FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 26, 2019) – Twenty years ago, the Northern Arizona volleyball team won its first-ever Big Sky Championship in the Nest. Two decades later, the Lumberjacks hope for a similar result in the same gym as they begin their run towards a second consecutive NCAA Tournament bid on Thursday in the first round of the 2019 Big Sky Championship versus Idaho. The third-seeded Lumberjacks and sixth-seeded Vandals square off from the Nest in Sacramento, Calif. at 2:30 p.m. MST.
The Lumberjacks are the defending tournament champions and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice in the last four years (2015, 2018) after going 16 years since their first conference title won in 1999 in Sacramento.
The Lumberjacks and Vandals will match up for the second time in five days after NAU swept Idaho last Saturday on Senior Day. The Lumberjacks' sweep clinched a season split with the Vandals following Idaho's 3-1 victory in Moscow on Oct. 17. This will also mark the second consecutive year that NAU and Idaho will meet in the conference tournament. Last season, the Lumberjacks swept the Vandals in the championship match in Greeley, Colo. to capture the team's second tournament title under head coach
Ken Murphy.
NAU heads into the conference tournament with momentum having won its last six matches, marking a season-long win streak. Four of NAU's six wins during the streak were sweeps and overall the Lumberjacks have won 10 of their last 11 matches to carry a 20-10 record into the week. NAU tied with Weber State for second in the conference standings at 13-5, but the Wildcats claimed the second seed with the tiebreaker. During its current winning streak, NAU is hitting .264 as a team while limiting its opponents to a combined .116 hitting percentage. The Lumberjacks are averaging 12.73 kills, 2.27 blocks and 1.86 aces per set, all of which are better than their season averages.
"One of our goals as a program is to improve throughout the year and we've been able to do that this year," Murphy said. "We're playing really steady and we've got a strong understanding of what we need to do to be successful and in control of our side of the net. If we can do that three times this week, we're going to put ourselves in a position to win."
Should the 'Jacks win on Thursday, they will face the winner of second-seeded Weber State and seventh-seeded Southern Utah in the first of two semifinal matches on Friday at 5:35 p.m. MST. The championship match will be Saturday at 8:05 p.m. MST.
On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded Northern Colorado will face eighth-seeded Montana at 5:30 p.m. MST. Fourth-seeded Montana State will take on the host, fifth-seeded Sacramento State, at 8 p.m. MST on Thursday.
The Lumberjacks will be led into the tournament by their four all-conference players, who were announced by the league on Monday. NAU tied Northern Colorado, the regular season champion, for most all-conference honorees.
Junior
Heaven Harris and senior
Abby Akin were named to the All-Big Sky First Team after averaging 3.09 and 2.62 kills per set respectively. Both players also rank in the top 10 in the league in hitting with Akin pacing the Big Sky at .401. Senior
Sydney Lema and freshman
Taylor Jacobsen earned All-Big Sky Second Team honors. Lema is averaging 1.82 kills and 3.76 digs per set while Jacobsen – the reigning Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week – is averaging 2.61 kills and 3.43 digs per set.
Idaho dropped five of its last six matches to close the regular season and enters the tournament with a 13-17 record. The Vandals finished in a tie with Sacramento State for fifth in the conference at 9-9 in league play, but the Hornets held the tiebreaker. Idaho is fourth in the league in hitting at .221 and it leads the big Sky with 2.66 blocks per set. The Vandals registered 14.0 blocks in their home win over the Lumberjacks last month, but were outblocked narrowly, 6.0-5.0, in the team's matchup last Saturday in Flagstaff.
All of this week's tournament matches will be streamed on Pluto TV Channel 539
online and on the free mobile Pluto TV app. Friday's semifinal matches and Saturday's championship match will also air on Eleven Sports.
NAU, 3-0 (Nov. 23, 2019)
