ST. GEORGE, Utah (Sept. 19, 2024) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team took on the Utah Tech Trailblazers tonight, for the second time since 2022. The Lumberjacks completed their third straight sweep in a row (25-19, 25-23, 27-25). This would give them a four-win streak and put their season record at 6-4.
"That was a really tough match," head coach Ken Murphy said. "I thought both teams fought really hard and played good defense. I'm proud of our team for the way we leaned into the things we are good at and executed at critical times in the match."
The first set saw Utah tech take the early lead with a 5-2 run. The Lumberjacks made three straight points to tie at 5-5. A kill by Savanah Bloom would tie the set at 7-7. The set was closely matched with the score being tied again at 8-8 and 9-9. A 7-3 run would come from the 'Jacks to put them ahead by two at 16-14 before a timeout. Upon returning, Northern Arizona would make a 3-1 run to get to 19-15. A few plays later, NAU would make three straight points including the first service ace of the night by Keira Hall to put the 'Jacks ahead 22-17, causing the Trailblazers to call a timeout. UTU would fight with another two points before Northern Arizona rounded off the set with three points, the final being a successful block by Sophia Wadsworth and Kendall Robertson.Â
Set two began with a tie at 2-2. The Lumberjacks then began to fall behind with the score at 8-5 in the Trailblazers favor. Not before long, kills by Bloom and Hanah Stoddard would be part of a 3-0 run to tie at 8-8. Utah Tech would creep ahead at 11-8 which was answered by a 4-1 run to tie once again at 12-12. The teams would also tie at 13-13 and 14-14. Three points would come from Northern Arizona which was responded to with three kills from Utah Tech, to tie the set for the ninth time at 17-17. The 'Jacks would repeat a three-point run now at 21-17. The second set was ultimately finished off by a kill from Wadsworth for a 25-23 win.
The third set began with a 6-1 run by the trailblazers, eager to keep the match alive. Utah Tech would get to 9-2, with a seven-point difference being the biggest lead of the game entirety so far. Two kills by Bloom and one from Taylor Jacobsen would be part of a 3-0 run to get to 9-5. Utah Tech would secure two more points followed by another 3-0 run by the 'Jacks, this time with two service aces in a row by Millie O'Ketter. The gap was now down to three with the score at 11-8. UTU would continue to push adding another two points. From here, Northern Arizona would conquer seven straight points to take the lead for the first time in the third set at 15-13. A 4-1 run after this would put the 'Jacks ahead by five points at 19-14. The Trailblazers refused to give in as they made a 5-2 run to trail only by two at 21-19. Kills again from Bloom and Jacobsen would make the score 23-19. Utah Tech carried out a 5-0 run to regain the lead 24-23 and give the Trailblazers the first set point opportunity. Northern Arizona flipped the script with two straight points including a kill from O'Ketter to put the advantage in its own hands at 25-24. UTU would tie once again at 25-25. Set three was polished off by a kill from Stoddard and a solo block by Robertson to give the 'Jacks their fourth win in a row, with the last three all being straight sweeps.
"We got on our heels at the start of the third set and Utah Tech did a great job of making us pay for that. It's definitely a sign of our growth and the strong leadership in this group that we were able to fight back and ultimately find a way to finish the set," Murphy said. "Every player on the court made key plays during that comeback and Kendall made a great read to block on that last point."Â
Overall, Northern Arizona had a hitting percentage of .243. Bloom would lead the field in individual hitting percentage at .467, followed by Wadsworth with .462. Jacobsen completed 11 kills, followed by Stoddard with nine, Bloom with eight, and Wadsworth with seven. Hall carried out 17 assists next to Karya Suvarioglu with 16. Robertson averaged 3.5 blocks per set. Libero O'Ketter added 18 digs to her career.
"At practice yesterday, we challenged the rights to make a bigger impact on our offense and both Savannah and Sophia responded in a big way," said Murphy. "They not only hit outstanding percentages but scored points at the end of sets that gave the whole team a lift. That offensive production was a big part of our success today."
The Lumberjacks will play the Trailblazers again in two days on Sept. 21, this time at home in Flagstaff. The match will take place at 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time in Rolle Activity Center. Northern Arizona will look to continue their winning streak with their last game before the start of Big Sky Conference play on Sept. 25.
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