| Northern Arizona at Idaho State | at Weber State |
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 17, 2023) – The Northern Arizona volleyball team will be back on the road for the first time since Sept. 30 to take on Idaho State on Thursday night and Weber State on Saturday afternoon. The Lumberjacks will play six of their next eight matches away from Flagstaff leading up to the season's final weekend.
"I think that our main focus this weekend is us being on the road for a little longer," head coach Ken Murphy said. "It has been a long time since we have been on the road for this long, and to go into two different environments, two different styles of teams, and play our type of volleyball is going to be a challenge for us. We have a lot of confidence in our ability to compete at the highest levels in this conference."
This will be the first of NAU's two meetings of the season with Idaho State and Weber State. Northern Arizona will play host to the same teams at Rolle Activity Center on Nov. 16 and Nov. 18 to conclude the regular season before the 2023 Big Sky Conference Volleyball Championships.
Northern Arizona will be looking to rebound after being swept at home by the defending conference champion Northern Colorado Bears last Saturday.
NAU has had a track record of success when playing Idaho State, as the Lumberjacks have won each of the past seven meetings dating back to 2018. This includes a three-match winning streak at the Reed Gym in Pocatello.
Last season saw only one contest held between Idaho State and Northern Arizona, with the Lumberjacks emerging victorious in five sets. NAU hit .406 in the first set and an even .600 in the deciding set to beat the Bengals at home on November 12, 2022.
Idaho State (4-14, 2-5) is coming off a weekend in which they split two matches on the road. The Bengals took out Portland State in four sets last Thursday before falling to Sacramento State at The Nest on Saturday. The other conference win for Idaho State came in the Battle of the Domes when they beat in-state rival Idaho in five sets at home on Sept. 30.
It has been a different story for the Lumberjacks playing Weber State. The Wildcats have taken six straight from NAU, returning to the abbreviated Spring 2021 COVID-19 season. Northern Arizona will be looking for their first win in Ogden since Oct. 18, 2018, which was also the last time the Lumberjacks qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Weber State (13-5, 6-1) is one of three Big Sky teams (Montana State and Sacramento State) with a 6-1 record through its first seven matches of the year. The Wildcats are victors of their last five matches, which is the longest active streak in the conference. Last week saw Weber sweep both Big Sky weekly awards, with Dani Richins winning Offensive Player of the Week and Kate Standifird taking home Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Thursday's match will get underway from Pocatello at 6 p.m. MST and Saturday afternoon's contest from Ogden has a start time scheduled for 12 p.m. MST. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
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