FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 30, 2025) - The Northern Arizona women's volleyball team pulled off the victory over Montana in four sets, winning 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15). NAU has now won 10 straight home matches.
The Astrojacks now stand at 18-5 overall and 8-2 in the Big Sky holding on to their first place standing, while the Grizzlies move to 14-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play..
"I'm really proud of the way our team was able to kind of bounce back from that first set," head coach Ken Murphy said. "I'm impressed with our team's ability to regroup in the middle of a match like that."
After a tight battle through the first set, the Grizzlies came out on top. Putting up a good fight, Sophia Wadsworth contributed five kills on five attempts in the set. The Astrojacks continued to trade the lead until the Grizzlies finished the set off at 23-25.
Bouncing back from the loss of the first set, the Astrojacks responded with a win in the second. Timely kills from Gigi Greenlee, Hannah Stoddard, and Kylie Moran helped the Astrojack offense pull ahead late in the set. A final kill from Stoddard closed the set off at 25-17.
Continuing their momentum in the third set, the Astrojacks pulled off another win. An excellent offensive performance from Wadsworth again in this set with 8 kills and no errors. NAU's defense also showed up in this set with a combined 21 receptions from Stoddard, Melia Barlow, and Moran with only one error finishing the set 25-22.
Finishing strong, the Astrojacks pulled ahead early in the final set, continuing their lead late into the set at 17-8. With five blocks in the final set, the Astrojack defense held off the Grizzlies, closing out the match with a 25-15 win.
Northern Arizona hit to a .283 clip. It was a dominating night for Wadsworth, tying her season high with a total of 15 kills, hitting to a .789 percentage with no errors, while also contributing three blocks. The Astrojack offense and defense found their footing after the first set, Keira Hall attributed this to their communication.
"We had to talk together as a team, communication really came down to winning the game and playing our kind of volleyball," Hall said.
Hall led the floor in assists, tallying 26, followed by Ella Hosfeld with 16. Avery Gottschalk was key at the net, totalling four of the Astrojack's nine blocks. Moran had 17 digs, nine kills and two aces. Stoddard added 10 kills, three aces.
Northern Arizona hosts Montana State on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m MST in the Rolle Activity Center.
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