FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 12, 2021) – After two straight weeks and four matches on the road, the Northern Arizona volleyball team begins a stretch of four straight in the Rolle Activity Center and an overall stretch of six of eight at home this week versus Idaho State and Weber State. NAU's match versus Idaho State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. will kick off Homecoming Week on the NAU campus. The Lumberjacks will then host the defending Big Sky champions, Weber State, on Saturday at 6 p.m. following the Homecoming football game.
The matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at
nauathletics.com/livestats.
"We're not perfect yet, but we're getting there," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We're not exactly where I think we'll be in three or four weeks. But we've learned how to manage matches and stay at a good emotional level. Over the last couple of weeks, we've competed at a more mature level. Being on the road, there are a lot of distractions and a lot of challenges and I'm really proud of the way we approached those matches and worked our way through them."
The Lumberjacks completed their longest remaining stretch away from Flagstaff last week, earning a split on the road with a sweep at Sacramento State on Thursday before falling to Portland State in four sets on Saturday. With the split, NAU is 4-2 in conference play, tied for fourth in the league, and 6-9 overall having won five of its last eight matches.
The win at Sacramento State was particularly momentous given the Lumberjacks' historic struggles in The Nest. The win was just the Lumberjacks' second all-time there and snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Hornets on the road going back a decade.
Last week, the Lumberjacks had their most prolific serving weekend. NAU tied a season-high of nine aces in the win at Sacramento State, and two days later it set a new season-best with 10 aces against Portland State. Junior
Taylor Jacobsen and sophomore
Kate Hatch combined for 14 of the team's 19 aces last weekend. Jacobsen had nine herself, including a career-high five versus the Hornets.
Behind her serving barrage, Jacobsen moved up to 39th in the country in ace average at 0.46 per set. In conference play, Jacobsen is averaging 0.68 aces per set, placing her second in the Big Sky, in addition to averaging a league-high 3.89 kills per set.
In addition to the strong serving, NAU also had an exceptional weekend in the blocks column. The Lumberjacks, led by their middle blocker duo of sophomores
Jordan Elder and
Savannah Bloom, they averaged 2.43 blocks per set between the two matches. Elder recorded eight blocks at 1.14 per set, while Bloom totaled seven blocks at 1.00 per set. Elder leads the team overall this year with a season average of 1.00 and ranks fourth in the Big Sky in conference-only stats at 1.32 per set.
After not competing against each other during the abbreviated spring season, the Lumberjacks and Bengals will match up for the first time in nearly two years with their last meeting coming on Oct. 31, 2019 in Pocatello, Idaho, resulting in a 3-1 NAU win. The Lumberjacks have won four straight overall versus the Bengals and 10 of the last 12 going back to 2015.
Meanwhile, NAU and Weber State could potentially match up on Saturday, pending Weber State's result at Southern Utah on Thursday, with the Wildcats' unbeaten league record on the line for the second consecutive season. NAU handed Weber State its only league loss in the spring in Rolle, putting the first blemish on the Wildcats' 10-0 record.
In fact, should Weber State win in Cedar City on Thursday, the Wildcats would be the sixth team to bring a Big Sky record of 7-0 or better to the Rolle Activity Center in the last eight seasons. The previous five teams all left Rolle with their first conference loss. In the case for Sacramento State (2017), Northern Colorado (2019) and Weber State (spring 2021), it wound up being their only Big Sky loss of the season, with those three teams along with North Dakota in 2013 eventually winning outright or sharing the Big Sky regular season title.
Idaho State has dropped three straight matches, albeit against three of the Big Sky's top five teams, in straight sets. Since defeating Montana on Sept. 30, the Bengals were swept by Montana State on Oct. 2, then Weber State and Northern Colorado last week. Idaho State is 6-12 overall and 2-4 in conference play through the first three weeks of the season. The Bengals' strength lies on the defensive end where opponents are hitting .184 in conference play and .188 overall, the latter of which ranks second in the league. Asiah Sopoaga ranks fifth in the Big Sky with 3.71 digs per set, while Jamie Streit is leading the team with 2.83 kills per set.
Weber State, the defending Big Sky champions, enters the week as the league's only remaining undefeated team, opening conference play with six straight wins. The Wildcats improved to 6-0 in the Big Sky, and 11-5 overall, with sweeps over Idaho State and Northern Colorado last week. Dani Nay, the Big Sky's reigning Offensive Player of the Week, drives a high-powered Wildcat team at the service line, totaling a nation-leading 42 aces and ranking fourth in the country with 0.69 per set. As a team, Weber State ranks seventh in the country with 2.07 aces per set. Rylin Adams leads the Big Sky with 3.90 kills per set.
To stay up to date with the NAU volleyball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
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WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
- Thursday – The first 150 students will receive free Crumbl Cookies. There will also be a $25 Crumbl Cookie giftcard giveaway.
- Saturday – All fans will receive free admission when presenting their mobile ticket from the NAU football game.
