NAU volleyball wins record 13th straight to clinch first Big Sky title
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Senior Janae Vander Ploeg wears No. 13, so it was fitting that she ripped the match's final point on Thursday to clinch the Northern Arizona volleyball team's 13th consecutive win.
But the night belonged to the entire Lumberjack squad. When Vander Ploeg's 20th kill landed in front of a Sacramento State defender to put a bow on a 25-17, 18-25, 25-18, 25-19 win, history was made.
History looked like a school-record 13 straight wins. More importantly, though, NAU did what no other team in school history had ever done: win the Big Sky Conference regular-season championship outright. While the Lumberjacks' record ticked to 24-4 overall, and 14-1 in conference play, they clinched the right to host next week's conference tournament for the first time in school history.
"We're not going to take anything for granted because we know we're going to have great teams coming here, but we've been working for this opportunity since January," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We talked about winning a championship, hosting a tournament in our venue knowing how hard it is to go to another venue and win. We're going to enjoy it for the night and let it sink in because we've worked all season."
To accomplish history, the Lumberjacks need to get past the Hornets, who remain the only team to knock off NAU in conference play back on Sept. 26 -- the date of NAU's last defeat overall. The Lumberjacks used a blistering .562 hitting percentage in the final set to hit .297 for the night. Defensively, NAU slowed down Sacramento State to the tune of .199 hitting, limiting the Big Sky's leader in hitting percentage at .282 entering the night.
Senior Payton Bock dumped the first point of the match over the Sacramento State block and NAU was off to the races. Leaving the Hornets stung, NAU busted out of the gates to a 13-1 lead using its service game -- three aces from junior Lauren Jacobsen -- and its attack -- three kills from senior Janae Vander Ploeg -- to take a commanding advantage. The Hornets eventually regained their footing late, using a 5-0 run to cut into NAU's lead to 22-16, but the Lumberjacks were too much to handle early.
Sacramento State returned the favor in the second set taking the lead at 3-2 and leading the entire way to even the match. NAU hit just .103 in the set, but came out of the locker room determined in the momentum-turning third set. A five-point surge started by redshirt freshman Brittni Dorsey's solo block completely tilted the third set in NAU's favor, 20-14. Two attack errors led to Sacramento State's demise to end the period, putting the Hornets on the ropes.
Behind masterful setting from junior Jensen Barton and 13 combined kills by Jacobsen and Vander Ploeg, Sacramento State did not stand a chance after NAU methodically broke open a set that was tied at 9. The Hornets remained within striking range, down 17-15, but a kill from Jacobsen was the first in a string of five straight points with the last coming on an ace by senior Jordan Leiter -- NAU's season-high 12th of the match. Sacramento State did not go quietly into the night, holding off three match points, but Vander Ploeg's dagger would send the Rolle Activity Center into hysteria.
"In the second set we tried too hard to be perfect and we lost our energy a little," Jacobsen said. "In the third and fourth set, we played our volleyball and focused on what we needed to do on our side. Tonight feels amazing, and it doesn't even feel real. I'm so excited, but we still have one more match to go so we still have to focus on that."
NAU did not commit an error in the final set, totaling 18 kills. Seven came from Jacobsen, who hit a perfect 1.000 on seven attempts, while Vander Ploeg chipped in six of her team-high 20 for the night.
Jacobsen finished with 14 kills on .314 hitting and Bock hit .353 with eight kills. Vander Ploeg hit .292 in the win, while Barton handed out 42 assists.
Vander Ploeg added 13 digs and Barton recorded 12 as both players finished with double-doubles. Redshirt senior Stacia Williams registered a match-high 20 digs and Leiter was also in double-figures with 14 digs.
NAU's service game was strong with a dozen aces, paced by Jacobsen's four. Barton (3) and Leiter (2) also put down multiple aces.
"This sums up our whole year," Murphy said. "In a really important match, we rose to the occasion. We faced adversity and got through it to eventually get the result we wanted."
For Vander Ploeg and Bock -- the team's two four-year seniors -- this was four years in the making Thursday a touch more special.
"I can't describe it," Vander Ploeg said. "The seniors -- Payton and I have been here for four years -- have worked hard and everyone on this team has worked so hard. We're ready for the next match (on Saturday) and then we'll be ready to host (next week)."
NAU hopes to finish its first-ever undefeated home regular season on Saturday on Senior Night. The Lumberjacks will look to make it 11-0 at home this year versus Portland State at 7 p.m. in Rolle Activity Center.
Bock, Leiter, Vander Ploeg and Williams will all be honored prior to the match, but it will not be their last at home.
The Lumberjacks have a Big Sky Championship to prepare for next week.
