Volleyball Finishes Three-Week Road Stretch at Idaho State and Weber State

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 29, 2019) – After a quick one-match stint at home, the Northern Arizona volleyball team – winners of three consecutive matches – begins the final month of the regular season by traveling to Idaho State and Weber State this Thursday and Saturday. Both matches will start at 6 p.m. MST.

The Lumberjacks head out on the road for the third consecutive week with momentum coming off a 3-0 sweep of Northern Colorado last Thursday. NAU (13-9, 6-4 Big Sky) put an end to Northern Colorado's 8-0 start to conference play by hitting .353 and holding the Big Sky's top offensive team to just .144 hitting.

This week's matches will be NAU's fourth and fifth road matches in the last three weeks. Although the Lumberjacks are just 6-8 away from Flagstaff, they have won their last two road matches against Eastern Washington and Southern Utah. The two victories spurred NAU's current three-match winning streak which has propelled the 'Jacks into a tie for third place in the conference standings.

"If we play our style of volleyball, we can get great results," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We say this all the time, but it's often not about what's across the net and more so on what we're doing on our side. We have to stay in our process and we had some really good examples of that last week and we're going to continue to try to strengthen that."

During its winning streak, NAU are hitting a combined .297 with all six of its attackers hitting .239 or better in the last three matches. Freshman Taylor Jacobsen's offense has picked up to an average of 3.64 kills per set on .264 hitting in this stretch, while senior Abby Akin – the reigning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week – hitting a robust .470 with 3.09 kills per set.

While Akin and Jacobsen are averaging 2.74 and 2.52 kills per set respectively overall this season, their impact extends far beyond their ability to kill the ball. Akin leads the Big Sky in hitting percentage at .418 and is third with 1.21 blocks per set. Meanwhile, Jacobsen is eighth with 0.31 aces per set and she leads all conference freshmen with 10 double-doubles.

Freshman Jasmine West and senior Sydney Lema anchor NAU's back row with both players ranking in the top 10 of the conference in digs. West is third with 4.67 digs per set and Lema is ninth with 3.64 digs per set. In Big Sky action, both players have been even better with West and Lema averaging 5.03 and 4.07 digs per set respectively.

NAU's recent surge has pushed the Lumberjacks back into the top five in all statistical categories this season. The 'Jacks are third in hitting percentage (.236), opponent hitting percentage (.187), assists per set (11.57), aces per set (1.56) and digs per set (16.15). They are fifth in both kills per set (12.38) and blocks per set (2.11).

With the second half of conference play officially underway, Idaho State and Weber State will be the first two opponents that NAU will face for a second time this season. The Lumberjacks met both teams in the Rolle Activity Center during the opening weekend of the conference slate and posted a pair of four-set victories.

"They have some similarities in their style and in both matches, we had some success," Murphy said. "We also had moments where we could improve and we realize that there are situations where our offense can be stronger against these types of teams. Both of these teams will stretch us out. We went to four sets against them (at home) and they were good matches and on the road we know it's going to be tough."

Idaho State was swept by both Eastern Washington and Idaho last week and the Bengals have dropped three straight matches. They are 6-16 overall and 3-7 in league play. The Bengals are last in the Big Sky in hitting percentage in conference matches at .154, but they rank fifth in opponent hitting percentage at .193. Their strong defensive play is aided by 17.33 digs per set, which ranks second among teams in Big Sky play.

Weber State is the only team hotter than NAU right now with the Wildcats winning their last four matches. Weber State (15-6 overall, 6-4 Big Sky) is tied with NAU and two other teams in third place following a five-set win over Idaho and a four-set win over Eastern Washington last week. The Wildcats are in the top three in every statistical category, with the exception of digs, in conference play. They are hitting .232 while opponents are attacking at a .171 clip in league matches.

Fans can catch this weekend's matches on Pluto TV Channel 543 on Thursday and Channel 535 on Saturday online at this link and on the free Pluto TV app.