DAVIS, Calif. (August 26, 2018) – Facing UC Davis – who entered Sunday's tilt having swept its first three matches of the season – on its home court, the Northern Arizona volleyball team rose to the occasion handing the Aggies their first loss of the NAU was named the Aggie Invitational champions having finished the season-opening tournament with identical 3-1 records with UC Davis.
"For the first time this year, we saw the team we see in practice," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "They played our style and kept their composure every point of the match. This was a pretty big step forward for us in terms of believing in ourselves and believing in the things we do really well."
Junior
Abby Akin was named the tournament MVP after totaling 41 kills, eight aces and 23 blocks while hitting .340 over the course of the three-day tourney. Akin's 23 blocks led all tournament players. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by junior
Abby Stomp (97 assists, six aces, 21 digs) and sophomore
Heaven Harris (54 kills, 22 blocks).
As was the case all weekend, NAU's block was a difference maker, holding a potent UC Davis attack to just .179 hitting. The previously unbeaten Aggies had hit a combined .361 entering Sunday, including .300 or better in three straight matches for the first time in the team's Division I era, but the 'Jacks kept them in check by posting 12.0 team blocks.
Paced by redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey, who totaled nine blocks, NAU registered double-digit blocks in each of its four matches to open the 2018 campaign. It marked the first time since 2015 that NAU recorded double-digit blocks in four straight matches.
"We went into the season wanting to reestablish our defensive identity," Murphy said. "Our blocking has improved so much, and it feels like our defenders are connecting with our block really well. All weekend we showed the capability to hold our opponents to a low percentage, and it was especially important against a really well-coached talented team like UC Davis."
NAU outhit UC Davis, posting a .238 hitting percentage, and also oublocked the Aggies, 12.0-5.0.
Harris, who finished with a career-high 19 kills, got the Lumberjacks rolling with seven first set kills. Two of her kills came during a pivotal four-point spurt that NAU turned into a 16-13 advantage. The cushion was just large enough as NAU hit .357 in the opening stanza to force UC Davis to play from behind for the first time all weekend.
The Aggies managed to even the match at 1-1 with a second set win, scoring the final three points after freshman
Ryann Davis pulled NAU within 22-20 with a kill.
The teams fought back-and-forth out of the intermission, but it was the 'Jacks who snatched momentum with a 7-0 run midway through the third set. With the team trailing 15-13, Harris got the surge going with a kill before teaming with Dorsey for a block to tie the score.
Harris and Dorsey would each add two more kills – with junior
Sydney Lema chipping in another – to shift the tide fully in NAU's favor to the tune of a 20-15 lead that the Lumberjacks would not relinquish.
After trailing 5-2 early, a pair of 4-1 runs – the first of which gave NAU the lead for good at 14-12 – in the fourth set was all the Lumberjacks needed to seal up their third straight victory.
The match was closely contested with 28 ties and 11 lead changes, but NAU's defense was crucial in closing the match. After the intermission, UC Davis hit just .103 in the final two sets.
Freshman
Aubrea Bandfield posted her second double-double of the weekend with a team-high 22 assists and 14 digs. She also recorded four of NAU's six service aces. Redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson (23) and senior
Jordan Anderson (20) both tallied at least 20 digs.
Next up, NAU will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. for the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational. The Lumberjacks will square off against SIUE, Western Michigan and IUPUI next Friday and Saturday.
