O’Ketter Shines and Harris Reaches 1,000 Kills in 3-1 Victory Versus Southern Utah

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 28, 2021) – Senior Heaven Harris enjoyed a milestone afternoon and freshman Millie O'Ketter was sensational in the back row with both players playing pivotal roles in the Northern Arizona volleyball team's 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Southern Utah on Sunday.
 
The Lumberjacks needed to grind out the victory in their first match in two weeks, hitting just .198. However, led by O'Ketter's 33 digs – the third-most in program history in a four-set match – NAU's defense was stout in limiting Southern Utah to just 39 kills and a .129 hitting percentage.
 
"It was a grind, no doubt about it," said head coach Ken Murphy. "Southern Utah defended well and they're a good serving team. They put a lot of pressure on us with their serve, and even though they didn't get a lot of aces, it created chaos on our side at times. I was proud of the fact that we were able to be as resilient as we were because Southern Utah played a really good match."
 
Spearheaded by O'Ketter's 33 digs, NAU utilized an 82-65 digs advantage to overcome 28 attack errors. It was NAU's highest error total since Oct. 7, 2017 and most in a match the Lumberjacks eventually won since Sept. 19, 2013.
 
Southern Utah used a huge block, totaling 11.0 stuffs, to stymie NAU at times in the match. Still, sophomore Taylor Jacobsen was able to register a match-high 17 kills, followed by freshman Lyla Hollis' season-high 14. Harris, who needed four kills to reach 1,000, finished the afternoon with 10.
 
"I've been blessed with such great setters," said Harris, the 15th player in NAU history to record 1,000 career kills. "We've been doing a really good job of staying together and working as a team. It's exciting."
 
Southern Utah overcame an early 7-4 deficit and took the lead for good at 12-11, to claim the initial 1-0 match lead. NAU made a run late, holding off three set points and closing to 24-22 on a block by Jacobsen and sophomore Neche Newton, but Southern Utah clinched the set on the following point.
 
The Lumberjacks were in danger of falling behind two sets to none when they found themselves trailing 19-16, before pulling off a 9-2 set-clinching run. The run began with two consecutive blocks by freshman Savannah Bloom and NAU scored five straight to take a 21-19 lead. After a Southern Utah point, junior Ryann Davis gave NAU sideout with a kill and Hollis followed with a pair of aces. Jacobsen would close out the set two points later with a kill, evening the match.
 
"We lost our composure in the first set and made a bunch of unforced errors," Murphy said. "The cool part was midway through the second set, we were able to make a change. We talk about the past not dictating the future and great teams know how to be in a situation and make a change. We hit a different gear late in the second set; made a couple of blocks and a couple of good digs and conversions and that changed the rest of the match."
 
The third set was close once again midway through with a brief 3-0 Thunderbird run cutting the Lumberjacks' lead to 15-14. NAU scored seven of the next eight points though with three coming on aces – two by O'Ketter and one by junior Aubrea Bandfield. However, the Thunderbirds had one more run in them to climb back to 23-21 before the 'Jacks capped the game with kills from Bloom and junior Ryann Davis.
 
NAU finally got its offense rolling in the match-clinching game, hitting .351 in the fourth with five hitters recording at least three kills. As was the case in the previous two sets, the two teams were locked up midway through until a momentum-shifting Lumberjack run.
 
Harris gave NAU an 18-16 lead with a thunderous kill through the Southern Utah block, igniting a 6-0 run, that all but clinched NAU's third straight win to improve to 7-2 this spring.
 
"Once we were able to get into rallies and get those digs we were searching for in the first set, it made everything a lot more fun," O'Ketter said. "We love to stay in rallies as a team and it gives us energy, so to get digs, it fired up our offense."
 
Both Jacobsen (17 kills, 17 digs) and Hollis (14 kills and 18 digs) recorded double-doubles, while Bandfield tied a career-high with 30 assists. Freshman Kate Hatch also notched her second consecutive match with 20 helpers, concluding the Sunday affair with 21.
 
O'Ketter and Hollis each posted three aces and NAU's middle blockers, Newton and Bloom, both registered three blocks.
 
The Lumberjacks will aim to make it four wins in a row Monday night versus Southern Utah (4-6, 4-5 Big Sky) at 6 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center.
 
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