PULLMAN, Wash. (November 30, 2018) – In front of a boisterous Crimson and Gray home crowd of 1,486 in Bohler Gym, the Northern Arizona volleyball team (26-9) refused to back down. Ultimately though, No. 16 seed Washington State held court and defeated the Lumberjacks, 25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
"There was a lot of intensity on both sides and our team fought hard," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Washington State is a very physical team and as we got into it, we handled that physicality well. We turned it into a scrappy match, which we like to be in, and gave us a shot going into the fourth set."
Sophomore
Heaven Harris rose to the occasion on the big stage and led the Lumberjacks with 17 kills – just two shy of her career-high. Junior
Abby Akin added nine kills on .562 hitting to aid NAU's offensive attack. Harris' 17 kills and Akin's .562 hitting percentage were the best by a Lumberjack in the NCAA Tournament.
Although NAU was outhit .264-.180, the numbers did not tell the whole story defensively. NAU outdug Washington State, 77-70, and matched the Cougars' 7.0 team blocks. Senior
Jordan Anderson posted a team-high 24 digs – also an NAU single-match NCAA Tournament high – while Akin and freshman
Ryann Davis each posted three blocks.
"Our team did a really good job with dealing with their physicality," said redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson. "We made some really nice digs, we got some good blocks and we had some amazing swings, but it came down to the little plays that we usually make that got away from us."
Washington State prevailed in a tight first set featuring 10 ties, and overcame a quick start by NAU. Junior
Abby Stomp aced the Cougars to give the 'Jacks an early 9-6 lead, but the Lumberjacks found themselves trailing 18-16. Out a timeout, NAU responded with a 5-0 run with Harris and Jorgenson contributing a pair of points each during the run.
After a Jorgenson ace forced a Washington State timeout, the Cougars resettled and closed the opening game with a flurry by scoring seven of the final nine points.
The Cougars carried that momentum into a second set in which they dominated. Washington State hit .556 in the set and finished on a 15-3 run, including seven straight points at the tail end, to take a 2-0 match lead.
NAU refused to go away quietly though and forced a fourth set with a trademark effort. NAU trailed by as much as 14-8, but two consecutive kills by Akin got the Lumberjacks within 18-17. The 'Jacks then kept their season alive by rattling off the final five points, receiving kills by redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey and Harris to tie the score at 22-22. Jorgenson and Harris followed with kills of their own and Stomp capped the rally with a dig-kill that landed on the line.
"We pushed on our defense and kept playing point after point," Harris said. "We matched up really well, and it came down to our defense in the third set."
Washington State thwarted NAU's comeback in the fourth game, racing out to a 5-1 lead the Cougars would not surrender. Even then, the Lumberjacks pushed until the final point as they cut a six-point deficit in half late. Junior
Sydney Lema, Jorgenson and Davis recorded consecutive kills to slice NAU's deficit to 20-17, but the 'Jacks ultimately could not dig themselves out of the early hole.
Stomp led the Lumberjacks with 24 assists, while freshman
Aubrea Bandfield tallied 13 helpers.
With the loss, NAU's season came to an end with 26 victories – equaling the second-highest total in school history. The Lumberjacks' 13-match win streak, also the second-longest in school history, was snapped but not without NAU claiming its first set victory in the NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks previously were swept in their two prior NCAA appearances.
"This team expected to be here," Murphy said. "A few years ago (in 2015), the (Big Sky) championship might have been the goal and we were a little unsteady in the tournament. This was as tough of an environment as we played in all year and I couldn't be prouder to be part of a group who had such high expectations and play volleyball the way we're used to."
