OGDEN, Utah (November 11, 2021) – An 11-kill advantage over the Wildcats wasn't enough for the Lumberjacks to knock off one of the Big Sky Conference leaders Thursday night as Weber State defended its home court with a 25-23, 25-17, 25-22 victory in Ogden, Utah.

With its win streak halted at three matches, Northern Arizona fell to 9-6 in the Big Sky, 11-13 overall, as it continues to battle for the No. 4 seed in next week's conference tournament. Meanwhile, Weber State improved to 12-3 with the win and extended its streak to 18 consecutive sets won on its home floor.

The Lumberjacks committed 22 attack errors to the Wildcats' 10 and were out blocked 11-4 while holding the 45-34 advantage in kills. There was no better example of the struggles than the start of the opening set, as Northern Arizona was hit with five errors in the match's first 11 points.

Trailing 9-2, the Lumberjacks were forced to play catch up throughout the first set and only pulled within a point at 23-22 after a kill by Lyla Hollis and a pair of errors for the Wildcats with Millie O'Ketter at the service line.

Entering the match out of NAU's timeout when trailing by seven, Hollis provided a boost to the team's attack. Recording five kills in the set, Hollis registered four in across the Lumberjacks' 10 points in the set.

Falling behind 24-22 and facing set point, Hollis kept the Lumberjacks alive with one last kill before the Wildcats managed to close out the victory 25-23.

While Northern Arizona started slow in the opening set, it was the back half of the second that caused the Lumberjacks problems. A pair of kills for Jordan Elder began a 7-2 run, with Taylor Jacobsen putting down three consecutive kills to tie the set at 11-11.

However, the Wildcats responded with five straight points of their own to regain control of the set. Northern Arizona trimmed the five-point advantage back down to three with a pair of kills by Jacobsen and another for Hollis, but another five-point run that included a pair of service aces wrapped up the set in favor of Weber State. 

The Lumberjacks dropped their attack errors from nine to six between the match's first two sets, but the Wildcats still easily outhit the visitors. Hitting .244 in the opener, Weber State jumped up to .345 in the second while Northern Arizona improved from .170 to .211 between the first and second.

Both sides struggled in what became a back-and-forth third, as Weber State hit just .071 with nine kills in the final set compared to Northern Arizona's .136. 

Tied 11 times through the first 30 points of the set, neither Weber State or Northern Arizona could put together a run as both sides struggled to attack consistently. The Wildcats took four of five points, aided by a pair of Lumberjack errors, to take a 9-6 lead before Northern Arizona put together four straight points to take a 10-9 lead on a kill from Jacobsen.

Northern Arizona's largest lead of the night came at 13-11 off of a kill by Ryann Davis before the sides tied at 13, 14 and 15. Three attack errors and a ball handling error pushed Weber State back in front 17-15, remaining ahead for the rest of the night to clinch the match.

Trailing 20-16, the Lumberjacks tried to erase the four-point deficit, but could not string together a run to even up the last set of the night. Leading by one while receiving on three occasions, Weber State fought off Northern Arizona with a pair of kills before an attack error from the Lumberjacks pushed the score to 23-21. 

Hollis and Jacobsen tied with a team-high 12 kills, followed by 11 for Davis. Both Hollis and Jacobsen finished with double-doubles, as the former recorded 13 digs and the later 12. O'Ketter led the team with 24 digs. 

NAU concludes the regular season on Saturday as it heads to Pocatello, Idaho to face the Idaho State Bengals at 1 p.m. Idaho State defeated Southern Utah in four sets Thursday night to snap an 11-match losing streak.
 
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