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FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 11, 2019) – The 2019 Lumberjack Classic field is as competitive as ever, setting up an exciting two days starting Friday when the Northern Arizona volleyball team opens up its home slate with South Dakota State at 12 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center. NAU and South Dakota State will be joined by LSU and Fresno State in Flagstaff with all four teams entering the weekend with records of 3-3 or better.
After NAU's opener against South Dakota State, the Lumberjacks will welcome LSU at 7 p.m. Friday evening in the headline match of the weekend. The 'Jacks will close the tournament on Saturday with Fresno State at 12 p.m.
"All three teams are going to present a challenge," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "South Dakota State has really improved over the last couple of years. Fresno State and LSU are both borderline top 50 programs. Each of these matches will be important for us. The last couple of years, there's been one marquee match and a couple of wins, but this year the depth of the tournament is really impressive."
The first 750 fans at Friday night's contest versus LSU will receive a free "Point Lumberjacks" t-shirt. This marks the second consecutive year in which NAU will host a school from the SEC at the Lumberjack Classic. Last season, the Lumberjacks memorably knocked off then-No. 8 Florida in five sets.
"Having a name like LSU in our gym is important for the growth of our program," Murphy said. "Competing against a team at that level is important to our team and the Flagstaff community. We're looking forward to hopefully a full gym and a great crowd and a fun environment for us to play in."
Last weekend, the Lumberjacks won two of three matches at the Seton Hall Classic to even their season record to 3-3. NAU swept the host and dropped a five-setter to Northeastern on the tournament's first day before knocking off La Salle to close the second week of the season. Junior
Heaven Harris and senior
Sydney Lema represented the Lumberjacks on the All-Tournament team after pacing an NAU offense that hit .324 over the weekend. Harris converted on a team-high 3.17 kills per set on .373 hitting, while Lema averaged 2.50 kills per set at a .338 clip. Lema tallied double-doubles in all three matches and also averaged 3.33 digs per set.
Lema's performance also earned her Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week. NAU swept the league's weekly honors with senior
Abby Akin tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Week. Akin averaged 1.92 blocks per set – raising her season average through six matches to a Big Sky leading 1.67 – and helped the 'Jacks limit their three opponents last week to a .152 hitting percentage.
In addition to leading the league in blocks, Akin also ranks third in hitting percentage at .421. Harris is right behind her at .367 and she is eighth with a team-best 3.04 kills per set. Freshman
Jasmine West moved up a spot to third in the Big Sky with 4.46 digs per set on the season.
NAU's strong offensive weekend vaulted the Lumberjacks to the top of the Big Sky in team hitting percentage (.279). The Lumberjacks are also third in kills (12.29 per set) and blocks (2.38 per set) in the league through the first two weeks.
"Our depth right now lies in how we run our offense and what our hitters are able to do," Murphy said. "Last weekend, we were able to take advantage of that a little more. We're hitting really good percentages and there are so many areas we can still improve in like how we receive serve and how we defend. It makes me optimistic what our top-end may be this year if we keep working at this."
South Dakota State – NAU's Friday opener – carries an identical 3-3 record into the weekend after victories over Louisiana Monroe and Prairie View A&M at the Katrinka Crawford Invitational. The Jackrabbits also lost to Lamar last weekend on its home court.
LSU split its two matches last week at the Cyclone Invitational and is 3-2 on the season. The Tigers were swept by No. 6 Penn State, but rebounded to defeat the host, Iowa State, in five sets.
Fresno State hosted its own tournament, the Fresno State Invitational, last weekend and came away with a pair of victories against CSUN and Santa Clara. The Bulldogs suffered a loss to CSU Bakersfield.
Friday night's match versus LSU will be streamed on
watchbigsky.com. Fans can follow all three matches via live stat links available
here.
About South Dakota State:
Record: 3-3, 0-0 Summit League
2019 Preseason Summit League Poll: Eighth
All-Time Series: NAU, 1-0
Last Meeting: NAU, 3-0 (Sept. 2, 2017)
About LSU:
Record: 3-2, 0-0 SEC
2019 Preseason SEC Poll: Seventh
All-Time Series: First Meeting
About Fresno State:
Record: 4-2, 0-0 Mountain West
2019 Preseason Mountain West Poll: Sixth
All-Time Series: FS, 6-3
Last Meeting: NAU, 3-1 (Aug. 31, 2012)
