ANN ARBOR, Mich. (August 30, 2019) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team could see the upset, but No. 15 Michigan had other ideas, turning back the Lumberjacks, 25-18, 19-25, 14-25, 25-17, 15-10, in the nightcap of Friday's action at the Cliff Keen Arena. NAU finished the opening day of the Michigan Invitational with a 1-1 record.
"We started off shaky and I was really proud of how we settled in about midway through the first set," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We got into a rhythm and that carried into the second and third set. After the third set, we didn't block another ball the rest of the match and Michigan gained some confidence that had an impact on the match."
Senior
Abby Akin and junior
Heaven Harris carried the Lumberjacks' offensively with Akin posting a team-high 12 kills on .455 hitting. Harris totaled 11 kills and hit .500. However, NAU was outhit .247-.224 for the match and Michigan held a significant advantage in kills (63-42).
Still, NAU managed to outblock Michigan by an 11.0-8.0 margin spurred by six blocks from Akin and four more from sophomore
Ryann Davis. Freshman
Jasmine West led all players in digs for the second consecutive match with 16. Senior
Sydney Lema also posted a double-digit dig match with 13.
At the service line, NAU matched Michigan's 11 aces with sophomore
Aubrea Bandfield, freshman
Taylor Jacobsen and West each recording three apiece.
After the teams split the first two sets, NAU stood one set win away from a nationally-ranked road win for the first time in 30 years following a dominating third set. The Lumberjacks registered six blocks and three aces in that set alone and led wire-to-wire.
NAU raced out to an 8-2 advantage in the third set, on the heels of four blocks, and claimed the 2-1 lead in the match behind a dominant defensive effort. Akin was involved in three of NAU's six team blocks, while Harris, Davis and Jacobsen all had a hand in forcing Michigan into a negative attack clip (-.172) by posting a pair of stuffs each.
Michigan had just five kills compared to nine attack errors in the third set, but the Wolverines – a Sweet 16 team last fall – regained their groove just in time to deny the Lumberjacks of the upset bid. Michigan hit .429 and .571 in the fourth and fifth sets respectively to bounce back from the 2-1 deficit.
"For long stretches we were in control of the match and the most important thing was what we were doing on our side of the net," Murphy said. "That gives us belief that if we expand on that, we can finish a match like this."
A 5-0 Michigan run broke open the fourth set increasing the Wolverines' lead to 11-5, but NAU found its back into it climbing within 16-13. Michigan immediately responded with four straight points though to keep NAU at bay and force a decisive final game.
The 'Jacks gained the early control in the race to 15 with aces by Bandfield and Jacobsen sparking a 6-3 lead, which forced a Michigan timeout. It would be the Wolverines though who reached the court change ahead, 8-7, after four straight points. Harris buried a kill to put NAU within one at 10-9, but Michigan ripped off five of the last six points to complete the comeback.
Michigan claimed the first set largely due to a 10-0 run that put NAU behind on the scoreboard, 15-6. Although the Lumberjacks ultimately dropped the opening set, a strong finish that helped them cut their deficit to as close as 22-18 provided NAU with the confidence it used to take the next two sets.
NAU flipped a 14-13 deficit midway through the second set with seven consecutive points, including two aces by Jacobsen and two kills by Akin. The Lumberjack surge shifted the tide in their favor, but the Wolverines ultimately reclaimed it in the matchup between Friday morning's winners in the round-robin tourney.
"This is a new team with new players who are learning and figuring things out," Murphy said. "This morning we competed really hard, but didn't play our best. Tonight, we combined a few more things and in particular, Heaven and Abby hit the ball really well. As everyone learns their new roles, that's something we can build on."
NAU wraps up the first weekend of the season Saturday afternoon at Oakland. First serve between the two teams from Rochester, Mich. is slated for 1 p.m. MST. Like the 'Jacks, the Golden Grizzlies defeated Tennessee Tech and fell to Michigan on Friday.
