FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 7, 2018) – For one night, the center of the volleyball world could very well be Flagstaff. Having not defeated a nationally-ranked team since 1989, the Northern Arizona volleyball team ensured they would not come up empty on their most recent opportunity as soon as redshirt senior
Kaylie Jorgenson's resounding kill split No. 8 Florida's defense on match point Friday night.
Ultimately overcoming a three-point deficit in set five, the Lumberjacks instantly made history in front of a Rolle Activity Crowd of 940 with a 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-13 upset of the Gators – last season's NCAA runner-up. Friday night's win was NAU's highest-ranked win in program history and the first over a nationally-ranked team since it defeated No. 9 Arizona in 1989. With the Big Sky Conference's first win over a nationally-ranked team since 2007, NAU improved to 3-39 all-time in such matches while clinching a perfect 2-0 showing on the first day of the Lumberjack Classic. NAU's overall record improved to 7-2 this season.
"This is humbling because Florida is such a great program," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "I was in the stands watching them play in the Final Four last year. Honestly, I think it's a tribute to our team and how hard they work; how dedicated they are to committing to our style of volleyball. That is what makes me the most proud."
The 'Jacks did not fold under pressure, especially not as the perennial SEC contenders raced out to a 3-0 lead to open the fifth set. In fact, NAU scored the next four points – the last two coming courtesy of tandem blocks by redshirt senior
Brittni Dorsey and freshman
Ryann Davis – forcing a Gator timeout.
The fifth set, which alone featured seven ties and five lead changes, swung back and forth with NAU sitting in good position ahead 12-10 late. However, Florida surged ahead and stole momentum with three consecutive points, which preceded NAU's final stand. After junior
Abby Akin tied the score at 13-13 with a kill, the Lumberjacks went to their leader and Jorgenson responded with back-to-back kills prompting a jubilant court storm by the NAU faithful.
Jorgenson finished the match with a team-high 17 kills and wound up hitting .368. She picked up her sixth double-double as well by totaling 14 digs.
"Most of the talk in the locker room and on our bench was focusing on our side," Jorgenson said. "We were not looking at the score. We focused on one point at a time and our energy and making sure we were right before focusing on who was on the other side of the net."
NAU outstatted Florida, hitting .287 to the Gators' .244. The Lumberjacks overcame a sizeable Gator block advantage (I3.0-7.0) by committing nine fewer attack errors in all. Led by junior
Sydney Lema's 19 digs, NAU also outdug Florida by one, 68-67.
With the energy high in the Lumberjacks' home gym, the 'Jacks claimed the early lead by landing the match's first blow. A 4-0 run helped close what was a 13-8 Florida advantage, and then NAU seized control with seven straight points with freshman
Aubrea Bandfield at the service line. By the time Bandfield was done, the Lumberjacks held a 21-15 lead en route to taking the first set. NAU hit .405 in the opener, nearly 200 percentage points better than Florida.
The Gators battled back from a 17-14 deficit in the second set, rattling off six straight points and eventually evening the match at 1-1. However, the Lumberjacks took the third set behind another effective offensive performance. An 8-1 run including two kills from Davis and three Florida errors pushed NAU ahead 15-12. Although the Gators staved off three set points, the Lumberjacks never relinquished that lead and then proceeded to jump out to a 5-1 advantage in the fourth set.
But the Gators had other plans, slowing down a Lumberjack attack that hit .419 in the third set to extend the match. Florida took a 15-12 lead after scoring five straight points, and maintained that advantage going into the fifth set where the 'Jacks would wield their axe one final time.
"We went into the match with the intention that we were going to keep grinding," Murphy said. "We felt like if we got into a rally with them, we could play defense and block to create opportunities to score and that proved to be true throughout the match."
Offensively, junior
Abby Stomp and Bandfield combined for 45 of NAU's 60 assists and set the Lumberjack offense evenly with Jorgenson's modest 38 swings for a five-set match being the most on the evening. Akin put down 14 kills and sophomore
Heaven Harris contributed 11 to back Jorgenson's double-digit efforts.
Akin was also in on a team-high four blocks. Bandfield tallied her third double-double of the season with 17 assists and 10 digs.
Senior
Jordan Anderson inched closer to her milestone 1,000 career digs with nine Friday night, and needs eight more Saturday versus CSUN to become the 14th member of NAU's 1,000 digs club.
NAU will wrap up the Lumberjack Classic on Saturday at 12 p.m. with CSUN. With a win, the 'Jacks would seal up their third ever Lumberjack Classic title since the tournament's inception in 2014.
