University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
7-7, 0-2Big Sky
Eastern Washington
5-10, 1-1Big Sky
Volleyball Falls in Tough Five Setter
9/27/2014 3:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Northern Colorado battled hard in a five set loss to Eastern Washington
GREELEY – In a match that saw 29 ties and 15 lead changes, Northern Colorado (7-7, 0-2) volleyball fell 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 22-25, 16-18) to Eastern Washington (5-10, 1-1) at home Saturday.
Freshman middle blocker Timarie Nymeyer set a career high 19 kills, against only one error, for a .720 hitting percentage. She was joined by teammates Andrea Spaustat (12) and Kendra Cunningham (20) with double-digit kills. Cunningham also added 11 digs, for her fifth consecutive double-double and eighth of the year.
The match was all about defense. In the two sets the Bears won, they held Eastern Washington under .200 hitting, while in the three they lost, EWU hit above .400 in each. Overall for the match, both teams hit well as Northern Colorado finished at .296 and Eastern Washington at .331.
"The match came down to defense and that showed in the hitting percentages tonight," said head coach Lyndsey Oates.
The first set was an offensive showcase for both teams as the Bears hit .462 and the Eagles hit .667. Nymeyer and Spaustat each had five kills during the set.
The Bears regrouped in the second set, holding Eastern Washington to just a .070 hitting percentage. Led by the serving of Spaustat and setter Ashley Guthrie, Northern Colorado went on a 9-1 to go from down 4-5 to up 13-6 and control the set.
The third set was very representative of the match as a whole, going back and forth with each team gaining momentum during different points of the set. The Bears had a solid time serving in the set, getting half of their six aces on the night in the set. Cunningham led the charge in the set putting up seven kills and hitting .500.
"We did exactly what we were supposed to do in sets two and three, but unable to sustain that level," Oates said.
During the fourth set, both offenses turned it up another notch, combining for 35 kills and each team hitting over .325. Cunningham did not cool off in the set, adding another eight kills during it, along with Nymeyer's seven.
The fifth and final set started off well for the Bears as they cruised out to a 7-3 lead before Eastern Washington took a timeout to slow the momentum. After the teams switched sides in the set, Eastern went on a 4-0 run to close the gap and retake momentum.
Northern Colorado will look to pick up its first Big Sky Conference win on the road at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 against Montana State in Bozeman, Mont.
