Never in the history of the NAU volleyball program has the squad gone to Sacramento, Calif. and come out with a win. That is, until now.
The Lumberjacks maintained their flawless record and stand at 12–0 and 3–0 in the Big Sky Conference after defeating the Sacramento State Hornets on September 22. NAU is one of six remaining undefeated Division I volleyball teams in the country. Sacramento State, who was 17-0 all-time against NAU at home, was served their sixth consecutive loss, falling to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in the Big Sky Conference. “It was a friggin’ awesome win,” said junior outside hitter Lexi Sullivan. “I feel awesome, like I can’t even describe how I feel right now [because] I’m so overly happy because that was a win that we’ve been wanting forever.” Sullivan posted a season-best 22 kills, including five crucial hits and a perfect 100 percent in the decisive fifth set. The sets were evenly matched, going back and forth between the Lumberjacks and the Hornets. NAU claimed the first set, going on an 8-3 run to close strong with a 25-18 set win. Sullivan had seven kills in the opening set and hit 41.2 percent.
Sacramento State started the second set with an 8-2 lead. NAU battled back to within four points, but was not able to finish and the Hornets took the 25-15 set victory. The third set began at an even 10-10, but the Lumberjacks made their move in, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to take a 21-13 lead. With the score 24-18, Sullivan connected for a kill to give NAU the set. After leading 18-17 in the fourth set, Sacramento State capitalized on two errors from NAU for a 25-20 win, forcing the teams to battle it out in a final fifth set.
The Lumberjacks dominated the fifth set, hitting 64.7 percent as a team. After NAU took a 9-5 lead, the Lumberjacks ended the match with Sullivan’s 22nd kill on the 57th assist from junior setter Kelli Dallmann, ultimately giving NAU the victory. “I’m really happy with [my performance,]” Sullivan said. “I’m mostly happy that I could just go in there and swing as hard as I could. Good things happen when you have a team behind your back and you just know that when you’re there, everyone’s there for you.”
Without top outside hitter Kobi Christensen (out due to an practice injury,) the team had to step up their game in order to compensate for her. Freshman middle blocker Sydney Kemper shined in her absence with 13 total kills. Kemper felt compelled to win this game, particularly for the seniors. “It was really motivating because they haven’t beat Sac State in their gym,” Kemper said. “It was one of those games we just had to win.”
Junior outside hitter Jen Wilson contributed nine kills along with a career-high 22 digs and three blocks, while Dallmann totaled 15 digs and four blocks in addition to her 57 assists. Junior libero Anna Gott tallied 24 digs and senior middle blocker Katie Bailey managed seven blocks, helping contribute to the total 11 blocks as a team. Recognizing what a monumental win this was, head coach Craig Choate still wants to stay focused and continue this winning streak. “When I said it out loud, that [the team] broke the school record, they were very happy,” Choate said. “And everybody wants to do that so they were excited about it. Personally, I don’t care. I want to be 12–0, but I’m just thinking about the next match.”
The match against Sacramento State is the first of four road games for the Lumberjacks, but Sullivan knows what they need to do to stay focused. “It’s going to be tough but we just have to know that when we play together as a team, we really are a team to beat,” Sullivan said. “Taking one thing at a time instead of the game as a whole is really what gets us though every game.”
Choate believes the team’s strong-willed attitude will help them continue their winning streak. “We’re a team that absolutely fights for every lousy play and that’s a hard thing to do for three months,” Choate said. “That’s a hard thing to do for a couple of weeks and yet they keep doing it. I’m just as amazed as everybody else.” The Lumberjacks look to go 13-0 at Portland State on September 30th.
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