NAU Volleyball Concludes Tiger Classic Early with 3-1 Loss to LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. (August 28, 2021) – With their plans altered by Hurricane Ida's impending landfall, the Northern Arizona volleyball team wrapped up its time at the Tiger Classic early with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, 25-18 loss to the hosting LSU Tigers.
 
Moved up to an early start time on Saturday, the match was planned to be the first half of a doubleheader. However, with many across Louisiana evacuating, Saturday evening's match against the Michigan Wolverines was canceled.
 
Saturday's lone match with the Tigers proved to be an improvement from Friday's season opener, with Northern Arizona keeping the pressure on LSU in three of the four sets leading to 32 ties and 18 lead changes throughout the match.
 
Junior Taylor Jacobsen once again tied a match-best 16 kills while adding 12 digs for her second double-double in as many games. Lyla Hollis and Sophia Wadsworth added eight and seven kills respectively, with the latter needing just 11 total attacks.
 
The Northern Arizona volleyball team struggled to find the floor offensively, and despite a spirited defensive effort, the Lumberjacks were swept by Florida State, 25-15, 25-14, 25-16, in the opener of the Tiger Classic on Friday.
 
Taking an early 4-2 lead in the opening set, the Lumberjacks battled with the Tigers throughout as neither team took a lead of more than two points until the final eight points of the set. Northern Arizona and LSU tied at 10 different scores, the final coming at 17-17 following an ace for Millie O'Ketter and a kill by Wadsworth. 
 
However, an 8-2 run by the Tigers concluded the day's first set as the hosts put down six kills across the final 10 points. 
 
The second set didn't include as many ties, but a 4-0 run by the Lumberjacks erased an early 8-5 deficit to put the pressure back on the Tigers. A kill by Wadsworth, and a pair for Hollis, combined with an LSU attack error to put NAU in front for the first time in the set.
 
Another 4-0 run, this time for LSU, put Northern Arizona down 15-11 en route to its 25-22 set victory. Neche Newton's solo block trimmed the Tigers' lead down to one, but the Lumberjacks would not draw as close again and fell behind 2-0.
 
Jacobsen came out firing in the third set, scoring three kills through the first five points, as Northern Arizona took a 4-1 lead. Another run of ties, this time reaching 12, created the most exciting set of the day and the one that landed in the Lumberjacks' favor.
 
A kill by Morgan Gappmayer and an attack error by the Tigers forced the home team into a timeout while trailing 20-16. Responding with five straight points, LSU regained a 21-20 advantage, sending the Lumberjacks into a tie of their own.
 
From there the teams essentially traded points, tying at every score from 20 to 25, with kills by Jacobsen and Hollis fighting off match points for the Tigers. With Hollis evening the score at 25-25, O'Ketter stepped to the service line and landed a pair of service aces to score Northern Arizona's first set victory of the season. 
 
Northern Arizona kept the fourth set close early on, but a 7-7 tie soon turned into a 14-8 advantage for the Tigers and left the Lumberjacks playing catchup for the rest of the set. Errors by LSU brought Northern Arizona within two on a pair of occasions, but just eight kills and 23 total attacks in the fourth meant the Lumberjacks' offense struggled to repeat the success it found one set prior.
 
LSU outkilled Northern Arizona 57-41 and won .280-.146 in kill percentage, but the Lumberjacks did match the Tigers on the block at 6.0-6.0 thanks to a pair of solo blocks by Newton, a pair of assists from Jordan Elder and one of each for Gappmayer.
 
Northern Arizona is currently scheduled to face the Nicholls State Colonels at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Thibodaux, La., though the game could also be affected by Hurricane Ida. 

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