FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 1, 2021) – One day after committing their highest attack error total in three and a half seasons, the Northern Arizona volleyball team posted their best hitting percentage in the same time span on Monday night. The Lumberjacks hit a whopping .407 in a brisk 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 sweep of Southern Utah, notching their season-best fourth consecutive win in the process.
On Sunday, NAU won despite totaling 28 attack errors, and on Monday, the Lumberjacks reversed course and hit .400 in a match for the first time since Nov. 4, 2017 in a three-set sweep of Idaho State.
"We were steady and we kept our intensity for a long period of time," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Even when we were up, we were fighting for points and we were determined to play at our level the entire night."
NAU, in moving to 8-2 overall, trailed just once the entire night at 2-1 in the second set, and controlled every facet of the second meeting between the two teams in as many days. While the Lumberjacks attacked at a .407 clip, the Thunderbirds (4-7, 4-6 Big Sky) hit only .099 and NAU held advantages in every statistical column including blocks (8.0-5.0) and digs (32-27).
In addition to being NAU's highest hitting percentage in nearly four seasons, the .407 percentage is also the best by any Big Sky team this spring.
The Lumberjacks went wire-to-wire in the first set, taking a 6-2 lead and never losing it as they took the opening game. Junior
Ryann Davis and freshman
Savannah Bloom teamed up for back-to-back blocks to cap a 5-0 run that put NAU's lead at 13-5 and the Lumberjacks posted a complete effort in the night's first game.
NAU hit .480 in the opener and was paced offensively by sophomore
Taylor Jacobsen's seven kills, and the Lumberjacks posted four blocks while holding the Thunderbirds to .000 hitting.
Trailing for the only time on Monday, NAU used an 8-1 run to take a 9-3 lead, only for Southern Utah to battle back to 13-11. NAU struggled to break free of Southern Utah in the closest stanza of the evening, but a 6-3 closing spurt clinched the set.
Two consecutive Thunderbird attack errors provided the 'Jacks with a 21-16 cushion, and the Lumberjacks closed out the set with four kills – two coming off the hand of freshman
Lyla Hollis.
Freshman
Millie O'Ketter served NAU on a 7-0 run, aided by four Southern Utah miscues, that pushed the Lumberjacks' third set lead out to 12-4. After the Thunderbirds closed the gap to 15-11 with four straight points, Davis tooled the block for a kill and Jacobsen added another to give NAU a six-point lead. Southern Utah never got closer than four the rest of the game, and Hollis' 13th kill sealed NAU's third sweep of the season.
Hollis was unstoppable, hitting .600 and recording 13 kills, tied for the team-lead with Jacobsen. Both outside hitters also led the team with eight digs apiece. Senior
Heaven Harris closed the match strong, tallying five of her 10 kills in the third set while hitting a season-high .625.
Bloom had her hand in five of NAU's eight blocks and junior
Aubrea Bandfield led the team with 18 assists.
The 'Jacks will host their final series of the spring next weekend when unbeaten Weber State comes into the Rolle Activity Center for a pair of matches. NAU and Weber State (10-0) take the court next Sunday at 2 p.m. with the Lumberjacks' home finale scheduled for the following night at 6 p.m.
"The biggest thing for us right now is that we're getting more skilled every week; our defense is getting better and our block is getting better, but the big jump we can make as a team is what you saw today," Murphy said. "We ignored the score and played our best volleyball."
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Gallery: (3-1-2021) NAU vs. Southern Utah - 3/1/21
