Northern Arizona Earns Second-Straight Five-Set Victory with a Win over Idaho

It was as close as it could get for the Northern Arizona University volleyball team tonight in Moscow, Idaho, as the Lumberjacks took on Idaho and earned a hard-fought, five-set, victory. Four out of the five sets were decided by two points, and the Lumberjacks came out on the winning end, 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13).
 
It was the second-straight victory for NAU with both coming in five sets as the Lumberjacks knocked off Idaho State last Saturday (Nov. 12). Tonight marked the ninth five-set match for the Lumberjacks this season, setting a new program record. In five set matches this season, Northern Arizona is 4-5. It also marked the first time NAU has won consecutive matches all season and the first time the Lumberjacks have come back in a match when down 2-1.
 
With the win, the Lumberjacks improve to 5-17 overall and 4-11 in Big Sky Conference play. The Vandals drop to 4-23 and 1-14. The win avenges a 3-1 loss that NAU suffered to Idaho in Flagstaff back on Oct. 22. It also keeps NAU's postseason hopes of advancing to the Big Sky Tournament alive.
 
In the victory, the Lumberjacks hit at a season-high clip of .310, marking the second-straight match that NAU has set a season-high hitting percentage, besting the mark of .273 set against Idaho State last week. The Lumberjacks also served a season-high 11 aces.
 
An individual milestone was set as well, with junior Millie O'Ketter earning her 1,000^th-career dig. She had 20 on the night for her 12^th game this season with at least 20 digs.
 
"I was proud of our fight the whole night. Our team took control and continued to fight back. Earlier in the season, we lost a lot of these five-set matches, so tonight's win shows how much we have grown and matured, and how badly we want to keep playing. I'm proud of the way we approached tonight's match," said head coach Ken Murphy. "Millie O'Ketter was all over the court organizing our defense and playing hard. Kate Hatch served great, and we had five in double-digit kills to keep us balanced. It was great to see us come together."
 
Jordan Elder led the way with 15 kills, tying a career high. She hit .414 on the night with only three errors on 29 attempts, adding five block assists. Kylie Moran earned her third double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs, hitting .216 with four block assists. Kate Hatch also earned a double-double, her 12^th of the year, with 44 assists and 12 digs. She also had three aces and hit .750 with six kills on eight attempts and no errors.
 
Savannah Hasson (12) and Neche Newton (11) were the other two Lumberjacks in double figures. O'Ketter and Jordan Cherniss also had three aces each.
 
The Vandals jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before a 3-0 run by NAU cut the deficit down to 5-4. An ace by O'Ketter tied the set 9-9, but Idaho responded with a 6-0 run to take a 15-9 lead. Out of the media timeout, a 4-0 spurt by the Lumberjacks cut the lead down to 15-13. Later, a big block by Newton and Moran put NAU within a point, 16-15. From there, the teams went point-for-point and NAU trailed 22-21 before the Vandals found two quick points to lead 24-22. The Lumberjacks fought off set point twice, but Idaho had the final say and won 25-23, taking an early 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Set two was as tightly contested as it possibly could be with 19 ties and seven lead changes. Neither side could find a lead by more than a point. With the set tied 17-17, the Vandals served consecutive aces for a 19-17 lead that forced an NAU timeout. The Lumberjacks came back to tie it, and an ace by Cherniss gave NAU a 20-19 lead. The set would be tied at 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23 until a kill by Elder and an ace from O'Ketter put the set away, 25-23, and the Lumberjacks even the matched.
 
Carrying momentum from a set two victory, the Lumberjacks held an early 11-6 lead in set three. A 5-0 run by Idaho gave the Vandals a 16-15 lead. Set three featured 11 ties and five lead changes as well, and the two sides found themselves locked once again at 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23, except this time it was UI who found the final two points to win 25-23 and retake the 2-1 overall lead.
 
Much like the previous sets, the teams were tied 3-3 early on. A 7-0 run by the Vandals hoped to put NAU away with an 8-3 lead that grew to 10-6. The Lumberjacks refused to back down, using a 5-0 run to take a 12-11. The teams exchanged points down the stretch, and a 3-0 run by Northern Arizona gave some distance with a 22-18 advantage. A kill by Newton followed by a block assist from Hasson and Elder gave NAU the final two points and the Lumberjacks forced a fifth set with a 25-20 victory.
 
Idaho led 4-3 in the crucial fifth set but committed consecutive errors that gave NAU a 6-5 lead. Sticking with the theme of the night, the set moved in to a 10-10, 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13 tie. A kill by O'Ketter followed by one from Kacee Moore were the deciding factors, as Northern Arizona won 15-13 and took the five-set thriller, 3-2.
 
The Lumberjacks had 11 aces to Idaho's six, which was the difference, as the Vandals had 75 kills to NAU's 66. Northern Arizona also out-blocked UI, 8-to-6.
 
The final regular season match takes place on Saturday, Nov. 19, when the Lumberjacks face Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash., at 8 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The Eagles (10-16, 5-9) host first-place Northern Colorado tomorrow night. Northern Arizona beat EWU in five sets back on Oct. 20 in Flagstaff.