Volleyball sweeps former teammates in Alumnae match
By HEATHER KENNEDY
UNCBears.com
GREELEY – With the oldest alumnae being only five years removed from her glory days at the University of Northern Colorado, it was really no surprise they had the lead over the Bears' volleyball team in all three sets. However, the active team pulled together to sweep the alumnae, winning 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 in Butler-Hancock on Saturday evening.
The Alumnae match is often used as the final tune-up of the preseason before the Bears begin the regular season. This year, Northern Colorado starts the year on the road, facing TCU in the opener of the Belmont Invitational on Friday, Aug. 24 at 3 pm.
Senior opposite hitter Kelley Arnold (Berthoud, Colo.) led all players in the match with 11 kills. The defending Big Sky Conference MVP took 24 swings without making an error for a .458 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Tambre Haddock (Longmont, Colo.) had eight kills, while fellow sophomore middle blocker Andrea Spaustat (Omaha, Neb.) was right behind her with seven.
"I'm very pleased with how we looked tonight," Northern Colorado coach Lyndsey Oates said. "I thought we performed better tonight then we have been performing in practice. I thought we took a step up today. I really like what our freshmen were able to contribute and I thought our returners played like returners."
Sophomore Merideth Johnson (Fort Collins, Colo.) donned the different color jersey for the first time, taking over the libero role for graduated senior Amanda Arterburn (2008-11). Johnson led all players with 20 digs, while Arterburn, playing as an alum for the first time, notched 11 on the opposite side of the net in sharing the position with two other of the best passers in school history (Abby Mayne {2004-07}, Breanna Van Der Most {2006-09}).
"It's bittersweet, because you miss them on your own side of the court," Oates said about the alumnae. "However, it's so fun to see them back and enjoying the sport and having fun together and enjoying the friendships they've built during their four years here."
Allison Raguse (2006-09) paced the former Bears with eight kills, while Breanna Williams (2008-11) chipped in five and Natalie Laband (2008-11), Kenzie Shreeve (2005-09) and Ashley Lichtenberg (2007-10) each had three. Mayne also reached double figures in digs with 10, while Laband had the only service ace for the alumnae.
"This is really neat to have them (alums) enjoy it so much," Oates stated. "They look forward to coming back and it's not doing us a favor. It kind of goes both ways in they love coming back and playing and being able to tease through the net.
"We've been training for three weeks so we should be beating the alums who are a little bit rusty and don't play every day for six hours a day – especially the last three weeks. They gave us a great match tonight, so to see their athleticism come together. Some of them have never played together and they were enough years apart so the different combinations was really fun to see."
Oates played four freshmen in the match, as outside hitter Kendra Cunningham (Eaton, Colo.) played in all three sets with four kills and seven digs and she hit .444, while setter Allie Hutcheson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) played two sets with 14 assists, two digs and two kills, outside hitter Katie Champion (Logansport, Ind.) played in one set with three swings and defensive specialist Meagan Garcia (Platteville, Colo.) recorded three digs in two sets of action.
Despite trailing in all three sets, Oates wasn't ever worried about her current players, knowing there was enough leadership on the court to get through the adversity.
"What I loved about those situations is that it wasn't the same person coming through when we needed a big point," she said. "It was several different people making the big play and that's what we're going to need moving forward."