BOZEMAN, Mont. (November 4, 2023) – After saving a set point down 24-23 in the second set before rattling off three consecutive points to even the match at the break, Northern Arizona Volleyball was unable to keep the momentum the rest of the way falling to Montana State in four sets, 23-25, 26-24, 21-25, 21-25 in Bozeman on Saturday night.
It was the first time this season that the Lumberjacks have come back and won a set with the opponent having had a set point.
"That was a great, competitive volleyball match," head coach Ken Murphy said. "There was great defense being played on both sides. I felt like we fought very hard and left everything that we had on the court. I am just really proud of this group."
The four-setter in Bozeman on Saturday was neck-and-neck throughout, featuring a grand total of 40 tied scores and 20 lead changes over the two-hour, 13-minute contest. It was a season-high in both categories for a Northern Arizona match in 2023.
Redshirt freshman Hanah Stoddard had 20 kills in a match for the third time in her first season as a Lumberjack, hitting 22 tonight against Montana State. In addition, she would put up her sixth double-double of the season, adding on 10 digs.
"Hanah had another great night all around and obviously provided a lot of offense for us," Murphy said. "I also thought that Neche [Newton] was also very active on the court and made some big plays at important times in the match."
Two other Lumberjacks joined Stoddard with double-digit digs. This included senior Millie O'Ketter, with a team-high 20, and redshirt senior Taylor Jacobsen, who had 10 of her own.
"In my mind, Millie is turning into an elite libero, and we saw her take another step forward today," Murphy said.
For the third time in four matches, Newton hit over .300, with Saturday's .364, nine kills on 22 swings performance. Junior Kendall Robertson would crack the .400 plateau with five kills on 11 attacks.
Despite ending with six more kills than Montana State in the opening set, Montana took the lead after being tied at 8-8 and started to grow the lead, getting as high as four in the latter stages of set one.
In what would become a theme for the rest of the match, NAU slowly began to climb back to a level playing field, winning 10 of 16 points following a 16-12 deficit. The Lumberjacks would eventually tie the match at 22 before three of the next four would go Montana State's way to end the first set.
Set two saw Northern Arizona trail by as many as five and at risk of dropping the first two sets of play. Down 17-12, the Lumberjacks went to work, going on a 5-0 run to bring it back even at 17 and force a Montana State timeout.
Both teams would continue to tie and alternate leads until it was evened at 24 apiece. Then back-to-back kills from Newton and Stoddard would complete the Lumberjack comeback in set two. And just like set one, it was the team that had fewer kills that would win the set.
Margins were once again razor-thin after the break, with the score getting to within one at 22-21. A 3-0 Bobcat run after that scoreline would put the home team back in the driver's seat heading into set four.
With each of the three sets seeing the team with fewer kills ending up as the winner, Montana State did not let that be the case in the fourth set, striking 19 kills as a team and hitting a match-high .289 in the fourth. NAU would have a chance late, tying the score at 21 before a 4-0 run from the Bobcats would put the match on ice.
Looking ahead, the bottom half of four straight on the road will continue next week for Northern Arizona as they will go up against Eastern Washington on Thursday night and Idaho on Saturday afternoon.
Start times are slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
To stay up to date with the NAU volleyball team, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
