GREELEY, Colo. (September 30, 2023) – In her first season at Northern Arizona, Hanah Stoddard leads the team with 174 kills and 188 points. Against Northern Colorado, the redshirt freshman recorded new career highs with 25 kills in addition to hitting over .360 for a second time this year in NAU's (4-10, 1-2) five-set defeat at the hands of defending Big Sky Conference Champion Northern Colorado, 19-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 9-15 in Greeley.
"Hanah was really good from start to finish," head coach Ken Murphy said. "She is one of the reasons I am so optimistic about this team. She gets better every week, and we are just starting to see the beginning of what she is capable of."
Since head coach Ken Murphy took over the Northern Arizona volleyball program in 2013, nine of the 15 meetings between the Bears and Lumberjacks have gone the distance.
"It was a great match, and I'm proud of how we competed throughout," Murphy said. "The progress we are making as a team was very evident tonight. If we can stay on this trajectory, matches like this will soon become wins very soon."
After beginning quickly in its last match with Idaho last Saturday, NAU followed the same pattern in the first set, forcing Northern Colorado to use its first timeout with a 10-6 lead.
Both squads would trade runs after the UNC timeout. First, it was Northern Arizona that went on a 3-0 run thanks to kills from Kylie Moran and Stoddard and a Bear attack error.
Moran was second to Stoddard, recording 17 kills. The sophomore picked up a team-high fourth double-double of the season, adding 10 digs to her final line score.
Then it was Northern Colorado's turn to go on a run. The home team would one-up the Lumberjacks and took the next four points to go up 14-13, forcing Murphy to use a timeout.
Slowly, the reigning Big Sky Champions would begin to pull away in set one, as UNC hit at a .379 clip in the opening set of action en route to an early lead in the match.
Opportunities were much more limited for Northern Colorado in the second set, as NAU's defense would cause eight errors on attack from UNC in set two.
With set one seeing Northern Arizona hit at a solid .250, the Lumberjacks upped their offensive level in the second, with a percentage at .281.
Up 18-13 in set two, the Lumberjacks were beginning to pull away and looked like they were going to cruise to their bench, even at a set apiece. Northern Colorado got the match back squared at 20 before another 3-0 run from NAU gave them some breathing room.
On the third set point, a kill from Moran ended Northern Arizona's 12 consecutive sets dropped against UNC at the Bank of Colorado Arena dating back to March 17, 2021.
Coming out of the half, the margins were razor thin heading into the media timeout in set three, with the visitors holding onto a one-point advantage of 15-14. Six tied scores would soon follow, including the teams being squared at 20, 21, and 22 late in the set.
There were 15 tied scores to go along with eight lead changes in the third set.
At the end of set three, Northern Arizona would wind up hitting two of its four service errors across the final four points to give the Bears a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.
A heartbreaking end to set three did not deter the Lumberjacks in set four, as they would score eight of the first 11 points attempting to regain the momentum. Just like in set one, Northern Colorado allowed the Bears to regroup and close the NAU lead to two at 13-11.
The Lumberjacks would then make their move, taking seven of the next eight to grow its biggest lead of the set at 20-12. As was the case most of the night, the lead would shrink down to within one at 24-23.
But on set point at 24-23, another kill from Stoddard sent Northern Arizona to a fourth fifth-set contest of the season and gave the Lumberjacks 17 kills in a set for a second straight match.
Unlike the previous four sets, it was one-sided in the fifth. After the Lumberjacks took the first point, the Bears would rattle off seven straight to take command of the decider. NAU would get back within four on two separate occasions, but it was too much to overcome.
Beginning conference play with two of its first three matches on the road, Northern Arizona will play three straight at Rolle Activity Center. First comes a Thursday match with Montana State that will get underway at 6:30 p.m. A 12 p.m. Saturday matinee against Montana will follow. Another crack at Northern Colorado will be the final match of the three-game swing on Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
All three matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
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