FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 14, 2023) – After nine consecutive head-to-head meetings between Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado in volleyball in which the home team has prevailed, NAU (5-12, 2-4) was unable to extend the streak to double digits, falling in straight sets, 15-25, 19-25, 14-25 at Rolle Activity Center on Saturday night.
With the win on Saturday, Northern Colorado took back possession of the Blue and Gold Battle trophy after coming out on top in both regular season meetings during the first year of the trophy being awarded. It was also UNC's first win at Rolle Activity Center since Sept. 21, 2017.
"Give credit to Northern Colorado. They played fast and under control on their side," head coach Ken Murphy said. "They made us play on our heels for all three sets, and we were challenging our team to step up to bat and affect their momentum, but they simply kept it up throughout the match."
Both teams were neck and neck with one another through the first half of the first set. After trailing by only one at 10-9, Northern Colorado began to find momentum on the offensive side of the floor.
Winning 15 of the final 21 points after leading by one, the Bears ended the opening stage of the contest with a .303 hitting percentage on the strength of 14 kills.
Just like set one, set two would begin in a similar fashion, featuring 7 tied scores and a lead change through the first 20 points of the second.
Down 15-12 at the second set media timeout, the kills began to come in bunches for the two squads.
Sophia Wadsworth would record four of her six total kills en route to a .375 percentage in the second set of play.
Northern Colorado would once again counter, finishing the set with 17 team kills and a match-high .361 mark to go up two sets to none at the half.
The third set would see the Lumberjacks fall behind early, calling a timeout, trailing 11-6. The defending conference champions would not relent, going on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 10, giving them plenty of breathing room to close out the match.
Northern Arizona will return to the court next week as they are back on the road for another Thursday and Saturday slate. First up on Thursday night will be a date with the Idaho State Bengals, followed by a match with Weber State on Saturday afternoon.
Like all NAU Big Sky matches this season, the two matches will be streamed on ESPN+. The Thursday meeting with Idaho State will get underway at 6 p.m. before it will be a Saturday matinee with Weber State at 12 p.m.
"I feel like when we are at our best, we have a shot against anybody in our conference," Murphy said. "These conference matches are all important for us. It is crucial that we learn from a day like today, and we will have two good opportunities to do that next week."
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