ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (September 18, 2021) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team got off to a slow start and were unable to recover, concluding their four-week non-conference slate with a 25-12, 25-21, 18-25, 25-17 loss to New Mexico on Saturday. NAU will head into next Thursday's Big Sky opener versus Idaho with a 2-7 record.
"UNM came out really strong and we came out pretty flat," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "Knowing that we have a team that is learning some things, I need to do a better job of making sure we're ready for that environment playing against a team that is looking for a little bit of revenge honestly and to be able up to that challenge."
Junior
Taylor Jacobsen notched a team-high 14 kills and redshirt junior
Morgan Gappmayer totaled eight – all coming in the final two sets. For the second consecutive match though, the Lumberjacks' middles enjoyed productive outings with sophomores
Jordan Elder and
Savannah Bloom each posting seven kills and hitting a combined .500.
For Bloom, the kill total was a career-best as was her attack percentage of .583. She also had a hand in six of NAU's 8.0 blocks in a slim blocking advantage for the Lumberjacks. The Lobos managed to hit .277 in the match, while keeping NAU to a .233 percentage.
Matched up with New Mexico for the second consecutive contest, NAU could not complete the week's sweep over the Mountain West foe. Nothing went right for the 'Jacks to open Saturday's match as the Lobos scored the first five points and were just getting started.
By the time NAU called its second and final timeout down 13-4, New Mexico had four aces. Although the 'Jacks only hit .105 with five kills, the first set was determined at the service line where the Lobos had a whopping seven aces and also received four points off Lumberjack service errors.
Freshman
Sophia Wadsworth and Jacobsen produced back-to-back kills during a 3-0 NAU start to the second set, only for the Lobos to score six straight. That was the sole lead change although the Lumberjacks played the game close until the Lobos pulled away.
Elder recorded four of her seven kills in the stanza to lead an improved NAU attack as the 'Jacks actually outhit the home team, .235-.212, but the Lobos had five more kills. NAU trailed just 12-10 before New Mexico scored seven of the next 10 points to extend its lead out to a set-high six points at 19-13 and the 'Jacks would not get closer than three the rest of the way.
The Lumberjacks responded in a big way to stay alive in the match with NAU's outside hitters doing damage. Jacobsen pounded seven kills and Gappmayer had six, leading NAU to a .433 hitting percentage in the third set. The set was tight with NAU holding on to just a 7-6 lead before the Lumberjacks went on a 10-4 run capped by a tandem block by Bloom and senior
Ryann Davis.
The Lumberjacks' seven-point lead was trimmed to just two at 20-18, but NAU closed on a 5-0 run. Bloom terminated an overpass on set point to extend the match.
NAU quickly erased a 3-0 deficit to start the fourth set, scoring five straight to take a 7-5 advantage. However, New Mexico immediately answered with six points of its own to seize an 11-7 lead. Consecutive kills by Wadsworth and Jacobsen closed the gap to 14-11, only for the Lobos to put away the match with a 5-0 run.
"I thought we got better as the match went on," Murphy said. "We played a much better second and third sets and a couple of things got away from us in the fourth set, but I thought we played a strong set competitively. I liked how our team hung in. We couldn't have started much poorer than we did and by the end I thought we were playing pretty good volleyball. I give our team a lot of credit for making that change and improving as the match went on."
Sophomore
Millie O'Ketter tied a season-high with 17 digs, leading all players, but was the only Lumberjack in double-figures. NAU was outdug, 53-44, for the match.
NAU will open conference play next Thursday at home versus Idaho at 6:30 p.m. The first Big Sky weekend wraps up on Saturday in the Rolle Activity Center at 12 p.m. against Eastern Washington.
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