SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 28, 2019) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team was not only facing a 2-0 deficit, but they were facing the possibility of their season coming to an end. Instead, the Lumberjacks pulled off the reverse sweep to live to play another day with a 19-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 15-8 comeback victory over Idaho on Thursday.
With the win, third-seeded NAU (21-10) advances to Friday's semifinal match versus second-seeded Weber State at 5:30 p.m. MST. Weber State swept Southern Utah in Thursday's first quarterfinal match of the 2019 Big Sky Championship.
"We knew going into this (tournament), there were going to be challenges and we didn't think this match would be like our match last weekend," Murphy said. "We knew (Idaho) was going to play better and we're happy to still be playing tomorrow. Obviously there are things we can still improve, but I'm proud of how we fought."
Just five days after sweeping the Vandals on Senior Day in Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks almost faced the same fate with the sixth-seeded Vandals claiming the first two sets on Thursday. But NAU settled in and rode a dominant offensive attack to three straight set victories to rally from a 2-0 deficit for the first time ever in the conference tournament.
Junior
Heaven Harris and freshman
Taylor Jacobsen both set new career-high kill totals. Harris pounded 21 kills, including the match-clincher, on .375 hitting while Jacobsen tallied 19 kills on .415 hitting. The Lumberjacks also had senior
Abby Akin (14) and sophomore
Ryann Davis (10) with double-figure kill totals.
In the first set, Akin became the 14th player in program history to join the 1,000 kill club and she did not stop as she did not commit an error on 21 swings. She hit a season-high .667, marking the fourth-best hitting percentage in a five-set match in program history.
"I couldn't have done it without my team," Akin said. "I don't get kills without a good pass or a good set and I'm thankful for my teammates."
Senior
Abby Stomp finished with 36 assists and sophomore
Aubrea Bandfield added 26 assists while the 'Jacks to a season-high 76 kills on .353 hitting – their fourth-best mark of the season. The 76 kills are also the Lumberjacks' most in a match since they recorded 78 versus Duquense on Sept. 8, 2007 spanning 366 matches.
On an afternoon in which Idaho hit .256, including .338 through the first two sets, NAU needed every bit of its offense on an afternoon.
"Early in the match, both Abby (Stomp) and Aubrea (Bandfield) were doing a really good job even when we weren't receiving or playing defense very well," Murphy said. "This isn't exactly the type of match we like to be in; we'd like to play better defense over the course of the match. But it's such a big strength to be able to hit that high of a percentage and pull out wins when other things aren't working quite as well."
Idaho ripped off a first set win, using a 10-2 run to take a 12-5 advantage. The Vandals hit .390 in the first set and carried that momentum into the second set, where they led 8-4. The Lumberjacks moved in front, 12-10, following four straight points and maintained the lead until the Vandals reclaimed the advantage at 19-18.
NAU was undeterred as it regained the lead, 23-21, and Jacobsen got the 'Jacks to set point with a kill at 24-22. However, Idaho stunned NAU by scoring the final four points – holding off two set points – and put the Lumberjacks' backs against the wall.
With their season on the line, Davis spurred a 4-0 run with two kills and a block which put NAU ahead, 7-4, in the third set. Although Idaho brought the score even at 10-10, NAU scored six of the next points and methodically moved through the set to force a fourth game. NAU hit .400 and limited Idaho to a .182 attack percentage in the third set.
Harris and Jacobsen both tallied five kills and Akin added four in the fourth set as the Lumberjacks' offense did not let up. NAU hit .353 and used a 5-1 run late to break open what stood at just a 19-18 edge. That set the stage for a winner-take-all elimination fifth set where the 'Jacks ambushed the Vandals.
NAU raced out to a 9-2 lead and led the fifth set wire-to-wire. After Idaho staved off two match points, Harris hammered her career-best 21st kill off the Vandal block to complete NAU's second come-from-behind win from down 2-0 this season.
The Lumberjacks' block picked up in the final three sets, registering eight of their nine team rejections after falling behind 2-0. That helped NAU limit Idaho to .185 hitting and Idaho recorded only one service ace in sets three through five.
NAU finished with a 9.0-8.0 block advantage over the Big Sky's top blocking team with Akin and Davis each posting a team-best five stops. The Lumberjacks also doubled the Vandals up with a 10-5 ace advantage at the service line. Senior
Sydney Lema matched a career-high with four aces and Akin tallied three.
NAU also outdug Idaho, 76-68, with freshman
Jasmine West leading the Lumberjacks with 20 digs. Jacobsen and Lema both recorded 11 digs as Jacobsen posted her 15th double-double of the season.
The Lumberjacks and Wildcats will compete for a spot in the championship match in the first semifinal contest on Friday. Each team won on their respective home floors in the regular season with NAU winning 3-1 on Sept. 26 and Weber State registering a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 2.
