Offense Leads the Way for @UNCBearsVB Against Montana

Saturday, October 3

Greeley, Colo.

2:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

6-11, 2-2Big Sky

Montana

4-12, 0-4Big Sky

Montana

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/3/2015 7:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado volleyball had its best offensive performance of the season in a win over Montana

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Offense was the name of the game for Northern Colorado volleyball Saturday afternoon, in its four set win over Montana (25-19, 25-23, 25-27, 25-21). The match featured 37 total ties and 13 lead changes.

"I thought it was an up and down match for us. It started out well, but then in the third set we allowed them to hit above .500," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "It started with us not serving as tough and then our blocking and back line defense didn't play as well during that set. We made enough plays in the fourth set to close out the match."

UNC (6-11, 2-2 Big Sky), had its best offensive performance of the season against the Griz (4-12, 0-4 Big Sky) with .338 attack percentage and finishing one kill shy of a season high with 65.

The Bears had seven players record at least six kills or more during the match, being paced by senior Kendra Cunningham. Cunningham recorded 16 kills, along with six digs. Seven of those 16 kills came in the first set, helping UNC get off to a quick start. She not only got the team off on the right foot, but also finished the match, slamming down the last point with authority to seal the victory.

"As a leader I want my team to trust me to get those big kills and get that big point when we need it," Cunningham said about closing out the match. "When I do get that ball and do get that chance I know my team has my back and I just go for it giving them everything I have."

Two other UNC players finished with double digit kills in Katie Champion and Kortney Lockey each with 10. It wasn't just the number of kills by Northern Colorado during the match, but the ability to play low error ball. Four players finished with a .450 hitting percentage or better.

Setter Ashley Guthrie led the charge hitting .818 with nine kills and no errors on 11 total attacks. Guthrie not only took advantage of setter dumps during the match, but also helped distribute the offense, finishing with 50 assists.

"I think that we were really well distributed tonight and as a team we had each other's backs, keeping each other energized," Cunningham said.

Teammate Emily O'Neil wasn't too far behind Guthrie hitting .700 while recording seven kills. The other two players to hit above .450 were Kim Weissmann with 6 kills and a .556 hitting in just two sets played, and Champion hitting at a clip of .474.

"Kim did a great job taking advantage of her opportunity today giving us a spark off the bench and really helped us get over the hump to win this match," said Oates.

Northern Colorado's back line defense also had a solid match. Senior libero Meagan Garcia once again led the unit with 28 digs. Garcia became just the 22nd player in program history to record her 1,000th career dig.

By the end of the match she sat at 1,017 for her career.

The four match home stand continues for the Bears on Thursday when they host defending Big Sky regular season champion, Idaho State. First serve for the key Big Sky match-up is set for 7:05 p.m.

"We got the much needed sweep this weekend to get our conference record at 2-2 and get ready for Idaho State," Oates said. "It will be nice to continue to stay at home for another tough weekend of play."