Oct. 29, 2007

OGDEN Utah - Northern Colorado middle blocker Allison Raguse was tabbed as the Big Sky Conference's Weekly Volleyball Player of the Week for the matches played between Oct. 22-27, the conference announced Oct. 29. Raguse is the first Northern Colorado volleyball player to capture a weekly award from the conference since NC joined the league.

Raguse, a sophomore from Lincoln, Neb., was a standout for the Bears in the dramatic 3-2 upset victory over Sacramento State on Thursday, Oct. 25. The sophomore notched 20 kills, a match-best two service aces and a team-high seven blocks for 26 points. Raguse had only four errors and hit .390 (20-4-41) in helping NC to hit .239 for the match. The .239 hitting percentage by Northern Colorado was the second highest recorded by a Sacramento State opponent this season. The win by the Bears snapped the Hornets' 15-match winning streak. The win also stopped the 15-match conference winning streak, that covered the last two years, that Sac State came into the match on.

Raguse was big throughout the match for the Bears, but especially in clutch situtations. In the first game, she recorded a kill when the score was knotted at 29 all and then tallied a block assist on the next point to deliver the first-game victory. Overall, in the first game Raguse registered five kills and three blocks. In the second stanza the sophomore chipped in four more kills on a .667 hitting percentage. Raguse tallied five more kills and both her service aces in the fourth game and finished off her evening by registering five more kills in the fifth game. The 20 kills were three off Raguse's career-high set against Idaho State on Oct. 6, 2007.

On the season, the middle blocker is averaging 2,52 kills and 1.00 blocks per game and leads the team with 23 service aces.

Northern Colorado continues the homestand with the final two home matches of the season this week. The Bears will compete against Portland State on Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. NC then welcomes in Eastern Washington to the Butler-Hancock Pavilion on Nov. 3 for a 7 p.m. match. The Eastern Washington match will be the final home match for seniors Dulcie Stone and Abby Mayne.