INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (September 1, 2018) – With each terminating kill on set point by sophomore
Heaven Harris, the Northern Arizona volleyball team methodically closed out a 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 over IUPUI. With NAU's win Saturday afternoon to close the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, the Lumberjacks concluded the second weekend of the fall with a 5-2 record.
"I was really proud of how we fought tonight," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "It wasn't our cleanest match we played this year in any phase, but I thought they showed a lot of character and battled. They bounced back from a performance they'd like back this morning, and it speaks to how determined our team is to getting better."
Although NAU posted its first sweep of the season, it did not come easy as the 'Jacks needed comebacks in the first two sets to come out victorious. With the win, NAU has won its first two true road matches of the season for the first time in four years.
Harris was the only Lumberjack with double-digit kills, finishing the match with 10. Defensively, junior
Sydney Lema tied her career-high of 24 digs to pace the 'Jacks.
NAU had to overcome early deficits in taking the first two sets, starting with the opener. Trailing by as much as four points at 10-6 to start the match, NAU took full advantage of four consecutive IUPUI attack errors late to take the first set. The four Jaguar miscues, which snapped a 16-16 tie in favor of the Lumberjacks, proved to be the difference in a four-point NAU first set win.
The second set played out similarly to its predecessor as NAU was forced to play from behind before eventually evening the score midway at 14-14. Another 4-0 Lumberjack run – aided by three Jaguar errors – proved to be a game-changer turning an 18-17 deficit into a 21-18 NAU advantage. Despite not being able to shake the Jaguars completely, NAU was able to win the first two sets of the match of the season with Harris' second set clinching kill.
"We haven't played from behind very well and today was the first time this year we were comfortable being in the match regardless of what the score was," Murphy said. "They paid huge dividends in the end because we were confident and weren't worried about being perfect all the time. We were making really good effort plays that affected our mentality throughout the match."
Unlike the first two sets, NAU was able to play from out front to start the third set although IUPUI would snag a brief 13-12 lead. It was there that the Lumberjacks turned the set in their favor, using yet another 4-0 spurt to take the lead for good. Lema's kill tied the score at 13-13 before senior
Jordan Anderson put the 'Jacks in front with an ace. With the lead they would not relinquish, the Lumberjacks ended their weekend with kills by redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson and Harris to defeat the Jaguars.
NAU hit .220 in the match compared to IUPUI's clip of .146 and doubled up the Jaguars in the block column, 6.0-3.0.
Jorgenson and Lema both finished with nine kills apiece behind Harris' 10. Junior
Abby Stomp was the lone Lumberjack with a double-double with 19 assists and 12 digs.
Representing NAU on the All-Tournament Team for the second consecutive weekend were Akin and Harris. Both players hit over .300 for the weekend with Harris averaging 3.17 kills per set and Akin averaging 2.33 kills per set. Akin led the team with 10 blocks over the three matches in Indianapolis.
The Lumberjacks will be home for the Lumberjack Classic next weekend. NAU's home opener will be next Friday, Sept. 7 at 11:30 a.m. when it hosts Southern Illinois in the Rolle Activity Center. NAU will also host No. 4 Florida at 7 p.m. Friday night and CSUN on Saturday at 12 p.m.
