Volleyball Stays Hot and Guthrie Joins Rare Group

Saturday, October 18

Greeley, Colo.

2 pm

University of Northern Colorado

12-8, 5-3Big Sky

North Dakota

18-6, 6-2Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	Final F
North Dakota	20	20	19	0
Northern Colorado	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/18/2014 5:38:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Bears volleyball stays hot in Big Sky play sweeping North Dakota, while Ashley Guthrie joins an elite club

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY - Northern Colorado volleyball continued to stay hot in Big Sky Conference play Saturday afternoon sweeping North Dakota (25-20, 25-20, 25-19). The win is the Bears' fifth in the past six conference matches, improving their record to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in conference.

It was a historic day for sophomore setter Ashley Guthrie, joining the 2,000 assist club. She is one of nine players in the school's history to achieve the feat, led by Linnea Kiilsgaard who had 5,319 from 2000-03. Guthrie finished the match with 40 assists, three kills and four digs.

"I feel honored to make this mark, and I could not of done it without my two years of great passers and hitters. Without them I would be nowhere close to the mark," Guthrie said.

Such an accomplishment so early in Guthrie's career has impressed her coach Lyndsey Oates.

"Ashley is a special player. I thought tonight was a great example of that. She showed great maturity tonight and made some great instinctive plays." Oates said.

Twenty-seven of those 40 assists went to middle blockers Brianna Strong and Timarie Nymeyer. Strong led the team with 15 kills, followed by Nymeyer's 12.

"Bri played great, she is our leader, and Timarie is playing great as a freshman. She's not playing with any fear," Guthrie said. "I just love setting both of them."

It was not just the offense that played a big role in the victory for the Bears, but also the defense. North Dakota (18-6, 6-2 Big Sky) came into the match hitting .231 for the year but was held to just .100 by the Bears.

"Holding them to .100 is fantastic," Strong said. "We were very scrappy today, and I think our ability to win those long rallies really helped our mentality."

The first set was a close affair, featuring five ties and three lead changes. Northern Colorado was trailing 6-10 when Guthrie used aggressive serving to spark a 5-2 run, getting the Bears within a point. UNC took over the lead for good in the set after an attacking error by North Dakota's Faith Dooley.

The second set was a mirror image of the first, with five ties and three lead changes, along with the same final score. Also, just like the first set, a great rotation at the service line from Guthrie helped the team finish the set on a 7-3 run. This was also UNC's best set offensively, hitting .351 with Strong and Nymeyer combining for 13 kills.

"We served and passed very well tonight," Oates said. "We definitely won that aspect of the game. We served aggressive and tactically."

Intermission did not slow down the Bears, as they came out to complete the sweep by hitting .341 in the final set. Along with the strong offense to end the match, Northern Colorado had four of its six blocks in it, including a solo block each from Strong and fellow senior middle blocker Andrea Spaustat.

"We talked to the team at intermission that North Dakota is not going to back down, and we need to keep our intensity coming out of the locker room," Oates said.

Northern Colorado will look to continue the hot streak next week when it finishes a four-game home stand by hosting Southern Utah Thursday night and then Northern Arizona Saturday night. Both matches are at 7 p.m. at Butler-Hancock.