DAVIS, Calif. (August 25, 2018) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team wrapped up an undefeated Saturday at the Aggie Invitational with a completely dominant effort for most of the match in a 25-12, 23-25, 25-12, 25-18 victory versus Holy Cross. NAU hit .356 and registered 12.0 blocks to move to 2-1 overall.
"It's good for our team to have matches like this," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We had moments where we were challenged and we needed to regain our composure. It's good for us to realize that if we control our side (of the net) and do the things we do in practice, good things are going to happen. The more we do that, the more confident we'll get as a volleyball team."
Freshman
Aubrea Bandfield and junior
Abby Stomp combined to set the Lumberjacks' offense to their best attack percentage this weekend, which was especially impressive after NAU was held to just a .161 clip in its victory over Utah Valley earlier on Saturday.
Sophomore
Heaven Harris ripped five of her match-high 15 kills in the fourth set, including four down the stretch to help the Lumberjacks overcome a 17-15 deficit. Harris hit .382 for the match. Junior
Abby Akin had a stellar match as well, totaling 13 kills without an error on .565 hitting, while redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson recorded 12 kills at a .289 clip.
The 'Jacks made quick work of the Crusaders in the evening's opening set, seizing control with an 8-0 run that snapped a 4-4 tie. During the game-changing run, redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey and Harris combined for three blocks as NAU enjoyed another strong defensive match at the net.
Dorsey led all players with seven blocks with Harris getting her hands on six blocks for the third straight match. Akin recorded five blocks as part of NAU's efforts that limited Holy Cross to just .108 hitting for the night.
The first set was never in question with the 'Jacks compiling a .485 hitting percentage, but the second set proved to be NAU's only real hiccup. Out of the gates, Holy Cross immediately responded with the first six points and led wire-to-wire. NAU battled back late, and got within 24-23 on a Holy Cross error, but the Crusaders wound up evening the match on their third set point.
Like the first set, NAU used a big run scoring 10 of 11 points to run away early with the third set. Akin was directly responsible for five straight Lumberjack points during this stretch with four blocks and a kill, allowing the 'Jacks to open up a 15-4 lead that would not be threatened at all.
The Crusaders found a way to make the match interesting in the final set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and leading by as much as seven at 13-6. The Lumberjacks trailed 17-14 before a block by Jorgenson and Dorsey ignited a furious surge that put the 'Jacks ahead for good.
NAU scored five straight and wrapped up the match with 11 of the final 12 points with Harris contributing four kills in the match-ending run.
"We got down a little bit in the fourth set and then we started to control our side," Murphy said. "It was incredible to see our team come to life and score points. We were dominant for a while."
Senior
Jordan Anderson totaled a team-high 23 digs and chipped in two of NAU's eight service aces in the match. Jorgenson equaled a career-high with three aces to lead the Lumberjacks at the service line.
NAU concludes the Aggie Invitational with the host UC Davis on Sunday at 2 p.m. The match will be available for streaming on
BigWestTV.
