FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Sept. 11, 2024) - After two road trips to San Diego and Lubbock, the Northern Arizona women's volleyball team will play their next event at home in Flagstaff. NAU will host the Lumberjack Classic, featuring matches against New Mexico and Tarleton State.
Currently, the Lumberjacks are 2-4 on their season record. As a team, they have 245 digs - Graduate student Taylor Jacobsen has carried out 83 of those kills, followed by Hanah Stoddard with 50 kills. Karya Suvarioglu leads in assists with 102 assists. Avery Gottschalk has 23.0 blocks, followed by Kendall Roberston with 19.0. The leader in service aces is also Suvarioglu with seven, closely followed by Millie O'Ketter with six. O'Ketter leads the jacks in digs with 97 so far this season.
The Classic will consist of NAU playing against New Mexico on Sept. 12 at 6:30 Mountain Standard Time. Sept. 13 will see a match between New Mexico and Tarleton State at 2:00 p.m. MST, followed by NAU playing Tarleton State at 12:00 p.m. MST on the 14th. All three matches will be played in the Rolle Activity Center.
The Lobos are entering the season after their third consecutive winning season and Mountain West Tournament appearance. Their five-set victory over host UNLV in the first round of last year's conference tournament marked their first semifinal appearance under the current format and their first tournament win since 2006. With a 5-1 record in the first two weeks, UNM has achieved at least five wins in its first six matches only five times since 2010. The 'Jacks will be meeting the Lobos for the first time since last season where they lost 0-3. Currently, NAU stands 12-17 against UNM in the all-time series.
Last year, the Texans secured their first spot in the WAC Tournament. After clinching their bid with a win at Abilene Christian, they headed to Utah Valley as the sixth seed overall. In the quarterfinals, Tarleton faced the third-seeded UTRGV Vaqueros in a tough match, ultimately losing in a five-set heartbreaker that ended their season. This year, Tarleton was predicted to finish fifth in the WAC preseason poll, having finished fifth last season despite being initially picked to finish ninth. Tarleton State is currently 0-6 in its 2024 season career. NAU has only ever met TSU once before which was during last year's season and are 1-0 in the all-time series.
So far, the Lumberjacks have played in six matches and were victorious in two - against Southern Utah and Gonzaga. Their most recent endeavor was at the Red Raider Classic last week hosted by Texas Tech. Graduate student and libero O'Ketter was named as part of the all-tournament team. She currently has 97 digs for this season alone, putting her career total at 1,527. Following their home tournament, the 'Jacks will hit the road once more before the start of Big Sky Conference play. On Sept. 17, they will meet Southern Utah for the second time this season in Cedar City, Utah. They will then go on to play against Utah Tech in St George, Utah on Sept. 19. The UTU Trailblazers will then visit Flagstaff two days later to play again on Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time.
Big Sky Conference play will commence on Sept. 26, opening with a home match against Weber State at 6:30 p.m. MST in Rolle Activity Center. Questions regarding tickets for this upcoming week and the future can be directed to LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu.
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