Match Stats
- Northern Arizona def. #7 Florida 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-13)
- Northern Arizona moves to 7-2; Florida falls to 4-3
- Box Score
- Northern Arizona Recap / Florida Recap
- Attendance: 940
Northern Arizona opened its home slate with a morning win over Southern Illinois and gave its fans something massive to cheer about with an upset of 7th-ranked Florida in the nightcap. The 5-set victory is the first ranked win in Lumberjacks volleyball history.
SET 5 | NAU 15 – UF 13
UPSET CITY! @kayliejorgenson kills Match Point and down goes #️⃣8️⃣! First win over a ranked team in program history! @NCAAVolleyball @AVCAVolleyball @BigSkyVB @VolleyMob @NAU @NAUAthletics #NAUStrong ⚒🌲💪 #RockTheRolle pic.twitter.com/e50nQNleQB
— NAU Volleyball (@NAUVolleyball) September 8, 2018
The Lumberjacks registered a .287 attack percentage to the Gators’ .244 effort as the programs faced off for the first time. Florida posted more kills (70-65) and more blocks (13-7) than Northern Arizona, however, errors got in the way for the Gators in the loss (28 hitting errors, 5 service errors and three blocking errors).
Florida came out of the gate strong, establishing a 7-3 advantage in the first set. Northern Arizona never gave up though, battling its way back to tie it up 15-15 midway through. The Lumberjacks rattled off 6-straight scores to pull ahead and held on from there to register the 25-19 win.
Once again, the Gators started out on top with a 7-4 lead and the Lumberjacks responded. Northern Arizona rallied back into contention, knotting the score on 4 occasions before Florida could put the set away and even the match with a 25-22 set two win.
In the third set, Florida went up early again 10-6. The Lumberjacks came firing back with an 11-3 stretch to seize the momentum and the advantage. They were able to fend off the Gators from there to secure the 25-22 win.
The teams battled through 5 ties and 4 lead changes in the fourth set, before Florida could record the 25-20 victory. The Lumberjacks started strong with a 5-1 run, however, the Gators would not be silenced, using a 9-2 stretch to extend the match to a fifth set.
The fifth set was an absolute fight, as the teams endured 7 ties and 5 lead changes. Florida began the deciding set with a 3-0 run, but Northern Arizona rallied back with a 4-point rally. The Gators and Lumberjacks seesawed back and forth until Northern Arizona closed it out, 15-13, with 3-straight kills, two by redshirt senior Kaylie Jorgenson and one by junior Abby Akin.
Jorgenson (17 kills, 14 digs) registered a double-double to lead the Lumberjacks, while hitting .368 in the 5-set thriller. Akin and sophomore Heaven Harris also contributed double-figure kill totals with 14 and 11, respectively. Junior Abby Stomp distributed 28 assists, while junior Sydney Lema notched 19 digs.
SET 1 | NAU 24 – UF 19@kayliejorgenson with the kill and the 'Jacks with a good lead!#NAUStrong ⚒️🌲💪 #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/BdUcnJZlbf
— NAU Volleyball (@NAUVolleyball) September 8, 2018
Three Gators notched double-figure kill totals including redshirt sophomore Holly Carlton (19), junior Rachael Kramer (17, .600 attack percentage) and freshman Thayer Hall (17). Redshirt senior Allie Monserez posted 47 assists, while junior Allie Gregory logged 22 digs.
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