FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 6, 2018) – Further proving that last year was an exception, the Northern Arizona volleyball team's win column ticked to 20 on Tuesday with a hard-fought 25-17, 25-23, 26-24 three-set sweep of Southern Utah in the Rolle Activity Center. With their seventh straight victory, the Lumberjacks improved to 20-8 overall and notched their fourth 20-win season in the last five years.
NAU never got into full rhythm all night, but with two final kills from sophomore
Heaven Harris, the 'Jacks secured their fifth consecutive home sweep. The last time NAU posted five straight 3-0 home wins was a decade ago in 2008.
"We were resilient and kept grinding away," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "There was never a point where we felt comfortable and had our defense organized the way we wanted to. (Janet Kalaniuvalu) had a great match and we were never able to get her under control, but we didn't obsess over it and kept fighting through it."
Harris guided the Lumberjacks (12-3 Big Sky) to victory as she finished with a team-high 10 kills. Her last two were the biggest, as it sent put an end to the Thunderbirds' comeback bid. Southern Utah had set point in the third game, 24-22, but were unable to extend the match.
Freshman
Ryann Davis crossed the court with a kill and NAU tied the score at 24-24 with a block by redshirt seniors
Kaylie Jorgenson and
Brittni Dorsey. Harris then followed with two kills to wrap up the match.
Even in defeat, Southern Utah held advantages in kills (45-41) and blocks (7.0-6.0). NAU did outhit its rival though, .221-.184, and held a slight edge in digs (65-61) behind 23 from senior
Jordan Anderson and 19 from Jorgenson.
The Lumberjacks' performance in the first set was their best with NAU hitting .382. However, Southern Utah also managed to post its best offensive effort in the first set as well attacking at a .256 mark. The 'Jacks methodically pulled away from the Thunderbirds, breaking open a 14-12 game with a 4-0 run and maintained their sizeable margin the rest of the way.
Southern Utah was in complete control of the second set, but NAU managed to rally late to seize a 2-0 lead. A Jorgenson ace – one of her match-high three – gave the 'Jacks an early 5-3 lead before the Thunderbirds ripped off 10 straight. A service error finally ended the run, and was the first point in a five-point NAU spurt that cut the Southern Utah lead to 13-10.
NAU continued to play from behind and did not take the lead until the very end when Akin aced Southern Utah to make it 24-23. Dorsey and Jorgenson capped the second set with a block, as both players finished the match with four blocks apiece.
Four Southern Utah errors during a 6-0 third set Lumberjack run contributed to an initial NAU lead of 8-4, and the 'Jacks led comfortably at 17-11 only for the Thunderbirds to make their push. Southern Utah eventually tied it at 18-18 and then used a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 advantage before reaching set point at 24-22.
Two set points would not be enough though for the Thunderbirds to force a fourth set, as the Lumberjacks wound up scoring the final four points.
NAU's next match will be Saturday versus Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. in Rolle.
