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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (December 3, 2015) - The Northern Arizona volleyball team's trademark fight and refusal to ever give up was once again on full display Thursday night. However, on this night it was not quite enough to will the Lumberjacks to victory as their dream season came to an end at the hands of San Diego, 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the loss, NAU's season reached its final destination at a 28-5 overall record. The 28 wins, as did the 17-match win streak that was snapped with the defeat, were both school records.
"We were a little more tentative at the start of the match than I've seen in a really long time," said head coach Ken Murphy. "We didn't get in a groove like we were capable of and San Diego was a little more confident on their side. Once we discovered that we could control our side of the net, we got into a rhythm, but this was a first time experience for all of us and tonight meant a lot to us."
Senior
Janae Vander Ploeg capped her career with 10 kills, 15 digs and five blocks in her final match in a Lumberjack uniform. NAU's Senior Class as a whole shined with
Payton Bock leading the team with six blocks, and
Stacia Williams and
Jordan Leiterposting 13 and 10 digs respectively.
The match could not have gotten off to a better start as Leiter aced the Torero defense on the opening point. The 'Jacks held an 8-6 lead following a block by Vander Ploeg and redshirt freshman
Brittni Dorsey, only to score eight of the next 10 points. Junior
Lauren Jacobsen's ace brought NAU back within 15-13, but San Diego – making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament – finished on a 10-2 run from there to take the opener.
The Toreros' momentum carried into the second set where they jumped out to a 9-1 lead. The Lumberjacks were able to gather their footing and rattled off three straight points, the last coming on a block by Vander Ploeg and Bock, and forced San Diego to call a timeout with its lead trimmed to 15-13. However like the first set, San Diego finished the set with a flurry scoring seven of the final 10 points to put NAU, who was down just 18-16, away.
NAU came out in the third set on a mission and posted its best showing of the night overall. The 'Jacks led throughout the first half of the set following a 4-1 start until the Toreros pushed ahead 18-15. Williams then stepped to the line and served the Lumberjacks all the way in front 22-19 and Bock slammed a kill to put NAU at set point, 24-21. Unfortunately a fourth set would not be in the cards for NAU, as San Diego won the final five points to rally for the sweep.
"We had moments of greatness on defense and we stayed pretty consistent throughout," Williams said. "However, there were those plays that we didn't get that one extra dig and we'll look back at those and be a little bummed out. But we fought the whole time and you can't ask for more than that."
Against a strong San Diego defense, NAU hit a season-low .078. But the Lumberjacks did their part defensively themselves, outblocking the Toreros 12.0-9.0 to limit USD to just .165 hitting. Vander Ploeg was the lone Lumberjack in double-figures with her 10 kills, while Bock and Jacobsen each tallied six kills. Junior
Jensen Barton notched 22 assists offensively.
Thursday's loss did nothing to diminish NAU's historic season as it made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999, and just second ever. The Lumberjacks won both the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships for the first time in school history.
"The level of success, the accumulation of wins and the championships were unprecedented for NAU," Murphy said. "Even more than that though was all the hard work that went into it. It wasn't something that happened in one day or even three months. It took a year of grinding it out every day and that's impressive for me to see in a group of young women. They were selfless and gave to that cause every day."
The senior class of Vander Ploeg, Bock, Williams and Leiter guided the Lumberjacks to their best four-year stretch in program history posting 92 wins over their careers.
"It's something I will never forget," Vander Ploeg said. "Not a lot of teams make it to this point and to be one of the 64 teams to make it to the NCAA Tournament is amazing for NAU Volleyball. If I could go back and do this season again, I would do it in a heartbeat. We're a team that never gives up and we love the sport of volleyball. You could see that on the court."