CHENEY, Wash. (Oct. 26, 2024) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team put up a good fight against the Eastern Washington Eagles today in its ninth Big Sky Conference match of the season. The Lumberjacks fell in four sets, 25-18, 21-25, 17-25, 20-25. This moves Northern Arizona to 10-10 overall and 3-6 in its Big Sky Conference effort. The Eagles move to 10-9 and 6-3 in their season.
"It was a really good competitive match today," said head coach Ken Murphy. "It really came down to Eastern executing their middle play and us having a hard time slowing it down at important times in sets. But I continue to like the fight in this team and the energy we bring to each match."
The first set began with NAU taking the early lead with a 3-1 run including a service ace by Melia Barlow. Northern Arizona maintained a four point lead for the majority of the first set. Service aces would be carried out by Taylor Jacobsen, Millie O'Ketter and Hanah Stoddard by the time the score was 14-10. The Lumberjacks had a strong hitting percentage of .448 and a kill percentage of .586, helping them to take the first set 25-18.
The Eagles came out the gates hot in the second set taking a 9-4 lead. Northern Arizona did not back down as it made an 8-1 run with kills by Jacobsen, Savannah Bloom, Sophia Wadsworth, and Kendall Robertson. Wadsworth also had a solo block to help the 'Jacks gain the lead 12-10. The set would see the score tied nine times from there at 20-20, but it was Eastern Washington who secured the second set 25-21 after a 5-1 run to close the frame.
Eastern Washington carried their momentum into the third set, taking the lead at 6-3. O'Ketter would have her second service ace during this run. Stoddard made a service ace and a kill alongside Bloom for a 4-0 run to take the lead at 7-6. Another service ace came by Jacobsen as part of a 4-1 run later in the set to maintain the lead, 13-12. EWU struck up an 8-2 run to advance with the lead 20-15. The 'Jacks would secure two more points before the Eagles closed out the third set with a 5-0 run to take it 25-17 and lead 2-1.Â
Set four saw multiple lead changes in a very close match up between the two teams, with the set being tied 12 times by the time the score was 13-13. Stoddard led the 'Jacks in kills during the fourth set with six. Eastern Washington made a 7-1 run to force a timeout by Northern Arizona. EWU sustained their momentum and ultimately secured the set 25-20, clinching the match with a 3-1 victory.
Overall, Stoddard led the 'Jacks with 20 kills and Jacobsen followed with 13. Gigi Greenlee and Wadsworth both secured seven kills each. Keira Hall had 23 assists, next to Barlow with 17. O'Ketter added 15 kills to her career, putting her at 1,764 in her career, only 128 away from taking the top spot in the NAU record book. Stoddard had 11 digs and Jacobsen had 10. Wadsworth had three total blocks, followed by Robertson with two. The Lumberjacks had seven service aces and a total hitting percentage of .240. Their total kill percentage was .377.
Northern Arizona will go on to play away at Northern Colorado on Friday, Nov. 1 at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard time. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+ along with live stats to follow.
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