University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Idaho
Bears Host Idaho and Eastern Washington to Open Conference Play
9/24/2014 3:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Idaho and Eastern Washington come to town to start the 2014 Big Sky Conference play
Recaping Last Week
* The Bears went 3-0 in the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado classic, claiming the championships with victories over Hampton in 4, UC Davis is 5, and Wyoming in 4
* Kendra Cunningham was named MVP of the tournament, joined by teammates Brianna Strongand Ashley Guthrieu Cunningham recorded a double-double in all three matches on the weekend, stuffing the stat sheet with 48 kills, 40 digs, 4 assists, 1 service ace, and 3 total blocks.
* Setter Ashley Guthrie had a season high 51 assists in the five set victory against UC Davisu Senior middle blocker Brianna Strong set a career high 20 kills against UC Davis
* The Bears had a team high eight service aces against Hamptonu Northern Colorado hit .300 or better in 8 of the 13 sets they played last week.Â
Previewing Idaho
* Idaho is rejoining the Big Sky after being gone for 22 years, they were one of the charter members of the conference.
* The Vandals enter Big Sky play at 4-8 overall, and a current two match loosing streak.
* Setter Meredith Coba ranks 58th in the nation avereaging 10.50 assists per set.Â
* Idaho competed in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) the past nine years, finishing tied for third in it last year.
Previewing Eastern Washington
*Â Eastern Washington enters conference play at 4-9 overall, coming off playing top ranked Stanford.
* The Eagles finished the 2013 season eighth in the conference with a 7-13 record.
* EWU ranks inside the top 100 in the nation  for total assists.Â
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).Â
* So far in the 2014 season Strong (114), Spaustat (114), and Cunningham (127) have accounted for 60.7% of the teams kills.Â
* Over the past weekend the trio combined for 115 kills, and 135.5 points.
No Sophomore Setting SlumpÂ
* Sophomore setter Ashley Guthrie returns after a steller freshman year, shooting into the Northern Colorado Division I record books currently sitting 4th all time in sets with 1672 assists. * There has been no sign of a sophomore slump for Guthrie leading the team in hitting at .348, along with her 414 total assits, and 59 kills, and 7 service aces.
* It is not just her offense, but defense that has helped her this season with 25 blocks, most coming at pivitoal moments of matches, and 78 digs.Â
Freshman Trio
* The freshman trio of Alex Klohn, Kim Weissmann, and Timarie Nymyer have quickly found roles on the team.
* The trio has helped bring balance to the Bears offense, to go along with Cunningham, Spaustat, and Strong.
* 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. Her career high in kills is 11 vs Wyoming.
* Nymyer has developed into a solid rotation player, recording her first career kill against Colorado State. She earned her first careeer start against Long Beach State. She set a career high 11 kills against Wyoming.Â
Records BreakersÂ
* Andrea Spaustat took over the school's Division I record in total blocks, passing Lizzy Rhoads with 349, she now sits at 354.
* Spaustat also moved up two spots in the school's Division I record book for kills passing Kelley Arnold and Marissa Hughes, now sitting third all time with 86.
* Setter Ashley Guthrie passed Linnea Killsgaard for fourth all time in Northern Colorado's Division I history.
* Brianna Strong passed Kelley Arnold in both block assists and total blocks, now sitting 5th overall in both catagories.
Records Watch
* Andrea Spaustat has two records in her sight in career aces and solo blocks. She is three aces away from tying Amanda Wiggins for 2nd with 89 aces. Alison Raguse and Taylor Smith sit tied in solo blocks (31) with Spaustat for 4th all-time.
* 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
Changes to Big Sky Format
* With the addition of Idaho to the Big Sky there are some new changes for the Big Sky in regards to standings and conference tournament.
* There are now two divisions North and South. The North consists of Northern Colorado, Eastern  Washington, Idaho, Montana, Montana State, and North Dakota. The South has Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Sacramento State, Southern Utah, and Weber State.Â
* The top team from each division make the conference tournament, plus the top six teams regardless of division affiliation, for a total of eight teams in the tournament.
* The 2014 conference tournament will be hosted by the regular season conference champion, November 20-22.Â
A Look AheadÂ
*Â Northern Colorado hits the road to face off against Montana and Montana State.
* Montana travles to Weber State and Montana State this week to open conference play.
* Montana State starts the conference play at defending champion Idaho State, before hosting Montana.
