FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 10, 2026) - The Lumberjacks reached milestones in their 3-0 sweep over Montana on Thursday, as they took down the Griz 25-23, 25-21, 28-26.

Hanah Stoddard led the Lumberjacks with 15 kills, and added 10 digs, which led her to join the 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club. She currently has 1,331 kills and 1,003 digs in her career. Quincey Coyle followed with nine kills and Gigi Greenlee with seven. Greenlee hit an impressive .400 while leading NAU with six blocks, and Masina Perez added five blocks as the Lumberjacks finished with 11 total team blocks. Avery Gottschalk contributed six kills and four blocks, while Kate Federico recorded a team-high two service aces. Ella Hosfeld paced the offense with 19 assists and surpassed 2,000 career assists. Taryn Davis followed with 15 assists. Coyle and Davis shared the team lead in digs with 13 apiece, while Federico added 12. As a team, NAU hit .173 and held Montana to a .108 hitting percentage.

NAU and Montana traded points early in the opening set, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage through the first half. The Lumberjacks pulled ahead 19-17 behind a strong stretch at the net, including back-to-back blocks from Greenlee and Coyle. The Griz responded to briefly go ahead 21-20, but the 'Jacks regained control late with a 3-0 run to move ahead 23-21. Gottschalk delivered two key kills down the stretch, including the set-clinching point, as the Lumberjacks secured a 25-23 win. NAU hit .195 in the opening set, with Stoddard recording five kills without an error.

The Lumberjacks carried their momentum into the second set, building an early 7-5 lead before extending the advantage to 11-8 behind a Stoddard kill, a block by Gottschalk and an ace from Federico. Montana stayed within reach and eventually took the lead 17-15, but NAU responded with a timely run to regain control. With the score tied at 19, the Lumberjacks capitalized on Montana's attacking errors and added key blocks from Greenlee and Perez to pull ahead. Federico delivered her second ace of the match to bring NAU to set point before Stoddard finished the 25-21 victory with a kill. NAU's defense held Montana to a .079 hitting percentage in the set, while the Lumberjacks recorded five team blocks.

The third set proved to be another tight battle, with NAU and UM trading points throughout. After Montana pulled ahead midway through the set, the Lumberjacks rallied to tie the score at 14 all before a late push from the Grizzlies created another challenge. The 'Jacks answered with a four-point run highlighted by a block from Gottschalk and Lauren Edlund, kills from Coyle and Greenlee and an ace from Lilly Holmes to take a 19-17 lead. The teams continued to trade points, and Montana forced extra rallies after the score was tied at 24. Stoddard delivered key kills to keep Northern Arizona in contention, helping the Lumberjacks reach 26-26 before consecutive Montana attack errors sealed the 28-26 set victory and completed the sweep.

NAU improves to 11-7 and 4-2 in Big Sky play while Montana moves to 5-12,1-5. Northern Arizona will continue its conference slate with two road matches next week, facing Eastern Washington on Thursday at 6 p.m. MST and Idaho on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST.
 

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