‘Dogs defeated by Northern Arizona in Lumberjack Classic finale

Saturday, September 14

Flagstaff, AZ

12:00 PM PT

Fresno State

5-4

Northern Arizona

6-3

Fresno State

Northern Arizona

‘Dogs defeated by Northern Arizona in Lumberjack Classic finale

9/14/2019 2:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona used a 13-1 edge in blocks and strong hitting to record a 3-0 (25-17, 24-23, 25-12) win over Fresno State in the final match of the Lumberjack Classic on Saturday.

Northern Arizona (6-3) went undefeated in its home tournament with three sweeps, including a 3-0 win over LSU Friday night, and is now 70-14 at home over the last seven seasons. Fresno State (5-4) had a 4-2 advantage in aces in the match but was outhit .320-.052 as NAU continued its home dominance.

Jocelyn Rodriguez was named to the Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament team after her strong defensive performance throughout the weekend, including eight digs vs. NAU. Montez Uigaese had a team-high nine kills on Saturday after tallying a career-high 12 kills against LSU on Friday. Desiree Sukhov tallied eight kills and 10 digs and Madelyn Halteman had 19 assists and eight digs to lead the 'Dogs against the Lumberjacks.

How it Happened
Fresno State jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first set with three kills and an ace. Northern Arizona responded with a 9-2 run but the set stayed close the rest of the way, as it was tied 12-12 and the Lumberjacks held just a 20-17 lead late. The home team had a 4-0 edge in blocks in the set while hitting .348 and ended it with five straight points on two kills, a block, and two other Bulldog attack errors.

The Lumberjacks took momentum into the second set and took a quick 9-4 lead but the 'Dogs would hold NAU to just .213 hitting in the set. Fresno State trailed 15-12 before going on a 7-1 run, fueled by four kills and a service ace from Reagan Leonard, to pull ahead 19-16. Northern Arizona chipped away at the deficit and pulled even at 20-20 before a kill from Amilya Thompson put the 'Dogs back head. Three straight points by the home team followed, however, and an NAU reached set point up 24-22 and won it 25-23 on a kill from Abby Akin.

A 7-0 edge in blocks and .481 hitting in the third set helped NAU close out the match in three. Northern Arizona jumped to a 5-1 lead and the 'Dogs battled back to trail 11-8 before three straight blocks and five straight points put the home team up 16-8. The Lumberjacks led by at least seven points the rest of the way.

Notes

Fresno State had more service aces than its opponent for the seventh time in nine matches this season.
The Bulldogs won the first set in four of their first five matches of the year but have now lost the first set in four straight matches.
Fresno State was swept for just the second time this year.
Junior Savanah Smith missed her third straight match due to injury.

What's Next
The Bulldogs conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule at the Roadrunner Classic next Friday and Saturday in Bakersfield. Fresno State will face UC Davis on Friday and both San Francisco and CSU Bakersfield next Saturday.

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