FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 1, 2022) – For the fourth consecutive home match, the Northern Arizona volleyball team pushed their opponent to the distance only to come up just short. On Saturday, the Lumberjacks forced a fifth set against Portland State, but the Vikings emerged with a 20-25, 25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 15-6 victory.
Of NAU's four straight 3-2 losses in the Rolle Activity Center, three have come within the first two weeks of conference play. Following their most recent defeat, the Lumberjacks are 1-10 overall and 0-4 in the Big Sky.
"We've played four conference matches and we've been in all of them," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We've had stretches of each match where we've felt we've been in control enough to feel like we should have won them. We're going in the right direction. It's difficult to lose some of these matches, but this is when our character shows the most; when we keep fighting and keep pushing and demand that we get the results that we want."
NAU outhit Portland State until the fifth set, where the Lumberjacks struggled recording a single kill in the decisive game. As a result, Portland State gained the hitting advantage, .171-.160, in a match controlled by the defenses and featuring several extended rallies.
Junior
Millie O'Ketter continued her torrid tear in the dig column, registering her fourth straight 20-dig match with 26. She led an NAU effort that recorded 78 digs to Portland State's 82. Meanwhile, the 'Jacks outblocked the Vikings, 9.0-4.0, with senior
Neche Newton totaling a team-best four.
The Lumberjacks jumped out to the early match lead by winning the battle of runs. Portland State opened with a 6-2 only for NAU to score eight of the next 11 points. The Vikings moved back in front, 13-11, with a short 4-1 spurt before the 'Jacks landed the haymaker.
A 7-0 run powered by two kills each from junior
Kate Hatch and freshman
Kylie Moran as well as a pair of Lumberjack blocks, swung the score in NAU's favor 18-13 and the 'Jacks never gave it back. NAU's offense was hot from the start, recording 14 kills in the first set with three each from Hatch, Moran, junior
Jordan Elder and redshirt freshman
Kacee Moore.
The Lumberjacks' offense hit even better in the second set at .250 compared to .216 in the previous game, but the Vikings could not be stopped. Portland State bounced back to hit .333 with 17 kills to even the match. After Moore briefly snapped a 6-6 tie with a kill, Portland State used a 9-1 run to take a 15-8 lead that grew to as many as 10.
The Vikings, who improved to 8-7 overall and 3-1 in the Big Sky, did not trail in the third set, utilizing a 3-0 game-opening run to go wire-to-wire. They took a 2-1 lead into the fourth set where they were the first to 10 points at 10-8. Eventually tied at 13-13, NAU slowly pulled away with a 5-1 run.
Junior
Savannah Hasson and Moran led the charge with five kills apiece, while Hasson in particular was unstoppable with her five kills coming on six swings. She finished the match with a career-high eight kills.
The Lumberjacks' 18-14 lead was trimmed to 23-21 late, but Elder gave NAU set point with a kill and the 'Jacks clinched the game on the ensuing point on a Viking error.
In the final set, Portland State seized the momentum early with a 4-1 lead that the Vikings maintained throughout. The Vikings hit .240 in the fifth set compared to -.130 for the Lumberjacks.
"I really liked the flow of our team today," Murphy said. "We played hard and we created a ton of momentum for ourselves through our blocking and defense. We had the match in control for long stretches and we'll look back knowing we didn't play a good fifth set and we didn't play a good second set either. We know we have to be consistent when we have a team where we want them."
Moran and Moore both reached double-figure kills with 11 and 10 respectively to lead the team. Hatch had a solid all-around performance in notching her team-leading seventh double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs to go along with five kills and a pair of blocks.
The Lumberjacks will have just a single match next week with Northern Colorado on deck. The Bears, the defending Big Sky tournament champions and preseason favorite to repeat, will come into Rolle next Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. match following the NAU Football Family Weekend game.
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