Seiji Wood
Sports Editor
ISU’s volleyball team will open conference play this Thursday against Northern Arizona (NAU).
The Bengals are headed to Flagstaff with a 6-7 record in the 2018 season.
ISU has tough task with NAU.
NAU is currently 8-5 and has already found great success this season.
During NAU’s annual Lumberjack Classic, NAU had a stunning upset against Florida, who was ranked 8th in the nation at the time. The Lumberjacks won in five sets.
NAU’s Kaylie Jorgenson led the Lumberjacks with 17 kills while Abby Akin had 14 and Heaven Harris had 11.
The Lumberjacks had 65 total kills and had a .288 hitting percentage.
“This is humbling because Florida is such a great program,” NAU head coach Ken Murphy told NAU sports information. “I was in the stands watching them play in the Final Four last year. Honestly, I think it’s a tribute to our team and how hard they work; how dedicated they are to committing to our style of volleyball. That is what makes me the most proud.”
Last time the Bengals beat the Lumberjacks was back in 2014.
ISU finished 8-8 last year in conference play but with a better start to this season and many key players performing well, the Bengals are in position to improve that record this season.
The Bengals will lean on their key players against the Lumberjacks.
According to the national ranking, ISU’s Chelsea Johnson leads the country in total assists with 458 while Brooke Pehrson is 6th in blocks with 56. Haylie Keck is 12th in digs with 207 and Abby Garrity is 26th in kills with 153, 32nd in attacks with 410 and 42nd in points in blocks with 86.
All those national rankings translate well to the Big Sky Conference. Johnson, Pehrson, Keck, and Garrity are all in the top-five in the Big Sky Conference in their positions.
