BOZEMAN, Mont. (February 6, 2021) – With their backs against the wall and potentially staring at a 2-0 deficit, the Northern Arizona volleyball team rose to the occasion in the second set. NAU's come-from-behind effort evened the match and propelled them to an eventual 21-25, 26-24, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12 thriller over Montana State Saturday night.
Led by sophomore
Taylor Jacobsen's career-high 26 kills, the Lumberjacks (4-1) won their second five-set match of the season. Meanwhile, the Bobcats – playing their home opener in Shroyer Gym – fell to 1-2.
"It was a great college volleyball match and both teams played at a high level," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Montana State has a lot of weapons offensively and executed really well. It was back and forth the entire time until the very end and it came down to a couple of plays that we made. When we got into that situation, we had a lot of confidence and determination and went after it really aggressively like we want to."
NAU and Montana State are no strangers to five-set matches as both of their season meetings in 2019 went the distance, and Saturday night's first of two this weekend was no different. With 32 ties – 10 coming in the final set alone – the two squads traded blows throughout the evening.
While the Lumberjacks ultimately emerged in the fifth game, the turning point came late in the second set. After the Bobcats controlled the first game, they led 23-19 before the 'Jacks strung together an all-important rally.
Jacobsen sided out for NAU and junior
Heaven Harris and sophomore
Neche Newton combined for a block to trim the lead in half. After a Bobcat error, Jacobsen aced the home team to tie it at 23-23. The two teams traded points before freshman
Lyla Hollis put NAU at set point with a kill. Newton closed the game out with an ace, ultimately completing a 7-1 clinching run that evened the match at one set apiece.
"We were having a little bit of a hard time defending their offense and Neche and Heaven made a really good block together and that really changed the momentum," Murphy said of the second set. "We got an ace right after that and a bunch of things started going our way. We had to make a few more blocks and a few more digs to get back into the match with our defense and from then on out, I thought we did a really good job with that."
Before NAU rallied to tie the match, Montana State used an early 7-2 run to open the match to claim the first set. Although NAU fought back to tie it at 13-13, Montana State used another 6-1 run late to snap a 16-16 tie.
The Lumberjacks were limited to just a .106 attack clip in the first game, but proceeded to hit .300 or better in the next three. NAU finished the night at .257, while Montana State hit .208.
With the match tied at one set apiece, freshman
Millie O'Ketter spearheaded a 5-1 third set opening run with three of NAU's season-high tying 13 aces. The third game was the most lopsided of the night, but the Bobcats managed to make it interesting late.
Following a block by Hollis and freshman
Savannah Bloom gave the Lumberjacks a 22-12 advantage, the Bobcats scored four straight. Bloom and junior
Aubrea Bandfield wrapped up the set though with consecutive kills to keep Montana State at bay.
Montana State forced a winner-take-all fifth set by pulling away midway through the fourth stanza. After Jacobsen tied the set at 10-10, Montana State scored six of the next seven points. NAU kept within striking distance though, and staved off two set points – the latter coming on an emphatic kill by Bloom on an overpass to get the Lumberjacks within 24-23 before an NAU service error clinched the game for Montana State.
The final game featured 10 tie scores – the ninth coming at 10-10 following a Jacobsen and Newton tandem block. The denial started a 3-0 run, which freshman
Kate Hatch capped with an ace forcing a Bobcat timeout.
Montana State came out of the timeout with two points to even the score for the final time at 12-12. That prompted an NAU timeout, and the Lumberjacks responded with the final three points. Back-to-back kills by Jacobsen and Hollis gave the 'Jacks match point, and NAU wasted no time in securing the win with a Montana State attack error.
Jacobsen paced three Lumberjacks in double-figure kills with 26, tying the most by a Lumberjack in a match since Kaylie Jorgenson recorded 26 in a five-set win versus Sacramento State on Oct. 26, 2017. Harris had 12 – pulling within 22 of 1,000 for her career – and junior
Ryann Davis added a season-high 11 as all three players hit .300 or better.
"Early in the match, Taylor struggled with their block a little bit and it just goes to show how much she has developed as a player to change up her shots and keep them off balance," Murphy said. "Ryann had a great match and there were points tonight where she was our best offensive weapon. I feel like if Heaven, Ryann and Taylor do what they did tonight, we're going to be a tough team to beat."
On her birthday, Bandfield tallied a career-high 30 assists, while Hatch recorded 21 helpers. O'Ketter led the team with 13 digs and Newton totaled a team-high three blocks.
The Lumberjacks and Bobcats will face a quick turnaround with the rematch set for Sunday at 2 p.m.
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