GREELEY, Colo. (November 24, 2018) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team is going dancing. There is no debate. The Lumberjacks are Big Sky Champions.
The 'Jacks, led by a double-double performance by redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson, swept Idaho, 25-18, 25-19, 25-17, on Saturday to hoist the hardware for the third time in program history and second time in four years. NAU's conference tournament victory punches the Lumberjacks' ticket to the NCAA Tournament, earning the Big Sky's automatic bid.
NAU previously qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2015. The Lumberjacks (26-8) won their 13th straight match – the second-longest win streak in program history – and left no doubt who the best team in the Big Sky is.
"This is such a tough group and they've worked so hard," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Early in the season, we had ups and downs and they dedicated themselves to becoming a more consistent team and utilizing the talent that they have. As soon as they locked in mid-year, there was a look in their eye that they weren't going to stop. This is all credit to the toughness of this team."
Fans are invited to join the Lumberjacks for the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday at The Oakmont. The viewing party will begin at 6 p.m. MST with the selection show starting at 6:30 p.m. Light appetizers will be provided.
Saturday's conference tournament finale was a matchup between the Big Sky's co-regular season champions. Just nine days after the No. 1 seeded Lumberjacks and No. 2 seeded Vandals tangled in Flagstaff – a match NAU also won in three sets – NAU posted an even more convincing performance in the Bank of Colorado Arena.
The Lumberjacks hit .287 and used a 9.0 blocking effort to shut down the Vandals' conference-leading attack. Idaho hit just .153 and were outstatted by NAU in every category including kills (47-36), aces (3-1), digs (56-51) and blocks (9.0-6.0).
"The toughness comes when you're working hard but not scoring points," Murphy said. "You keep siding out and eventually you break through. That's the mentality this team has. They're going to remain steady, but they're intent on scoring in runs and that is a dangerous combination."
Jorgenson, the Big Sky Co-Most Valuable Player, guided the Lumberjacks with a commanding performance of 15 kills and 16 digs to notch her Big Sky-leading 22nd double-double. She hit .344 and was one of three 'Jacks named to the All-Tournament Team.
Sophomore
Heaven Harris, who led the 'Jacks with 32 kills over the course of the tournament, was named the Tournament MVP. On Saturday, she recorded eight kills from the right side. Junior
Abby Akin, with six kills on .375 hitting, was the third Lumberjack honored after the match.
NAU claimed the first two sets behind the power of a pair of crushing 6-0 runs. The Lumberjacks broke open the first set with their first six-point surge, capped by two kills from freshman
Ryann Davis, to take an 18-11 lead. With the cushion on the scoreboard, the 'Jacks rolled from there putting the six ties and three lead changes behind them.
NAU stuffed Idaho four times to help the Lumberjacks outhit the Vandals, .243-.200 in the opening stanza. Redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey, Akin and Davis each tallied two blocks in the first set.
Unfortunately for the Vandals, the second set was déjà vu for the 'Jacks with another 6-0 run midway through being the difference. Idaho led 14-13 before Davis, who posted 11 kills in the match, gave NAU side out with a kill. The kill brought the score even for the 12th and final time and ignited the game-changing run. Jorgenson recorded seven of her kills in the second set while the 'Jacks posted another four blocks in taking a two-set match lead.
Turns out the 14-13 second-set deficit would be NAU's last as the Lumberjacks led wire-to-wire in the final game. Junior
Sydney Lema spurred a 5-1 set-opening run with a pair of kills and the rout was on. A 5-0 run extended NAU's advantage to 13-4 and the Lumberjacks led by as many as five the remainder of the set.
"This entire weekend felt like any other game to us," said Jorgenson, who terminated the championship point. "We knew what we were capable of, so individually we tried to play to our potential. As a team, we stayed calm and worked through the tough points."
Freshman
Aubrea Bandfield posted 22 assists, while junior
Abby Stomp recorded 17 assists as they kept the Vandal defense off balance with their distribution of the offense.
Dorsey had a hand in five of the Lumberjacks' nine team blocks, while senior
Jordan Anderson (11) and Lema (10) joined Jorgenson with double-digit dig performances.
Together, the team displayed a masterful performance in sweeping their way through the weekend by winning each of their three tournament matches without dropping a set; just like the 2015 team did in clinching NAU's previous conference tournament title prior to the 2018 squad.
"All season we talked about how close we were to the final pieces all coming together," Harris said. "Tonight, it all came together. We were one big family. Since preseason, we worked to get here and tonight, it's a well-deserving championship for all of us."
Saturday's sweep was NAU's school record 16th three-set victory of the season.
The Lumberjacks will learn where they are headed during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday. The show will be aired live at The Oakmont on ESPNU.
