@UNCBearsVB Falls to North Dakota

Saturday, November 12

Grand Forks, N.D.

10 am

University of Northern Colorado

18-10, 12-4

North Dakota

23-9, 14-2

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Northern Colorado	18	13	19	0
North Dakota	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

11/12/2016 1:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UNC volleyball fell to North Dakota Saturday 3-0

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Northern Colorado couldn't shake off the early morning rust as North Dakota swept the Bears Saturday morning.

How It Happened
North Dakota started the game strong, using an early 3-0 run in the opening set to gain the momentum in the match. It was then a 7-2 run midway through the set that gave the Fighting Hawks all of the momentum they needed as they took an 18-11 lead. During the run UND had four kills, an ace and a block. In that set UNC hit .022 with nine kills and eight attack errors.

While the Bears' attack improved in the second set .167, North Dakota's offense got it going as well as they hit .444. The Fighting Hawks opened up the set on a 7-1 run, and used another run of 9-2 to close out the set and take it 25-13, and a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Northern Colorado fell behind early in the third set as well as UND used a quick 4-0 run to go up 5-2 in the set. The Bears got within two at 11-9, before a 5-0 run North Dakota put enough distance between the two teams. UNC went on a late 4-0 run to cut it to 23-19, but it was too little too late.

Game Changer
The arm of Tamara Merseli was key for North Dakota against Northern Colorado on Saturday. She finished with a match-high 13 kills along with eight digs, two assists, two blocks and a service ace.

Notables
- With the loss UNC will be the No. 4 seed in next week's Big Sky Tournament.
- Timarie Nymeyer found some offense late for the Bears as she finished the match with 11 kills. She was the lone UNC player to finish the match in double figures.
- Serving and passing were big keys in the result of the match as Northern Colorado finished the match with eight service errors to North Dakota's nine aces.

Quotable
Head Coach Lyndsey Oates

"Obviously a disappointing finish to the regular season for us. We were not prepared for the match and that is on me. The positive is we have a quick turnaround and will be back there in a week looking for a different result. It came down to serving and passing. We didn't stay aggressive enough serving and didn't do well passing either."

What's Next?
It's back to Grand Forks next week for the Big Sky Tournament. UNC will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Bears know they will be playing Idaho State on November 17th next, the time of the match will be announced later Saturday by the Big Sky Conference.