MATCH NOTES (PDF) | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - After two weeks on the road, the Northern Arizona volleyball team is eager to play in the friendly - or unfriendly for opposition - confines of the Rolle Activity Center this weekend hosting the Lumberjack Classic - a tournament with a top-notch field featuring four teams who do not have a losing record. The Lumberjacks make their home debut versus Utah State on Friday at 12 p.m. before the much-anticipated showdown with Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. to conclude the first day of matches. NAU has a rematch with CSU Bakersfield to wrap up the tourney on Saturday at 12 p.m. leading into the NAU football home opener.

"I really like the diversity in our offense with the fact that our right side offense and our middle is mixed in with our left side attack at a way different level than in the past," said head coach Ken Murphy. "Having all those options have made us harder to defend when we're passing well. Our blocking and our defense is getting to a different place right now and long term that's really going to help us out. All of the teams we'll face this weekend are really good, and we don't know how the season will play out but I think these teams have potential to finish well in their conference and do well nationally."

The Lumberjacks evened their season record at 3-3 with a 2-1 performance at the Hampton Inn Jackrabbits Invitational last weekend at South Dakota State. NAU swept Valparaiso and South Dakota State around a four-set loss to CSU Bakersfield, who NAU will be looking to get the better of this weekend. NAU had two players on the All-Tournament team last weekend in redshirt junior Kaylie Jorgenson and freshman Heaven Harris. Jorgenson ranks fourth in the Big Sky with a team-leading 3.45 kills per set and has been named to two All-Tournament teams in as many weekends to open the 2017 season. Harris is second in the conference with a .402 hitting percentage and is averaging 2.41 kills per set. Sophomore Abby Akin has done a little bit of everything this season averaging 1.73 kills per set and hitting .348. She also leads the team with 10 aces and 0.86 blocks and ranks in the top 10 of the Big Sky in both hitting percentage and service aces.

For Friday's in-state match against Arizona State, the first 100 students will receive a "I'm a Lumberjack" shirt while all fans in attendance will receive rally towels in an effort to Rock the Rolle. There will also be an autograph signing with the entire team after the Arizona State match.

NAU's matches this weekend can be seen online at pluto.tv on the Lumberjacks' home channel 239 for free. Pluto TV will be the streaming home of all NAU volleyball's matches the rest of the season - with the exception of next week's matches at Hawai'i.

Recipe for Success: The Lumberjacks pride themselves on service pressure and their blocking, which then leads to their efficient offensive systems so it should be no surprise that those three elements have been key to their success early in the season. When NAU has held the advantage in service aces, it has a 3-0 record, the same mark it has when it outhits its opponents. When NAU has outblocked its opposition, the 'Jacks are 3-1. The win-loss splits are drastic with the Lumberjacks hitting .264 and averaging 2.82 aces and 1.91 blocks per set in wins while hitting only .199 with 0.73 aces and 1.45 blocks per set in losses.

Rolle Out: At 7,000 feet inside the Rolle Activity Center, the 'Jacks have been nearly unbeatable during head coach Ken Murphy's tenure. In the last four years, the Lumberjacks own a 44-4 record at home, including the program's only unbeaten home season (14-0) in 2015. NAU has won 26 of its last 27 matches in the Rolle Activity Center, which included 25 straight victories over a two-year calendar span that was the second-longest streak in the country at the time. The span corresponding with Murphy's time at the helm is not a small sample size as historically, the 'Jacks are 229-103 (.690) all-time in the Rolle Activity Center. In conference play, NAU is 143-76 (.653) all-time including a 31-3 mark over the last four years. 

Every Match Matters: Since 2011, NAU owns a 55-15 record against non-conference opponents, while the Lumberjacks have posted an undefeated record and claimed champion honors at 12 of their last 21 pre-conference tournaments.

NAU Quick Hits: Ken Murphy is just five wins shy of 100 at NAU...Redshirt sophomore Ohiyah Shirley had her breakout match in NAU's three-set sweep of South Dakota State last Saturday recording nine kills and 17 digs in her first career start...Led by senior Brooke Donnelly (4.23 digs per set) and Jorgenson (3.77 digs per set), NAU ranks 14th in the country and first in the Big Sky with 18.23 digs per set as a team...Donnelly and Jorgenson rank fifth and ninth respectively in the conference individually...As a team, the Lumberjacks also lead the conference in aces at 1.77 per set...NAU has two matches this season with double-digit ace totals including 11 in just three sets in its sweep of Valparaiso last Friday...Redshirt sophomore Victoria Ewalefo started all three matches last weekend and is hitting .342 while ranking second on the team behind Akin with 12 blocks.

About Utah State: Utah State was projected in the middle of the pack in the Mountain West Coaches' Poll, placing sixth in the preseason rankings. The Aggies went 2-1 in their home tournament, the USU Invitational, last weekend defeating Pacific and UC Santa Barbara. They fell to Big Sky school Montana State in four sets during the tourney, and then lost to Utah Valley on Tuesday at home before making their way to Flagstaff with a 4-3 overall record. Lauren Anderson was named All-Mountain West last season and leads the team with 4.23 kills per set this season. She is hitting .263 and is tied for the team-lead with seven aces and second with 60 digs.

About Arizona State: After a tough season last year, Arizona State was voted 12th in the Pac-12 Preseason Poll but is off to a fast start this season. The Sun Devils - making their first trip to Flagstaff since 2004 - is 4-2 this season. They won their first four matches of the season, including their Gonzaga Invitational opener last weekend against Nevada, but begin the weekend with two consecutive losses to Gonzaga and Big Sky school Portland State. Oluoma Okaro, an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection a year ago, is Arizona State's go-to hitter averaging 4.64 kills per set. She is attacking at a .292 clip and is also averaging 3.00 digs per set.

About CSU Bakersfield: CSU Bakersfield and NAU will match up for the second week in a row after the Roadrunners defeated the Lumberjacks in four sets last Saturday at the Hampton Inn Jackrabbits Invitational. The Roadrunners took home the South Dakota State tournament crown going undefeated against Valparaiso and the host along with NAU. However, their four-match winning streak came to an end on Tuesday with a three-set loss to Fresno State, dropping their record to 4-3. Haylee Roberts was named the tournament MVP last weekend and is leading the team in both kills (2.63 per set), hitting percentage (.304) and blocks (0.93 per set).