SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (September 7, 2019) – Redshirt senior
Victoria Ewalefo and junior
Heaven Harris turned back La Salle's final swing at the net, sealing up a wild final set and the Northern Arizona volleyball team's 20-25, 25-20, 25-15, 32-30 victory over the Explorers on Saturday. The block was NAU's 15th of the match and came on its sixth match point as the Lumberjacks head home with a 3-3 overall record.
"We've been up 2-1 twice this year (and lost) and today showed that this team uses setbacks as an opportunity to grow as individuals and as a team," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Today, we had to grind it out, but when we're playing our best we do that all the time. It was the closest we've been to understanding how to work through all of the mental factors that occurs during a match."
La Salle used a 6-0 run to open up its largest lead of the match, 15-8, in the fourth set with eyes on extending the match to a fifth. But NAU chopped away at its deficit with a 5-0 run, capped by an ace by freshman
Taylor Jacobsen, to close to 17-16.
Still, the 'Jacks still found themselves down 23-20 before NAU rallied for five of the next six points. Senior
Abby Akin gave the Lumberjacks their first match point at 25-24 with a kill, only for the Explorers to side out. Following another Akin kill to put NAU ahead, 26-25, La Salle answered with two straight to reach its second set point. Sophomore
Aubrea Bandfield scored on a second touch to tie the score at 27-27 and a kill by sophomore
Ryann Davis once again put NAU on the brink of victory.
After La Salle staved off match points at 28-27, 29-28 and 30-29, junior
Heaven Harris' match-high 18th kill put NAU in a position to clinch on its sixth match point. This time, NAU capitalized on Harris and Ewalefo's block, ending the Seton Hall Classic on a high.
The final point was a fitting end to the match given NAU's dominant blocking performance, which stymied La Salle's attack. Senior
Abby Akin recorded her third career double-digit blocks match – and first since her freshman season – with 10 stuffs. All six of NAU's players across the net registered multiple blocks aiding the Lumberjacks' efforts in limiting the Explorers to a .162 hitting percentage.
"Abby got really hot and she was touching everything," Murphy said. "She showed what she's capable of. She wants to be a more impactful player and today was a step in that direction. When she was next to Heaven a couple of times, they formed a really good block together and that made it tough on (La Salle)."
NAU was equally impressive offensively as the Lumberjacks hit .336 as a team, including a .343 or higher clip in each of their three winning sets. Harris came up one kill shy of tying her career-high, but still set a season-best with 18 kills on .500 hitting to pace three 'Jacks in double-figures. Akin (11) and senior
Sydney Lema (10) also reached the 10-kill plateau.
Harris and Lema were named to the All-Tournament Team after playing important roles in NAU claiming two victories at this weekend's Seton Hall Classic. Harris led NAU in kills for the second straight weekend, totaling 38 and attacking at a .373 clip. Lema recorded double-doubles in each of the three matches and posted 30 kills, 40 digs and five aces in all.
La Salle, who had previously swept through Binghamton and Seton Hall this weekend, took care of business in the first set to stake itself to the early advantage. The Explorers moved ahead for good with a 7-1 run, which erased a 17-15 Lumberjack lead after Ewalefo and Davis teamed for a block. Although NAU hit .273 in the game, La Salle was plus-eight in the service game on four aces and four NAU errors.
A four-point NAU spurt snapped a 3-3 second set and provided enough cushion for the Lumberjacks to even up the match. Akin, Lema, Davis and Harris all notched three kills in the second stanza to help NAU maintain at least a three-point lead the rest of the way after that early brief, but critical, surge.
The crucial third set was actually squared up at 10-10 until NAU used a massive 12-2 run to break the set open. Lema, Harris and Jacobsen connected on consecutive kills to open the run, forcing a La Salle timeout, and Akin took care of the rest at the net. She totaled four blocks – combining with Harris and Jacobsen on two each – during a stretch where the Explorers committed six straight attack errors, and paired with Davis for a fifth rejection on set point for good measure.
Jacobsen led the team with a season-high 15 digs with Lema coming up with 13 digs herself to notch her third double-double of the weekend, joining Akin as Lumberjacks with double-doubles on Saturday.
After traveling east twice in the first two weeks, NAU will enjoy the friendly confines of the Rolle Activity Center next weekend as it hosts the Lumberjack Classic. The Lumberjacks' home opener will be next Friday, Sept. 13, versus South Dakota State at 12 p.m. and they will also host LSU (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Fresno State (Saturday at 12 p.m.) during the two-day tournament. Tickets are available for purchase at
nauathletics.com/tickets.
