GAINESVILLE, Fla. (September 20, 2019) – Junior
Heaven Harris pounded 11 kills on .385 hitting to guide the Northern Arizona volleyball team to a gutsy 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 sweep of Louisiana in the first match of the Gators Invitational. Despite hitting only .223 against a scrappy Ragin' Cajuns team, the Lumberjacks notched their fourth consecutive sweep and fifth straight win overall to move to 7-3.
"It was a defensive-oriented match," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Louisiana extended rallies really well, touching balls and keeping the ball in play. I was impressed with the way they were able to affect us across the net. I think we struggled with consistency, but I was really proud of how we fought at the end of sets and kept our composure."
Louisiana held NAU to its lowest hitting percentage since the opening weekend of the season and actually outhit the Lumberjacks at .230. The Ragin' Cajuns also outblocked the 'Jacks (9.0-5.0) in addition to holding the advantage in digs (60-56).
The Ragin' Cajuns struggled to contain Harris though, particularly in the clinching third set where she totaled five of her 11 kills. Senior
Sydney Lema also proved to be effective with seven kills on 18 swings without committing an error for a .389 attack percentage.
NAU quickly fell behind 4-0 before Harris put the Lumberjacks on the board with her first kill. She brought the 'Jacks even at 9-9 with another kill and the teams were even at 12-12 until Louisiana went on a 5-0 run. NAU responded with a four-point spurt of its own, closing to 17-16 on an ace by sophomore
Aubrea Bandfield.
Both teams traded short surges before senior
Abby Stomp, who crossed the 2,000 career assist mark in the match, gave NAU its first lead of the match at 23-22 with an ace. After Louisiana tied it at 23-23 – the fifth tie of the opening set – a critical service error sided out for NAU. Lema capped the comeback with an ace of her own to secure the first game.
After hitting .205 in the first set, the Lumberjacks hit .312 in the second set and at times were dominant in opening up a sizeable lead. Sophomore
Ryann Davis initiated a five-point Lumberjack run to break open what was a slim 6-5 NAU advantage. The Ragin' Cajuns managed to close to 13-11 before freshman
Taylor Jacobsen converted four kills in a six-point span to push NAU's lead back out to 19-12 and Louisiana never got closer than three points again.
The 'Jacks led the third set wire-to-wire, but it was far from easy despite the Lumberjacks jumping out to a 5-1 lead and leading by as much as 10. Stomp served NAU to seven consecutive points and in all, the Lumberjacks went on a 9-2 run to claim an 18-8 lead. However, the 'Jacks had to hold off the hard-charging Ragin' Cajuns, who went on a 9-0 run themselves sparked by three straight blocks.
The third set went down to the wire with the Lumberjacks needing three match points to finally put away the Ragin' Cajuns. Redshirt senior
Victoria Ewalefo effectively denied Louisiana with a kill to wrap up the victory.
"We played the last five points of each set really well," Murphy said. "In particular, Sydney did a really job of leading out there. She kept us in points and found ways to give us a little energy."
Stomp became the ninth player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career assists and finished the match with a team-high 17. She also tallied two of NAU's five aces.
Three Lumberjacks finished with double-digit digs led by 13 each from freshman
Jasmine West and Jacobsen. Lema totaled 12.
The Lumberjacks will take on No. 11 Florida later Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. MST at the Exactech Arena.
