FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 19, 2021) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team begins the second half of the conference season on Thursday with a crucial match with potential seeding implications versus Montana State at 6:30 p.m. The Lumberjacks will conclude the week, and their four-match homestand, with Montana on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center. Both of this week's matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at
nauathletics.com/livestats.
"I like the way our identity is starting to form," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We're becoming a more consistent team. Compared to a month ago or two months ago, we're a lot more aware of who we want to be as a volleyball team. If we can make that type of progress in the next month in the second half of conference, I feel really good about how we could go into the conference tournament."
Due to the altered spring season schedule, the Lumberjacks will be hosting the Bobcats and the Grizzlies for the first time since 2019. Two years ago, NAU went the distance with both teams, losing to Montana State and beating Montana in five sets. This will be the only meetings for NAU with these two teams, meaning the head-to-head tiebreaker is at stake this week.
That tiebreaker could specifically be huge come Thursday as NAU enters the week tied with Montana State for fourth in the conference standings at the midway point of the Big Sky schedule. Both teams are 5-3 in league play, two games behind Northern Colorado and Portland State, who are tied for second at 7-1. All four teams trail Weber State, the defending champions, who are undefeated at 8-0.
The Lumberjacks split the first half of their current homestand last week, sweeping Idaho State last Thursday and falling to Weber State on Saturday. NAU is 7-10 overall with a 5-3 record at home in Rolle. After this weekend, NAU will play four of its final six regular season matches on the road.
NAU continued to get production from the right side and the middle with senior
Ryann Davis, sophomore
Jordan Elder and sophomore
Savannah Bloom combining to hit .459 against the Bengals and Wildcats. Davis averaged 2.17 kills on .481 hitting and Elder averaged 1.83 kills on .500 hitting between the two matches, while Bloom hit .375 with just over a kill per set.
"I like how we're progressing with our middles and our rights in particular," Murphy said. "We're getting a lot of offense out of those two spots more consistently. We have a lot more balance in our attack that we probably didn't have a month ago."
Davis in particular has been on a roll since the start of conference play, leading the league with a .383 attack percentage. She has committed just two errors on 120 swings with 48 kills in eight league matches.
The trio has complemented the play of junior
Taylor Jacobsen, who is pacing the Big Sky with 3.76 kills per set in Big Sky play. Jacobsen has recorded at least nine kills in every match this season. For the season, Jacobsen is second overall in kills in the Big Sky with 3.59 kills per set.
Totaling 68 digs in her last four matches, sophomore
Millie O'Ketter has seen her average rise to 3.82 this season, placing her fourth in the Big Sky. In conference matches, O'Ketter ranks second with an average of 4.80 digs per set as part of NAU's uptick in defensive efficiency.
Montana State split its two matches last week at home, defeating Sacramento State in four sets and falling to Portland State in four. The loss to the Vikings snapped the Bobcats' four-match winning streak as Montana State opens the week tied with NAU in fourth with a 5-3 conference record. The Bobcats, sitting at 9-10 overall, are led by Hannah Scott offensively. Scott averages a team-high 3.05 kills per set on .223 hitting. Montana State paces the league in blocks in conference action with 2.66 per set and the Bobcats feature the Big Sky's blocks leader in Emma Pence, who is averaging 1.76 blocks per set.
Montana swept Sacramento State last Saturday following consecutive five-set losses to Eastern Washington and Portland State. After opening conference play with a 0-4 record, the Grizzlies (7-11, 2-4 Big Sky have won two of their last four matches. Catie Semadeni is averaging a team-best 2.31 kills per set and is hitting .301. In conference play, Semadeni has taken her game to another level, as she is averaging 2.72 kills per set and ranks seventh in the Big Sky in hitting at .328. The Grizzlies also have one of the league's best defenders in Sarina Moreno, who ranks second in the Big Sky with 4.19 digs per set.
To stay up to date with the NAU volleyball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
Twitter and
Instagram.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
- Thursday – All fans are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness. Students will receive a coozie floatable and all fans will receive pink NAU rally towels.
- Saturday – All fans will receive a No More Stolen Sisters wristband as NAU Athletics raises awareness for Native American Heritage Month.
