FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 11, 2021) – Facing off for the first time since 2018, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-3) will put a three-match win streak on the line against the UNLV Rebels (2-3) Friday at 11 a.m. MST in Las Vegas.
It's yet another test against the Mountain West Conference, after the Lumberjacks defeated the Utah State Aggies, Wyoming Cowgirls and New Mexico Lobos across the past four weeks. All three wins came in Flagstaff, where NAU holds a 15-match win streak, while UNLV has also played all five of its matches at home this season.
Three Lumberjacks enter the match on singles win streaks of at least three matches, led by regular No. 1
Gina Dittmann. The freshman holds a 7-1 record this season, with five straight wins at the top spot since a three-set loss to No. 37 Ilze Hattingh of Arizona State.
Mimi Bland's four-match win streak stretches back to a three-set victory against Arizona, with all four wins coming at No. 3, while freshman
Ava Neyestani's three straight victories at No. 4 has her perfect in Flagstaff this season.
Only seniors
Ellie Millard and
Madi Moore faced UNLV in 2018, playing at No. 4 and No. 6 respectively. Millard won at Court 1 in doubles before falling in singles, with Moore's doubles and singles matches both left unfinished.
UNLV enters with a similarly steady lineup, with just six players playing more than one singles match this season. Senior Izumi Asano enters with a 3-1 record this season at No. 1, while Zita Kovacs holds the same record at No. 4.
En-Pei Huang is a perfect 4-0 between No. 2 and No. 3, rounding out UNLV's singles leaders this season. Junior Connie Li, senior Sam Smith and freshman Aura Fang round out the Rebel's regular lineup.
Asano and Huang both faced the Lumberjacks in 2018, with the former falling at No. 2 and the latter earning a three-set victory on Court 3. The two also entered the season at the No. 13 doubles pair in the nation and currently hold a 3-1 record on Court 1 for the Rebels.
The doubles result has matched the team result in all five of UNLV's matches, alternating wins and losses so far this season. UNLV's other doubles pairings have remained Li and Smith and Kovacs and Olivia Elliott through the first five matches of the season.
Friday will be the first of three straight road matches, as NAU will follow up Friday's match with a trip to California a week later where it will take on the Pacific Tigers and Sacramento State Hornets to open Big Sky Conference play.
