GREELEY, Colo. (October 2, 2021) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team suffered their first conference loss on Saturday as Northern Colorado swept the Lumberjacks, 25-20, 25-14, 25-18, in Bank of Colorado Arena. With the loss, NAU's three-match winning streak was snapped with the Lumberjacks falling to 5-8 overall and 3-1 in the Big Sky.
The two teams entered the match with identical 3-0 conference records and it would be the Bears who would emerge still undefeated. Northern Colorado hit .243 while keeping NAU's offense in check at a .111 clip in defending its home court.
The Bears gained the early advantage by claiming a close first set that featured 12 ties and five lead changes. Northern Colorado seized control midway through the game and closed by scoring eight of the final 12 points.
After Northern Colorado snapped a 13-13 tie with a 4-1 run, sophomore
Jordan Elder put down a kill and combined with freshman
Sophia Wadsworth for a block that cut NAU's deficit to 17-16. Northern Colorado quickly answered with three straight points of its own and the Lumberjacks would not get closer than three the rest of the way.
The 'Jacks actually outhit the Bears in the first set, .243-.179, but could not overcome seven unforced errors (four service, three ball handling).
The Lumberjacks totaled 11 kills in an otherwise effective first set, but NAU's attack struggled to get into a flow the rest of the night. NAU recorded only 14 combined kills in the final two sets with 12 attack errors.
The final second set score was lopsided, but the Lumberjacks were in it early with a 3-0 run capped by sophomore
Kate Hatch's second ace of the night pulling them within 9-8. However, the Bears went on an extended 9-3 run to put some distance on the scoreboard and ultimately scored the final five points to take a 2-0 match lead.
NAU fell behind early, 5-0, in the third set and trailed 12-5 before mounting a rally in its most controlling stretch of the night. With sophomore
Millie O'Ketter at the service line, NAU scored five straight, including two on blocks by sophomore
Savannah Bloom and Wadsworth, to get back to 13-12.
The Lumberjacks eventually tied it at 14-14 and were knotted up at 16-16 following a Northern Colorado error before the Bears put the match away. Northern Colorado completed the sweep, and halted NAU's win streak, by finishing the match on a 9-2 run.
Junior
Taylor Jacobsen paced the 'Jacks with nine kills and senior
Ryann Davis hit .300 with six kills. However, no other player had more than three kills in large part due to Northern Colorado's massive 52-28 dig advantage.
NAU did manage to outblock Northern Colorado though, 9.0-8.0, with Elder recording five and Wadsworth totaling four.
The Lumberjacks are right back out on the road next week with matches at Sacramento State on Thursday and Portland State on Saturday. The week begins in The Nest with the Lumberjacks and Hornets slated for a 7 p.m. MST first serve.
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