Since joining the Northern Arizona University volleyball team last year, Millie O’Ketter, a 2020 Durango High School graduate, has started every set for the Lumberjacks.
“I’m loving it,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
With the season moved from the fall to the spring last year, O’Ketter had some extra time to prepare for the season and took advantage of it.
“It was nice to be able to have the fall to practice with the team and have more time to get used to the speed of the game,” O’Ketter said. “I definitely think (the speed) was the biggest difference; you don’t have as much time in any aspect of the game.”
As a freshman, she led NAU with 4.12 digs per set, which ranked fifth in the Big Sky, digging a total of 214 balls. She posted double-digit digs in 13 matches and recorded a season-high 33 digs against Southern Utah, the third-most in a four-set match in the program’s history.
This year, with the season moved back to the fall, O’Ketter continued making strides.
The Northern Arizona volleyball team limited their two opponents last week to a combined .129 hitting percentage, and O'Ketter was the anchor behind it. As a result, O'Ketter was named the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday – her first career conference honor.
“It was really special to me,” O’Ketter said. “It’s a nice feeling of accomplishment that other coaches are seeing the work I’m doing.”
O'Ketter averaged 4.29 digs per set, and totaled 30 digs, in NAU's two home victories over Southern Utah and Sacramento State to help her garner the award.
After recording 12 digs in the victory against Southern Utah on Thursday, O'Ketter was instrumental in NAU snapping Sacramento State's six-match winning streak on Saturday. She notched 18 digs to help limit the Hornets to a .156 attack clip.
The libero currently ranks fourth in the conference at 3.87 digs per set and 4.43 digs per set on conference matches.
NAU (11-13 overall, 9-6 Big Sky) will now play at Idaho State on Saturday and then compete at the Big Sky Championships Nov. 18-20 in Ogden, Utah.
If the Lumberjacks win the Big Sky tournament, they’ll get an automatic bid into the NCAA championship tournament.
“That’s the goal,” she said.
NAU is tied with Sacramento State for fifth in the conference standings while Weber State leads the league.
“This year has been really good,” she said. “There’s definitely been some ups and downs, but now we’re definitely peaking.”
Two of her former teammates on the Four Corners Volleyball Club are also playing for NAU - Jordan Elder of Dolores and Kacee Moore of Farmington’s Piedra Vista.
“It’s been really fun to be able to reconnect with them and play together again,” she said, adding that in both high school and on the club she was surrounded by coaches and athletes who were driven. “They worked as my motivation and I theirs,” she said. “It was a really supportive community and helped me stay invested,”
And while defense is her specialty as a libero, O’Ketter brings more to the game than her skills.
“I think that I bring a lot of energy to the court that everybody else can build off of,” she said. “That’s one of my biggest roles.”
