MOSCOW, Idaho (Oct. 24, 2024) - The winning streak continues for the Northern Arizona women's volleyball team as they took on the Idaho Vandals, winning in three identical sets 25-19, 25-19, 25-19. The Lumberjacks have won their last three Big Sky Conference games, moving their record to 10-9, 3-5. The Vandals move to 1-18, 0-8 in their 2024 season.
"I think our team grew a lot tonight and continued building confidence in ourselves," head coach Ken Murphy said. "We leaned more on our offense than usual but we have some very good attackers and it was good to see contributions from so many players. Our setters Keira and Melia did a great job of putting our getters in good situations."
The Lumberjacks took the early lead in the first set with a 6-1 run, which saw three kills by Hanah Stoddard and one by Sophia Wadsworth. Idaho made a 4-1 run to not let the Lumberjacks stray too far ahead. Two kills in a row came from Taylor Jacobsen to put the score at 9-5 before Idaho made a 5-2 run to get within one at 11-10. Gigi Greenlee, Jacobsen, and Stoddard would all complete kills as part of a 6-1 run to get ahead by five (17-12). Savannah Bloom made a kill as part of a 5-1 run to put Northern Arizona in the lead at 23-15. From here, the Vandals made a final push with four straight points to earn 19 points. A kill by Wadsworth followed by a bad set from Idaho would give the 'Jacks the first set 25-19.
Set two began with a 5-1 run by Northern Arizona, including kills by Jacobsen, Stoddard, Wadsworth, and Kendall Robertson. Idaho retaliated with four straight points to draw up a tie at 5-5. The Vandals took the lead for the first time at 8-7 before Jacobsen tied the set with another kill. NAU took three points thanks to kills by Bloom and Jacobsen and a service ace by Keira Hall, leading the score to 11-9. The next nine points would be scored alternately by both teams, leading to a 15-14 lead to NAU. A 5-1 run from here by the 'Jacks would put them at 20-15 before Idaho secured two more kills. The Lumberjack's put up a 4-1 run including Robertson's third kill of the set and a service ace by Millie O'Ketter. Idaho took one more kill before Stoddard finished off the set 25-19.
The Vandals took the first point of the third set and ran with it, taking an 8-2 advantage. Kylie Moran entered the match and immediately made an impact with three kills as part of a 5-1, bringing the 'Jacks back to within one at 12-13. Idaho continued to creep ahead, getting to 18-16. Robertson carried out her fifth kill of the night to draw the score 18-18. Idaho made a final kill to get 19 points for the third set running, after which the Lumberjacks made a 7-0 run to take the third and final set 25-19. This run included Jacobsen's 18th kill, two more kills by Moran, and Robertson's sixth kill of the night. The final point was made by a block from Wadsworth and Robertson.
"I especially liked how we kept our composure in the third set after being down at the beginning," Murphy said. "Kylie came in and gave us her normal steady passing and defense while adding some timely and important kills for us."
Overall, Northern Arizona had a hitting percentage of .351, compared to Idaho's .162. They had 52 kills all together, 18 of which came from Jacobsen and 12 from Stoddard. O'Ketter and Hall both made one service ace each. Robertson and Wadsworth had two blocks each. Hall led in assists with a total of 25, followed by Melia Barlow with 14. O'Ketter added 13 digs, followed by Hall with nine and Barlow with eight.
The Lumberjacks will take on the Eastern Washington Eagles on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The match will be live through ESPN+ along with live stats to follow.
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