University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Long Beach St.
Bears Travel to California for Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount Invitational
9/10/2014 2:25:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Northern Colorado volleyball heads to California to face Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Bears head to California for Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount invitational to play hosts Long Beach State, LMU, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.Â
Recaping Last Week
* The Bears went 1-2 in the  Northern Colorado/Colorado State Classic, defeating Florida A&M while falling to Coloraoo State and Wisconsin
* Northern Colorado's defense continues to show strong early in the season holdng #4 Wisconsin to a season low .272 hitting percengage, and #14 Colorado State to a second worst of .239
* Kendra Cunningham recorded her second double-double of the season against Wisconsin tallying 17 kills and 13 digs.
* Freshman Kim Weissmann and Timarie Nymyer both recorded their first career kills against Colorado State, and finished the weekend with 5 and 14 respectively.
* Senior Middle Blocker Brianna Strong was a force at the net with 16 total blocks and 18 kills.Â
* Libero Audrey Landry set a career high 22 kills against Wisconsin.
Previewing This Week's Match-UpsÂ
* Northern Colorado heads back on the road to participate in the Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount InvintationalÂ
* The Bears face-off hosts Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, along with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Previewing Long Beach StateÂ
* Long Beach State enters the week on a 5 match win streak, with overall record of 5-2.u 49ers lone losses have come against nationally ranked Illinois and North Carolina.
* Averaging 2.88 blocks per set, Long Beach State ranks 20th in the nation.Â
Previewing Loyola MarymountÂ
* LMU holds a perfect record of 6-0, including a sweep over #25 UCLA
* The Lions are receiving votes in the AVCA poll.
* Led by Litara Keil's 12 serving aces, the Lions are ranked 6th in the nation averaging 2.21 Aces per set. They also rank in the top 5 in hitting at .364
Previewing Texas A&M-Corpus ChristiÂ
*Â A&M-Corpus Christi is curently on a three match loosing streak, with an overall record of 3-4u The Islanders rank first in the nation with 20.17 digs per set, and 42.70 team attacks per set.Â
* Coach Tony Grayston enters his sixth season at A&M-Corpus Christi, coming off the schools best in Division 1 history, going 20-12 overall and 13-5 in the Southland Conference.
A Bear to Deal WithÂ
* Northern Colorado returns their top three kills leaders from last year in outside hitter Kendra Cunningham (359), middle blocker Brianna Strong (329), and middle blocker Andrea Spaustat(310).Â
* The trio also combined to block a total of 273 shots in 2013.
* So far in the 2014 season Strong (44), Spaustat (64), and Cunningham (30) have accounted for 50.9% of the teams kills.
Block Party
* Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky with 2.57 blocks per set, ranking 53rd  overall.
* Brianna Strong ranks first in the conference averaging 1.45 blocks per set, 29th overall, and 28th overall with 21 total blocks.
No Sophomore Setting Slump
* Sophomore setter Ashley Guthrie returns after a steller freshman year, shooting into the Northern Colorado Division I record books currently sitting 5th all time in sets with 1258 assists. * There has been no sign of a sophomore slump for Guthrie leading the team in hitting at .382, along with her 190 total assits so far.
* It is not just her offense, but defense that has helped her this season, fourth on the team in total blocks (13), most coming at pivitoal moments of matches.Â
Freshman TrioÂ
*Â The freshman trio of Alex Klohn, Kim Weissmann, and Timarie Nymyer have quickly found roles on the teamu Klohn started the first four matches of the year leading the way with her blocking ability, 14 total on the year, including half of them coming in her first ever match against Eastern Illinois.
* Weissmann started off coming off the bench due to her excellent serving, 4 aces on the year,and soon found a perminent spot in the rotation after her seven kill preformance against Wisconsin.
* Nymyer has developed into a solid player off of the bench recording her first career kill against Colorado State.
Steller Defense
* Sophomore Audrey Landry took over the libero role this season after Meredith Johnson graduated.
* Landry has accumulated 96 digs on the year averaging 4.36 per set.
* The Bears held #4 Wisconsin to their lowest hitting percentage of the year at .272
* Five times UNC has held their opponent to .100 hitting or lower in a set, and twice teams have hit below .000 in a set.
Records OutlookÂ
* Andrea Spaustat is five kills away from 1,000 overall in her career
* Spaustat is also one total block away from 300 for her career, and two away from tying Ashley Lichtenberg for second all team in the schools Division I history.
* Brianna Strong currently stands third overall in the schools Division I history for solo blocks with 39, but has first place in her sight, only one behind Ashley Lichtenberg and five behind Lizzy Rhoads
A Look Ahead * Northern Colorado return home for the annual Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic September 19th and 20th.
* Wyoming, Hampton, and UC Davis will compete in the two day tournament, all teams playing eachother.Â
* Hampton will be the Bears first opponent Friday night, having a 5-3 recordgoing into this week.
* UC Davis is 2-4, playing in theWashington/Seattle Tournament this weekend that includes #5 Washington.Â
* Wyoming hosts their own tournamentt this week featuring Gonzaga, Weber State, and Furman. The Cowgirls are currently 7-0.
