FULL 2022 SCHEDULE
PURCHASE SEASON TICKETS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 10, 2022) – Featuring 12 home matches in the Rolle Activity Center, including three during the opening weekend of the 2022 season, the Northern Arizona volleyball team revealed their upcoming fall schedule in an announcement by head coach
Ken Murphy on Monday.
Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming fall at this
link. Season tickets for the Lumberjacks' 12 home matches inside Rolle Activity Center are $50 with fees included. Single game tickets will go on sale starting July 26. With any questions, fans are encouraged to email
LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu.
Fans will get an immediate look at this fall's squad on Friday, Aug. 26 with the first day of the NAU's annual Lumberjack Classic. With a pair of matches against Utah Tech – formerly Dixie State – and national powerhouse Michigan, NAU will officially open up the season with its home tournament for the first time since 2008. The only other time in the last 14 years that the Lumberjacks opened the season at home was during the COVID-19 abbreviated conference-only slate in the spring of 2021.
The Lumberjack Classic, which will also include NAU's tournament finale against Old Dominion on Aug. 27, will be part of the university's Move-in Weekend on the Mountain Campus.
"We're excited to be part of the first weekend of events at NAU and to get the season going in front of our fans," Murphy said. "Usually we'll have to wait a few weeks to play in front of them, so we'll be ready to show them where we're at."
Michigan is the headline opponent coming to Flagstaff and will the Lumberjacks' evening matchup on Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m. The Wolverines, one of two non-conference opponents to play in the NCAA Tournament last fall, will be making their first trip to the Rolle Activity Center. The two teams have met just once before back in 2019 with Michigan, ranked No. 15 nationally at the time, holding off NAU's upset bid in Ann Arbor, Mich. in five sets.
The Lumberjacks' second weekend will take them to the state of Utah where they will play California and Utah Valley at Utah Valley's tournament in Orem on Sept. 2 and 3. Utah Valley, who knocked off NAU in Rolle last season in four sets, is the two-time defending WAC Tournament Champions with a pair of NCAA Tournament bids the last two seasons.
On their way back to Flagstaff, NAU will make a quick stop in Cedar City to face Southern Utah on Sept. 5. The matchup between the Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds will be a non-conference one with Southern Utah officially exiting the Big Sky Conference and joining the WAC effective July 1.
NAU will then make its furthest road trip of the season to North Dakota State's tournament during the third weekend with matches lined up against Central Michigan, Chicago State and the host North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D. on Sept. 9 and 10. It will be the Lumberjacks' first all-time meetings with all three teams. Chicago State is the third postseason team on NAU's non-conference schedule having tied for third in the WAC in 2021 and earning a bid to the NIVC.
Before heading into conference play, the 'Jacks will once again play a home-and-home with New Mexico, who is coming off a 20-win season. The two teams will meet in Albuquerque, N.M. on Sept. 14 and then in Rolle on Sept. 16. Last season, the two teams split their home-and-home with each team winning on their respective home floors.
"We feel that the strength of our non-conference presents us with good challenges, but challenges our team is ready for," Murphy said. "Last year, our non-conference was really tough given the age of our team and where we were as a program. This schedule is perfect for us. It is strong, presents some NCAA teams and is RPI boosting. Our team matured during the offseason and this feels like a schedule our team will be challenged by."
Following four weeks of non-conference action, the Lumberjacks will play the first of 16 league matches at home versus Montana on Thursday, Sept. 22. NAU will then play at the defending Big Sky regular season champion Weber State on Sept. 24 to wrap up the initial weekend of conference play.
Aside from its quick trip to Ogden, NAU will play four of its first five conference matches in Flagstaff before playing five of its next seven on the road. The Lumberjacks' final homestand of the season will be Nov. 10 and 12 versus Weber State and Idaho State before concluding the regular season at Idaho and Eastern Washington the following weekend.
Overall, NAU will play each team twice home and away with the exception of Montana State and Idaho State. The Lumberjacks will play the Bobcats only once in Bozeman on Oct. 15, while their Senior Day match against the Bengals on Nov. 12 will be the only season meeting between the two teams.
"I don't remember a year where the Big Sky is so balanced," Murphy said. "There are a lot of teams who can compete for the championship this year and there are going to be a lot of matches that will be very close in the conference. In terms of balance, this may be the most exciting year in recent memory in the Big Sky."
The Lumberjacks return 10 players from last season's 12-14 team headlined by senior
Taylor Jacobsen, who was voted to the All-Big Sky First Team for the second time in her career in 2021. NAU tied for fourth in the Big Sky with a 10-6 league record, marking the 10th consecutive season that the Lumberjacks posted a winning conference record.
To stay up to date with the NAU volleyball team, follow the Lumberjacks on
Twitter and
Instagram.
