The Vandals played their third of four consecutive home games as they met with the NAU Lumberjacks for the first of two matchups this season. Both teams sitting low in the Big Sky, NAU eighth of ten with a conference record of 2-5 and UI last at tenth with an 0-7 conference record.
NAU opened the scoring in the first set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead, but the Vandals answered with a few of their own, leading to a 9-5 run to pull within one before the Lumberjacks were able to reextend their lead eventually growing it to eight at 23-15. UI scored a couple more, but it would not be enough as NAU went on to take the opening set 25-19.
The Lumberjacks quickly got out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but the Vandals would score the next four in a row to tie it up. During that second set, there were four ties and two lead changes, which included UI taking their first lead of the night but then NAU swiping it back. The Lumberjacks kept trying to extend their advantage, but the Vandals were able to get to within one a few times before NAU grew its lead to six late and took the second set by the same score as the first, 25-19.
Vandals, once again looking to avoid being swept at home, got off to a hot start in the third set. Scoring the first two and growing their advantage to as many as six before NAU took a timeout to reset. Playing from behind two sets, the Vandals, with the fight they still had in them, kept a cushion as NAU began to crawl back and shrink the deficit to as short as one. Midway through, they thought they tied things at 15, but a challenge from coach Romana of Idaho kept the Vandal lead intact. The Lumberjacks had a response, however, and finally did tie things up at 18, then closed out the match on a 7-1 run to sweep UI and defeat them for the fourth consecutive time.
UI Head Coach Romana Redondo Kriskova was proud of the team’s performance as she pointed out the struggles “we are down to nine players right now, we are battling injuries and sickness”. Chiara Gennari and Taylor Brickley each lead the Vandals with six kills while Miya Carmichael lead the team with 26 assists. “It was a good work ethic tonight” she said.
Vandals and Lumberjacks meet again in Flagstaff for the final game of the year on November 23. The four-game homestand will conclude when they host the Northern Colorado bears in the Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday. The first serve is at 1 p.m. Bring your families!
Jackson Hamelund can be reached at [email protected]