OGDEN, Utah – The Northern Arizona volleyball team struggled to slow down Weber State's attack Saturday night and in the process saw their win streak come to an end in a 25-22, 25-23, 25-16 defeat. The Wildcats hit a blistering .336 to drop the Lumberjacks' record to 6-9 overall and an even 2-2 in conference play.
"Weber State played really good and they executed their offense really well," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Unfortunately we didn't do enough to affect it. What we take away from a night like tonight is that on any given night, if we don't control our side of the net very well, it's going to be a struggle against a really good team like them. Tonight was an example of one of those nights."
While the Lumberjacks did not fare poorly themselves offensively – they hit .269 for the night – the Wildcats hit better than .273 in all three sets. NAU managed to outblock Weber State, 6.0-4.0, yet the Wildcats had their way for the majority of the evening.
Sophomore
Sydney Lema finished the night with a team-high tying 12 kills and had the hot hand early, posting seven kills in the opening set. Her kill knotted the first set at 6-6 and ignited a 6-0 run with sophomore
Abby Akin at the service line to push NAU in front, 11-6. Weber State took the lead for good at 19-17 courtesy of a four-point surge and claimed the first set by hitting .395.
The second set was tied on 13 occasions with the Wildcats eventually prevailing despite the 'Jacks hitting .350 themselves. Neither team led by more than two points the entire way and it appeared NAU might be able to sneak out the closely contested set late. Akin and redshirt junior
Kaylie Jorgenson snuffed out a Weber State attack to give NAU a 21-20 lead, and Lema provided the Lumberjacks with a 23-22 edge only for the home team to score the final three points.
The Wildcats would then cruise to the sweep in a lopsided third set that did not mirror its two predecessors. Weber State busted open the set early and clamped down on NAU's attack to nail down the victory. The Lumberjacks never got closer than 6-5 as a 7-2 Wildcat ensuing run was more than enough to keep the 'Jacks at bay.
Jorgenson and freshman
Heaven Harris joined Lema in double-figure kills with 12 and 10 respectively. Harris hit .571 while Jorgenson posted a team-high 15 digs to notch her 10th double-double of the season. Sophomore
Abby Stomp led the team with 19 assists and recorded two of NAU's five service aces.
The Lumberjacks host Eastern Washington and Idaho next Thursday and Saturday respectively in the Rolle Activity Center. NAU's annual breast cancer awareness match, this year themed Block Out Cancer, will be Thursday at 7 p.m. versus Eastern Washington.
