University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Hampton
Volleyball Set to Host Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic
9/17/2014 2:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Northern Colorado welcomes Hampton, UC Davis, and Wyoming to Greeley for the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic
Recaping Last Week
* The Bears went 1-2 in the Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount falling to hosts Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, while defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a five set thriller.
* Brianna Strong tied a career high in kills with 19 against Corpus Christi.
* Kendra Cunningham recorded her third double-double of the season against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi tallying 13 kills and 10 digs.
* Freshman Kim Weissmann and Timarie Nymyer both recorded career highs in kills over the weekend, Weissmann with 7 agains Corpus Christi and Nymyer with 6 against Long Beach State.
* Kendra Cunningham and Andrea Spaustat each posted career highs in total blocks, with 6 and 10 respectively against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
* Setter Ashley Gutherie recorded 90 assists on the weekend, including a season high 44 in the  final match vs the Islanders of Corpus Chrisi.Â
Previewing This Week's Match-Ups
*Â The Bears host their annual Hampton Inn and Suites Northern Colorado Classic this weekend at Butler-Hancock.
* Hampton, UC Davis, and Wyoming will all make the trip to Greeley to compete in the tournament over Friday and Saturday.
Previewing Hampton
* Hampton enters the week on a 3 match loosing streak, with an overall record of 5-5.
* The Lady Pirates come into the weekend with three players having 100 or more kills in Vendula Strakova, Krista Kraskura, and Sonja Maksimovic.
* Vendula Strakova leads the nation with 231 kills so far this season.Â
Previewing UC Davis
*Â UC Davis enters the weekend at 4-6, and win against Sacramento State on Tuesday.
* The Aggies rank in the tip 100 nationally averaging 1.48 aces per set.
* Erika Conners and Sophia Mar each have over 100 assists on the season.Â
Previewing Wyoming
* Wyoming enters the Northern Colorado Classic at 9-1 overall, with the lone loss coming to Gonzaga in five sets.
* Senior Erin Kirby is 16 total blocks away from tying Wyomings school record.
* The Cowgirls enter the week ranked seventh in the nation hitting .311, including the nation leader Laura Beach at .517.
A Bear to Deal With
* 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).
* So far in the 2014 season Strong (75), Spaustat (86), and Cunningham (79) have accounted for 61.1% of the teams kills.Â
Block Party
* Northern Colorado ranks second in the Big Sky with 2.54 blocks per set and 52nd overall in the nation.
* Brianna Strong ranks second in the conference averaging 1.27 blocks per set, 58th overall, and 65th overall with 42 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 .330, along with her 280 total assits, and 44 kills.
* It is not just her offense, but defense that has helped her this season with 17 blocks, most coming at pivitoal moments of matches, and 56 digs.
Freshman Trio
* The freshman trio of Alex Klohn, Kim Weissmann, and Timarie Nymyer have quickly found roles on the team.
* Klohn started the first four matches of the year leading the way with her blocking ability, 18 total on the year, including seven of them coming in her first ever match against Eastern Illinois.
* Weissmann started off coming off the bench due to her excellent serving, 6 aces on the year,and soon found a perminent spot in the rotation after her seven kill preformance against Wisconsin. She tied a career high in kills with seven against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
* Nymyer has developed into a solid player off of the bench recording her first career kill against Colorado State. She earned her first careeer start against Long Beach State, and had a career high 6 kills in the match.
Records BreakersÂ
* Andrea Spaustat recorded her 1,000th overall kill against Long Beach State, and currently sits with 1,017.
* Spaustat had her 300th career block, and passed from Ashley Lichtenberg for second all team in the schools Division I history.
* Spaustat moved into first place overall in block assists against Long Beach State, passing Lizzy Rhoads with 307 overall. She now sits at 312.
* Brianna Strong currently stands tied for second overall in the schools Division I history for solo blocks with 40, with Ashley Lichtenberg.
Records Watch
* Andrea Spaustat has three records in her sight in career aces, solo blocks, and total blocks. She is one ace away from tying Kelley Arnold for 4th with 79 aces. Alison Raguse and Taylor Smith sit only one solo block (31) away from being tied by Spaustat for fourth overall. Finally she is 7 total blocks away from Lizzy Rhoads for first in the schools Division I history.Â
* Brianna Strong currently stands tied for second overall in the schools Division I history for solo blocks with 40, with Ashley Lichtenberg and three behind Lizzy Rhoads.Â
* Ashley Guthrie is 30 assists away from tying Linnea Killsgaard from 4th all-time in Northern Colorado's Division I history.
A Look Ahead
* Northern Colorado starts Big Sky play next weekend hosting newcomer Idaho, and Eastern Washington.
* Idaho is rejoining the Big Sky after being in the WAC for a few years.
* The Vandals compete this weekend against Washington State and Loyola Marymount, both matches at Washington State.
* Eastern Washington finishes tunning up for conference season with a mid-week match against Seattle, followed by going to the San Diego Tournament facing #1 Stanford and #19 San Diego.
Coaches Corner
Words from Head Coach Lyndsey Oates about the upcoming weekend.
"It is going to be good to be home, we have played well here and struggled on the road, so it will be good to be back in Butler-Hancock and have the crowd behind us."
"We need to improve on serve and serve receive this weekend and take advantage of our home court advantage, hopefully taking momentum into conference play."Â
