MISSOULA, Mont. (November 1, 2018) – Having dropped the first set, the Northern Arizona volleyball team hit the reset button and earned their season-high fifth straight victory by way of a 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-14 win over Montana Thursday night. The five-match win streak is the Lumberjacks' first in over two years as their record upped to 18-8 and 10-3 in conference.
Montana hit .333 in the first set, but were held in check to a .123 clip the rest of the way as NAU got into a defensive rhythm. On the flip side, NAU hit .262 after the first set. The Lumberjacks only managed to attack at a .184 percentage in the opening game.
"Montana played great in the first set," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We were a little unfocused on the defense, but to our team's credit they found that focus and controlled the ball a little better. Once we did that, our defensive statistics improved and the end result went our way."
The Lumberjacks were also able to turn the match around at the service line, where they ramped up the service pressure to the tune of 11 aces, nine of which came in the last three sets. The 11 aces were NAU's second-highest total this season. Redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson led the way with four, while senior
Jordan Anderson matched a season-best with three. Junior
Abby Stomp, who finished with a season-high 29 assists, also registered a trio of aces.
Speaking of Jorgenson, the outside hitter firmly put her imprint on the match as she hit .350 and posted her 18th double-double. She led the 'Jacks with 15 kills and also added 15 digs in NAU's fifth straight victory in Missoula.
After Montana claimed the first set, the 'Jacks turned to Jorgenson who recorded six kills in the match-evening game. In the second set, the Lumberjacks were doubling up the Grizzlies, 15-7, before a 4-0 Montana run cut NAU's lead in half. There, Jorgenson terminated three straight and five of NAU's next six points to eventually push the Blue & Gold's advantage back out to 21-13.
Jorgenson later turned to the service line where three aces during an 8-0 Lumberjack run in the fourth set essentially put the match away.
"Kaylie was really resilient, as was our entire team," Murphy said. "She struggled a little in the first set and then she regained her footing. She took the swings she's capable of and she's such a good leader for us. Our team is really learning how to work through matches when things aren't going well and Kaylie is someone who is leading the charge."
The Grizzlies staked themselves to the initial lead by finishing the first set on a 5-1 run, snapping a late 20-20 tie – the 10th of the opening game. The third set played out similarly, but it was the Lumberjacks who were able to prevail on the tail end of nine ties and three lead changes.
Junior
Abby Akin, who finished with 13 kills on .524 hitting, did a good chunk of her damage in the third set as she slammed five of her kills. A 14-10 NAU lead was momentarily erased when Montana rallied to claim a 17-16 advantage. However, Akin had the answer out of an NAU timeout with a kill to tie it at 17-17. Akin later added two more kills to give the 'Jacks a 21-18 lead and one final to make it 22-20 NAU before the Lumberjacks finished the set off.
The Lumberjacks rattled off four straight after the Grizzlies took the first two points of the fourth game and never looked back. By the end of Jorgenson's service run, NAU led 13-4 and Montana never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
In addition to Jorgenson and Akin, freshman
Ryann Davis also reached double-figures with 12 kills. Freshman
Aubrea Bandfield joined Jorgenson with a double-double of 19 assists and 11 digs.
NAU hit .244 for the match compared to Montana's .171 mark.
The Lumberjacks had four players with double-digit digs for the first time in six matches with Anderson posting a match-high 25. Along with Jorgenson and Bandfield, junior
Sydney Lema chipped in 13 digs. Redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey and sophomore
Heaven Harris tied for match-high honors with four blocks apiece.
Next up, the 'Jacks will meet Montana State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MST in Bozeman, Mont.
