FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 4, 2024) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team fell in three sets to Northern Colorado tonight (30-28, 25-13, 25-19). This puts Northern Arizona's season record at 7-7, 0-3 while Northern Colorado moves to 11-5, 2-1.
"The first three teams of conference play have been strong and we haven't responded the way we want to," head coach Ken Murphy said. "This week we took some aggressive swings with offense and serving. Our defense is something we have been proud of for the first part of this year and it was what let us down in the last two sets."
The match began with a tough battle in the first set. The Lumberjacks took the early lead at 4-2, followed by a 4-0 run to get ahead at 9-4. This run included a kill by Sophia Wadsworth and a service ace by Kendall Robertson. A kill by Hannah Stoddard took the 'Jacks to 12-8 before UNC would complete a 8-0 run to gain the lead at 16-12. NAU answered with a 5-1 run including another two kills by Wadsworth and a kill by Savannah Bloom to tie up the score at 17-17. The Lumberjacks and Bears would tie the set at 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20 before UNC made a 5-0 run, giving them their first set point advantage at 24-21. Two kills by Bloom and a service ace by Millie O'Ketter would tie the score once again at 24-24. Kills by Bloom, Stoddard and Wadsworth were all made in an attempt to secure the first set which was tied up to 27-27. A 3-1 run by the bears was enough to finish off the first battle, giving them the set 30-28.
Northern Arizona struggled defensively in the second set. The beginning saw the score tied 3-3 with kills from Avery Gottschalk, Robertson and a service ace by Keira Hall. The score would tie for the next three points to 8-8, before UNC carried out a 10-1 run, giving them the upper hand at 17-9. Returning from an injury, Taylor Jacobsen would complete a kill to give the 'Jacks their 10th point. Ultimately, Northern Colorado would finish the second set with an 8-3 run, giving them the set 25-13.
Two kills by Wadsworth and one by Kylie Moran would get the third set started at 4-3 in the Bear's favor. From here the opponent made a 6-1 run giving them a 10-4 lead. The 'Jacks fought back with five straight points as part of a 7-1 run to close the gap and tie the set at 11 points a piece. This run saw kills by Bloom and Robertson and another service ace by Hall. Northern Colorado then garnered four points to creep ahead 15-11. The next two points for the 'Jacks both came from Robertson with a service ace and a kill. Gigi Greenlee made her season debut and completed a kill to put the score at 19-17 in the Bear's favor. A 6-2 run by Northern Colorado would complete the third set 25-19, winning them the match 3-0.
"The highlight of the match was how fantastically Sophia played." Murphy said. "She had a really good week of practice, getting more aggressive swinging on that side of the court. Her impact was noticeable and we are looking forward to her keeping that going for the rest of the year."
Overall, Wadsworth led the team in kills with nine, followed by Bloom with seven and Jacobsen with six. Of the Lumberjack's five aces, Robertson and Hall tallied two each and O'Ketter the other. Robertson and Wadsworth shared the lead in blocks with three each. Karya Suvarioglu was the assist leader with a total of 12, followed by Hall with 10 and Melia Barlow with six. O'Ketter added nine digs putting her at 238 for the season so far. Jacobsen had eight digs, while Stoddard had five. The team would have an overall hitting percentage of .148, versus the opponents .316.
"Looking ahead to the match against Sac State, we will continue to just focus on us," Murphy said. "The girls want to play well and they want to win. They are working hard so it is important that we continue to encourage each other to fight."
The Lumberjacks will play two matches on the road next week against Sacramento State and Portland State.
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