GAINESVILLE, Fla. (September 20, 2019) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team's five-match win streak was snapped by No. 11 Florida on Friday in a 25-14, 25-17, 25-13 loss. NAU (7-4) was done in by multiple runs in each of the three sets as it wound up splitting the first two matches of the Gators Invitational following its morning victory over Louisiana.
"Florida played great; we tried some different things to get pressure on them and they just played at a high level," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Honestly, they played better than any team we've played in recent memory. We struggled hitting the shots that we like to against them and we were a little disconnected. Our fight was good throughout the whole match, but the biggest thing was it was hard to break through."
After taking down Florida in Flagstaff a year ago, Friday's match in the Exactech Arena proved to be a different story with the nationally-ranked Gators avenging last season's loss. Florida clamped down on NAU as the Lumberjacks were shut down to a season-low .053 hitting percentage. On the flip side, the Gators hit .333 and held an 8.5-1.0 blocks advantage.
Florida used a massive 9-0 run to break away from NAU, hitting .333 in the process to take the opening set. With the score tied at 5-5, the Gators scored nine straight before senior
Sydney Lema halted the run. The Lumberjacks settled in, getting as close as 18-12, but the Gators' run was too much to overcome as NAU was limited to just .026 hitting.
Junior
Heaven Harris provided NAU with its only lead of the match with a kill on the opening point of the second set, and the Lumberjacks played the Gators tough throughout the early portion of the game. A kill by sophomore
Ryann Davis kept NAU within striking distance down 11-9 before an ensuing 7-2 Florida run. NAU grabbed four of the next five points though – two coming on Lema kills – to close to 19-15 only for Florida to snag the next four.
Florida steadily pulled away in the third set with a 4-0 run allowing the Gators to double up the Lumberjacks at 18-9. Junior
Olivia Turner posted a kill and an ace on consecutive points only for Florida to respond with five of the next six. The end result was the Lumberjacks' first three-set loss in nearly two years dating back to Nov. 9, 2017 at North Dakota.
"If you can find ways to put pressure on a team like this, the match is completely different," Murphy said. "It's important for us to grow as a group and keep finding ways to do that. Today was one of those days that we couldn't find a way to get them out of what they do. With a team as talented as Florida, it's going to be a struggle."
Harris led the 'Jacks with six kills, while senior
Abby Akin and Lema each tallied five. Freshman
Jasmine West was solid in the backline, registering a match-best 17 digs.
The Lumberjacks will play one more in Gainesville Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. MST versus Liberty before returning home to start conference play. The Lady Flames, like the 'Jacks, split their two tournament matches on Friday notching a five-set win against Louisiana.
