FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 25, 2025) – Hanah Stoddard and
Gigi Greenlee totaled a match-high 12 kills apiece to guide Northern Arizona volleyball to a 25-22, 25-22, 25-15 sweep of Idaho in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams. The Lumberjacks improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in conference, while the Vandals fell to 3-10 and 0-1 in the Big Sky.
The victory is NAU's sixth consecutive over Idaho and fifth straight sweep in the all-time series.
"We anticipated executing our offense a little differently going into the match than we were able to do in the first two sets," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "We made some adjustments in the third set to go back and hit the shots that we anticipated. Tonight's match was a little more of a struggle than we've had recently, but the fact that we had success during the preseason gave them confidence to finish tonight."
Facing a gritty Idaho team in the Rolle Activity Center, the Lumberjacks battled through a tight first two sets before commanding the third set. The first two sets featured 12 ties and six lead changes.
While NAU's defense limited Idaho throughout the match – the Vandals hit only .070 – the Lumberjacks offense struggled to get going until the third set. NAU hit a combined .152 in the first two sets, but wrapped up its ninth three-set sweep of the season by hitting .382 in the final game.
Greenlee and Stoddard each totaled four kills, without an error between them, in the third set. For Stoddard, it marked her 13th double-digit kill match of the season, while Greenlee finished one shy of her season-high of 13 kills. Greenlee hit .750 with 12 kills on 16 swings without an error.
Stoddard also notched her 12th double-double, posting 10 digs, a team-high total matched by
Melia Barlow.
The first set was tied after step of the way until NAU broke a 6-6 tie with three consecutive points. Stoddard started the brief, but important, 3-0 run with a kill and Barlow recorded an ace to give NAU a 9-6 lead the Lumberjacks would not surrender.
Although the 'Jacks opened up a 20-14 advantage, the Vandals used a 7-2 run to climb back within 22-21. With Idaho still hanging on, trailing 23-22, NAU secured the first set with the final two of Greenlee's six kills to start the match.
Idaho erased an early 3-0 NAU lead to start the second set to take a 9-6 lead, but the Lumberjacks rode the arm of Stoddard to swing the tide. Stoddard hammered four consecutive kills to spark a 6-0 NAU run to move the Lumberjacks ahead, 15-11. The Vandals refused to go away though and managed to tie the set at 17-17 and remained squared at 22-22. Similar to the first set though, NAU closed strong, capitalizing on a pair of Idaho miscues and sealing the set with a
Sophia Wadsworth kill.
As close as the first two sets were, the third set was a dominating one by the Lumberjacks. Stoddard opened with an ace and set the tone for a 6-1 NAU start. The Vandals never got closer than four points in the third set and
Laney Wilson put them away with kills for NAU's final two points of the match.
Backing Stoddard and Greenlee's 12 kills was Wilson, who chipped in six on .286 hitting.
Kylie Moran and Wadsworth both added five kills with the former hitting .267.
Keira Hall and
Ella Hosfeld combined for 38 assists as NAU concluded the night with a .221 attack clip.
The Lumberjacks, winners of nine of their last 10 matches, hit the road on Saturday for the first of three consecutive league matches. NAU faces Idaho State, who was swept by Portland State on Thursday, at 5 p.m. MST in Pocatello, Idaho.
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