FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 10, 2019) – Thursday night's match was a battle throughout with three of the five sets needing extra points to reach a decision, but unfortunately the Northern Arizona volleyball team's return home netted the same result as last week. Montana State held off two match points and rallied for a 26-24, 14-25, 25-19, 27-29, 17-15 victory over NAU in the Rolle Activity Center, handing the Lumberjacks (9-8, 2-3 Big Sky) their third straight loss.
 
The fifth set continues to be an obstacle for the 'Jacks as they fell to 0-6 in five-set matches. Coupled with a pair of five-set losses last week on the road, NAU dropped its third consecutive 3-2 match for the first time since Aug. 29-30, 1997. NAU's 13-match home streak also was halted by Montana State.
 
"There were stretches tonight where we made a lot of unforced errors and we were our own worst enemy," said head coach Ken Murphy. "Montana State played great and when they're playing as well as they are, you have to minimize those (errors). We didn't handle that very well tonight."
 
Despite hitting only .199 as a team, senior Abby Stomp and sophomore Aubrea Bandfield distributed NAU's attack evenly with four players finishing in double-digit kills paced by senior Abby Akin's career-high 17. Akin was a catalyst for the Lumberjacks all night long as she hit .364 and added a team-high six blocks along with two aces.
 
Junior Olivia Turner made her first start of the season and responded with her first career double-double with a career-high 15 kills to go along with 13 digs. Freshman Taylor Jacobsen also notched a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs, while sophomore Ryann Davis tallied 11 kills on .333 hitting.
 
All six of NAU's front row players recorded multiple blocks as the 'Jacks narrowly outblocked the Bobcats, 11.0-10.0. Senior Sydney Lema led the Lumberjacks with 22 digs – pushing her into fourth all-time in program history and past the 1,300 career dig mark – to help NAU hold Montana State to only a .165 attack clip.
 
The first game set the tone for the rest of the evening as Montana State fended off a late NAU rally on two set points. The Bobcats raced out to a 5-0 advantage and remained in front until the Lumberjacks knotted the score at 16-16. Bandfield evened the score once again at 22-22 with her first of two aces on the night before Montana State reached set point at 24-22. Consecutive kills by redshirt freshman Morgan Gappmayer and Akin held off both set points, only for Montana State to score the next two.
 
NAU led the second set wire-to-wire in the match's most lopsided stanza as the Lumberjacks hit .346 and limited the Bobcats to only .067 hitting. NAU scored the first three points of the set and never trailed with Turner connecting on four kills in the match-tying set.
 
Both teams hit under .100 in the third set, but the Bobcats came away with the 2-1 lead. A 4-0 Montana State run increased the visitor's lead to 10-5, but NAU managed to climb back within 14-12 with a 4-0 run of its own. However, Montana State got those four points right back to push its advantage back out to 18-12 and NAU never got closer than four the rest of the way.
 
Although the Lumberjacks never trailed in the fourth set, they needed to work to extend the match. A Turner solo block put NAU at set point at 24-20, only for Montana State to rip off four straight points to tie it at 24-24. The teams traded points until 27-27 when Akin hammered a kill to give the 'Jacks their eighth set point. This time, NAU capitalized on a Montana State error to head to its third straight fifth set.
 
The fifth set included 13 ties and four lead changes and neither team led by more than one until a 3-0 Lumberjack run put the home team ahead 13-11. Akin tied the set at 11-11 with a kill before Turner put the 'Jacks ahead with a kill of her own. After a Bobcat timeout, Akin's off-speed serve aced the Bobcats.
 
Two points later, NAU served for match point leading 14-12. After Montana State staved off the match points and then got to match point itself at 15-14, Turner posted her second solo block to knot the score at 15-15. However, the Bobcats closed out the match with two kills.
 
The Lumberjacks will try to put an end to their three-match skid on Saturday when they host Montana at 1 p.m. in Rolle Activity Center. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to NAU's Pink Out match for breast cancer awareness.