TEMPE, Ariz. (September 14, 2018) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team hit a season-low .089 and as a result fell in their Sparky Classic opener to Arizona State, 23-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-17 in the Wells Fargo Arena. The Lumberjacks posted 11.0 team blocks in the defeat, but could not overcome offensive struggles to fall to 7-4.
"I give credit to ASU because they played really good defense," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "They blocked well today and neutralized some of the things we try to do well. That led us to some points where we were frustrated and we weren't able to get into a better rhythm. That impacted the flow of the match."
Freshman
Ryann Davis totaled 12 kills – the best of her young career – and was the only Lumberjack with double-digit kills on Friday. She was also the only 'Jack to hit over .200 for the match.
Despite the loss, it was NAU who struck first by claiming the opening set behind a stout block that limited Arizona State to a .133 first set clip. The Lumberjacks' sixth block on set point courtesy of redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey and sophomore
Heaven Harris staked them to the early advantage.
The 'Jacks led 12-9 after consecutive blocks by junior
Abby Akin and Davis, but they found themselves deadlocked at 23-23 late. An Arizona State service error put NAU at set point, and the Lumberjacks took full advantage of it with Dorsey and Harris' rejection.
The Sun Devils evened the match at 1-1 with a dominant second set run. Behind a .314 attack clip, Arizona State rebounded from its first set loss with an 11-2 run that broke open a tight set two. NAU trailed by just one at 12-11 before Arizona State scored four straight. After a Davis kill briefly ended the run, the Sun Devils scored seven of the next eight points and rolled into set three.
With Akin at the service line, NAU regained its footing early in the third set, jumping out to a 4-2 lead that grew to as much as four points. NAU had a chance late to put Arizona State up against the wall after leading throughout when Harris gave NAU set point with a kill at 24-22. However, Arizona State reversed the tide by rattling off the final four points to steal the set away from the Lumberjacks.
With the 'Jacks down early, 10-6, in the fourth set, junior
Abby Stomp served NAU back with a 6-0 surge. The Lumberjack run, aided by four Sun Devil attack errors, initially shifted the momentum back in NAU's favor only for Arizona State to seize it right back. Six straight points of their own erased a 14-12 NAU lead – the Lumberjacks' last of the match – and Arizona State closed out the in-state battle with a flurry of five points.
Led by Akin's team-high five blocks, NAU's presence at the net kept the Lumberjacks in the match despite their season-low hitting percentage. All six of NAU's front row players tallied multiple blocks as Arizona State hit .197 – the ninth time an opponent has hit below .200 in 11 matches.
One match after joining the 1,000 dig club, senior
Jordan Anderson moved up five spots into the top 10 all-time in program history with her fifth 20-dig match of the season. With 22 digs, Anderson now resides in ninth in school history with 1,033 digs.
NAU will try to snap a two-match losing streak on Saturday with the first of two versus Texas State at 9:30 a.m. The 'Jacks will close the Sparky Classic, and their non-conference slate, in the afternoon at 2:45 p.m. versus Gonzaga.
