OGDEN, Utah (November 18, 2021) – Five days after pulling off a reverse sweep, the Northern Arizona volleyball team fell victim to one at the most inopportune time. Montana State rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to halt NAU's season in its tracks with a 19-25, 24-26, 25-15, 27-25, 15-11 quarterfinal victory on Thursday.
The loss, NAU's first after leading 2-0 in more than nine years, put the Lumberjacks' final 2021 season at 12-14.
Junior
Taylor Jacobsen led three Lumberjacks in double-figure kills with 20 in her second consecutive 20-kill match. Redshirt junior
Morgan Gappmayer and senior
Ryann Davis recorded 14 and 11 respectively.
As a team, NAU hit .239 in the match with senior
Aubrea Bandfield assisting on 54 of the Lumberjacks' 63 kills, but NAU struggled to slow down Montana State's attack. The Bobcats tallied 73 kills and hit .283, including a .303 clip after the first set.
The Lumberjacks attacked at a .379 clip in the first set and was fueled by a script-flipping service run by junior
Jasmine West to take the early advantage. A Jacobsen solo block sided out for NAU with Montana State leading 7-6 before West served the 'Jacks on the run that gave them an advantage they would not relinquish.
By the end of West's run, NAU led 10-7 and a Gappmayer kill pushed NAU's lead out to 14-8 as part of an extended 9-1 run. The Lumberjacks led by as much as seven in the opening game and Davis terminated NAU's first set point.
NAU rode that momentum into the second with consecutive kills from Davis, Jacobsen and Gappmayer forcing a Montana State timeout at 9-4. However, the Bobcats answered and eventually brough it even at 13-13. From there, the teams were in step with neither team able to break free.
Late in the game, after two straight Bobcat points tied it at 19-19, the two teams alternated points until Bandfield dumped a kill in on the second touch to give the 'Jacks their second set point at 25-24. On the ensuing serve, Gappmayer put an end to the game with her sixth kill of the set.
Through two sets, the 'Jacks were hitting .338, but that clip dipped to .121 in the third set as the Bobcats staved off elimination. After a fast 6-3 NAU start, Montana State ripped off a 7-0 run with its season on the line. The Bobcats never gave the edge up and their lead grew to as large as 23-12 to extend the match.
Clawing back into the match, Montana State appeared well on their way to forcing a decisive fifth set, but NAU had different plans in the moment. Trailing 19-12, another West service run brought the Lumberjacks back. Sophomore
Jordan Elder put down a kill sending West to the service line where like she did in the first set, she served NAU back into the game with four straight points.
By the time Montana State sided out, its lead was slashed to 19-17. NAU then used a 4-0 run to take a 23-22 edge and the Lumberjacks reached match point first on a Davis kill at 24-23. However, the Bobcats held strong and closed with a 4-1 run to ultimately send the match to a final game.
Despite the Bobcats scoring the first eight points of the fifth set and standing two points away from clinching the match, the Lumberjacks never gave in. Trailing 13-4, West had one more service run to put some doubt in Montana State's mind.
Serving a 6-0 run, including two of her career-high tying three aces, West got the 'Jacks back to 13-10. NAU survived one match point on Jacobsen's 20th kill of the night, but the fifth hole deficit proved too much to overcome in the end.
Playing in her final career match in a Lumberjack uniform, Davis hit .360 and also posted a career-high 15 digs. She was one of five Lumberjacks with at least 10 digs – a season-high – as Gappmayer (13), Jacobsen (11) and Bandfield (10) all reached the mark to complete double-double performances. Sophomore
Millie O'Ketter was NAU's fifth player in double-figures with 13 digs.
Montana State held the statistical advantages across the board including aces (7-5), digs (85-66) and blocks (8.0-5.0).
The Lumberjacks, who were the tournament's No. 5 seed, is slated to return their entire roster minus their three seniors, Davis, Bandfield and
Mara Abernethy next fall. NAU, who finished 10-6 in conference play, won at least 10 Big Sky regular season matches for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
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