MISSOULA, Mont. (October 13, 2022) – Another night on the court produced another five-set match for the Northern Arizona volleyball team, as the Lumberjacks looked to return the favor with a reverse sweep in Missoula.
Battling back after dropping a pair of closely contested sets to start the night at Dahlberg Arena, the Lumberjacks handed the Montana Grizzlies a pair of losses to set up the sixth five-set contest in their past seven matches. However, a slow start to the set left Northern Arizona trying to climb back into the decisive set before falling 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 19-25, 15-8 on Thursday night.
The tide turned in Northern Arizona's favor early in the third set, taking a 5-2 lead after a 2-2 tie thanks to kills by
Jordan Cherniss,
Kate Hatch and
Jordan Elder. Following a service error by the Grizzlies, Cherniss recorded one of her four service aces as the Lumberjacks put together a 5-1 stretch to force a Montana timeout at 11-4.
Though the Grizzlies cut the third-set deficit down to as little as four, leading to Lumberjacks head coach
Ken Murphy calling a timeout, a three-point run started by a kill from Cherniss and ending with a service ace by
Jasmine West put Northern Arizona back in control.
While Elder finished with four kills and a pair of blocks in the third set, it was
Savannah Hasson who led the way in the fourth.
Recording six kills and a block, Hasson closed out the set with a dominant stretch after Montana pulled even.
After Montana scored the opening point of the set, Northern Arizona took over and led by as much as five points. Kills by Cherniss and Hasson pushed the Lumberjacks' lead to 13-8, with
Neche Newton and Hasson recording kills to cancel out a pair of points by the Grizzlies. A 6-1 run for Montana finally gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the opening point at 19-18, but the Lumberjacks tied it back up at 19 and 20.
Hasson's kill trailing 20-19 kicked off the Lumberjacks' own 6-1 run, with the junior added another to regain the lead 21-20.
Kacee Moore's service ace led to a Montana timeout at 22-20, but Northern Arizona closed out the victory at 25-21 as Hasson added a third kill in the Lumberjacks final six points of the set.
The Lumberjacks nearly outhit the Grizzlies, finishing at .194 to Montana's .202, and finished with a significant advantage at the service line with 10 aces to four. Hasson's 15 kills led the Lumberjacks, followed by 11 for Elder and 10 for Moore. Edler added a team-high six blocks, followed by Hasson's four to go along with a .500 hitting percentage.
Forced into a fifth set after leading 2-0 to start the night, Montana jumped ahead with three consecutive points in the final set. After Northern Arizona lost a review of the set's second point, Montana won a review of their own on the third, flipping the momentum by controlling the set at 3-0. Northern Arizona cut the deficit back to 7-5 on a pair of errors by Montana, but a 7-1 stretch effectively put the match away for the Grizzlies.
Northern Arizona and Montana opened the night with a back-and-forth first set, as the sides tied 11 times and traded the lead four times. Neither the Lumberjacks nor Grizzlies led by more than three points until the Grizzlies final 3-0 run to close out the set.
An early lead in the second set, with three consecutive points to open play, allowed Montana to maintain control for much of the way. Down by as much as seven in the set at 13-6, Northern Arizona chipped away to eventually tie the score at 20-20.
Back-to-back service aces from Cherniss finished off a 7-2 run, but it was kills by Newton and Moore with an ace from
Kate Hatch to finally even the set. An attack error by Montana put Northern Arizona in front for the only time in the set at 21-20, but the Grizzlies held off the rally with two kills and a block following a 22-22 tie.
Slipping to 2-11 overall and 1-5 in the Big Sky, the Lumberjacks will head to Bozeman, Mont. to face the Montana State Bobcats (6-12, 2-4 Big Sky) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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