowest by a Lumberjack opponent this season.
NAU finished the first set with the final four points to complete a wire-to-wire match-opening win. The Lumberjacks led by as much as six at 14-8 following an ace by senior
Dani Westfall, before the Bengals went on a 4-0 run. NAU immediately used a 5-1 run to force an ISU timeout, but the Bengals again closed the gap to 21-18. Consecutive kills by Harris pushed Idaho State to call its second stoppage, but the Bengals could not stop the bleeding committing two attack errors to end the set.
A Bengal service error followed by an ace from sophomore
Sydney Lema slightly turned NAU loose at what was just an 11-10 Lumberjack edge. NAU's advantage grew to 15-11 at an ISU timeout. The third set remained tight at 18-15 until Lema and Akin combined for three kills during a 4-0 NAU run as the Lumberjacks would eventually claim a 2-0 lead in the match.
"Idaho State is really good and their record is deceptive because they scheduled so hard," Murphy said. "Our team did a great job of respecting that. If we gave up a really good play on their side, we relaxed and didn't give up a second. To me, that is a sign of a team who is learning and tonight was a step forward for us in terms of creating success for ourselves."
Redshirt sophomore
Victoria Ewalefo tied the third set at 6-6 with a kill, leading right into Harris' outburst. A 5-1 run by Harris herself provided NAU with an 11-7 lead that the Lumberjacks only built on moving forward. Ewalefo got the Lumberjacks to match point, 24-15, and Lema capped the sweep with her second service ace of the set and third overall.
The 'Jacks hit .269 overall and held the advantage in every statistical category. Redshirt junior
Kaylie Jorgenson joined Harris in double-figures with 11 kills, while Lema posted a team-high 11 digs.
NAU wraps up the weekend at Weber State on Saturday at 6 p.m. Arizona time.
