FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 12, 2022) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team will be return to the court this week in their final non-conference action of the season with a pair of matches versus New Mexico. The Lumberjacks and Lobos will first meet in Albuquerque, N.M. on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. MST before the rematch on Friday in the Rolle Activity Center on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday's match will be streamed on the Mountain West Network, while Friday's match in Flagstaff will be available on ESPN+. The first 100 fans at Friday's match will receive a free mini volleyball.
This week's matches will mark the second consecutive season that NAU and New Mexico will square off on the court in a home-and-home series. Last season, the Lumberjacks and the Lobos split the series with each team winning on their home court in four sets.
Wednesday will also mark the Lumberjacks' return to action after a near two-week layoff. Due to injuries, NAU was forced to cancel its last four matches since the 'Jacks competed at the Utah Valley Invitational during the first weekend of the month.
In Orem, NAU (1-4) suffered a pair of three-set losses to California and Utah Valley. The two losses came on the heels of NAU's season-opening weekend at home at the Lumberjack Classic which featured the Lumberjacks' first win of the season over Old Dominion on Aug. 27.
Led by senior
Taylor Jacobsen and junior
Millie O'Ketter, the Lumberjacks will aim to get back into a competitive flow in addition to preparing for the Big Sky Conference slate after the layoff. Both Jacobsen and O'Ketter rank atop the league statistically after both earning All-Tournament Team honors at Utah Valley.
Jacobsen, who is 40 kills shy of becoming the 16th player in program history to reach 1,000 in her career, paces the Big Sky and ranks seventh in the country with 4.81 kills per set. While the kill average through the young season would be the best of Jacobsen's career, so would O'Ketter's 4.44 digs and 0.69 aces per set. Both of O'Ketter's averages also lead the Big Sky with the latter ranking her 14th nationally.
The Lumberjacks continue to rank second in the Big Sky with 15.69 digs and 1.88 aces per set as their defense and service pressure have been positive points so far. Behind O'Ketter, junior
Kate Hatch ranks 10th in the league with 3.25 digs per set.
At the net, junior
Jordan Elder leads the Big Sky with 1.40 blocks per set while junior
Savannah Hasson ranks eighth at 1.00.
The final week of the non-conference portion of the schedule will present the Lumberjacks with a stiff challenge in the Lobos. New Mexico heads into the week coming off a perfect 3-0 weekend at the UC San Diego Tournament with victories over Pacific, Liberty and the host UC San Diego.
Now 7-1 this season after a 20-win campaign a year ago, the Lobos are hitting .203 and opponents are hitting .160 against the Lobos with the latter ranking 42nd in the country. The Lobos are also top 50 nationally with 65 aces and 1.91 aces per set.
Kaitlynn Biassou and Uxue Guereca are both averaging at least 3.00 kills per set. Biassou, who also leads the team with 16 service aces, paces the Lobos with 3.50 kills per set. Guereca is averaging 3.00 kills per set exactly. Alena Moldan ranks second in the Mountain West with 149 total digs and 4.38 digs per set, two numbers that place her in the top 75 in the country.
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