FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 4, 2022) – Hoping to end their road through the state of Utah with a victory, the Northern Arizona volleyball team will square off against a familiar foe on Monday in the America First Event Center. The Lumberjacks (1-4) will meet Southern Utah (0-4) in Cedar City, Utah at 12 p.m. MST in a matchup between former Big Sky Conference rivals on ESPN+.
The Lumberjacks are coming off a pair of three-set losses – the program's first consecutive sweeps in nearly five years – at the Utah Valley Invitational. NAU was swept by California and Utah Valley in its first matches of the season away from Flagstaff despite playing both teams close. Four of the six set losses were by four points or fewer.
After opening the season by allowing its first three opponents to hit only .149, the Lumberjacks surrendered a .318 opponent hitting percentage to the Golden Bears and the Wolverines. Meanwhile, NAU hit only .189 in its two matches in Orem on Friday and Saturday.
"I thought we competed really hard and we fought out there," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "What I'm hoping for is we continue on that path; understanding who we are, learning how to compete every point and fight for results."
Despite the statistical disadvantages, the Lumberjacks' fight was on full display as it has been through their 1-4 start to the season. Although NAU continues to try to find consistent offense, the Lumberjacks' defense and passing has been positive marks on the court.
NAU paces the Big Sky in digs (15.69 per set) and is second in opponent aces (1.00 per set). Albeit a small sample size, both are improvements from a season ago when NAU averaged 14.75 digs per set and its opponents averaged 1.54 aces per set.
Junior
Millie O'Ketter, who along with senior
Taylor Jacobsen was named to the Utah Valley Invitational All-Tournament Team, has been exceptional defensively to start the season, ranking second in the Big Sky with 4.44 digs per set. O'Ketter has posted at least a dozen digs in four of five matches, and has been equally impressive at the service line where she leads the team with 11 aces at an average of 0.69 per set. Coming off three aces versus Utah Valley on Saturday, O'Ketter has multiple aces in three of five matches.
Jacobsen has been the league's top attacker following 31 kills in two matches recently in Orem. With 15 or more kills in four of five matches this season so far, Jacobsen is leading the conference with 4.81 kills per set and enters Monday's match at Southern Utah just 40 kills shy of becoming the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000 kill milestone.
Alongside Jacobsen, the Lumberjacks rotated both freshman
Kylie Moran and redshirt freshman
Jordan Cherniss at the second outside hitter position over the weekend. Moran – who ranks second on the team with 1.92 kills per set – started against California, matching her young career-high total of seven kills, before Cherniss got the nod versus Utah Valley.
In her first career action on the outside, Cherniss posted five kills and three blocks against the Wolverines. In the previous four matches, Cherniss saw action as one of the team's defensive specialists.
NAU was shorthanded in the middle over the weekend, leading to junior
Savannah Hasson moving back inside from the right pin where she played at the Lumberjack Classic last weekend. Hasson thrived defensively back in the middle, recording a team-high seven blocks at Utah Valley and she now leads the 'Jacks with 16 total blocks.
With a long trip coming up later this week to Fargo, N.D., NAU will try to snap its mini two-match losing streak in Cedar City before making a brief stop back at home. The Lumberjacks will put their 16-match winning streak over the Thunderbirds on the line in the America First Event Center where they have won seven consecutive matches.
NAU and Southern Utah will meet for the first time as non-conference opponents since 2010 following the Thunderbirds' departure to the WAC in July. Southern Utah, who was a Big Sky member from 2012-22, was just 1-19 versus NAU during its 10-year tenure in the league.
Southern Utah is searching for its first win of the season after falling to Cal State Fullerton in five sets on Saturday in its lone match of the weekend. The Thunderbirds nearly rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in their home opener, but came up short in the fifth and final set. Dating back to last season, Southern Utah has dropped 12 consecutive matches.
Molly McDermott and Rylee Achtzehn have been effective and efficient offensively this season, ranking first and second on the team with 2.47 and 2.38 kills per set respectively. Achtzehn is hitting .244, while McDermott is hitting .240. In addition to leading the Thunderbirds in kills, McDermott also has split time at setter totaling 57 assists in four matches. She is second on the team in assists behind Macy Short, who leads the team with 88 assists along with five aces.
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