@UNCBearsVB Looks to Continue Hot Streak At Southern Utah and North Dakota

Thursday, November 10

Cedar City, Utah

7:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

Southern Utah

11/8/2016 11:42:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

UNC volleyball for a Big Sky North Division title and possible regular season title this weekend.

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Titles are on the line this week for UNC volleyball. Both a Big Sky and North Division title are in the grasp of Northern Colorado as they head to Southern Utah Thursday and North Dakota Saturday.

Southern Utah Gameday Central | North Dakota Gameday Central

Match Notes: Northern Colorado | Big Sky | Southern Utah | North Dakota

Quick Sets
• Northern Colorado closed out its home regular season schedule with a four set win over Idaho and sweep of Eastern Washington last week. The wins make it four straight for the Bears and seven of the last eight.

• Alex Kloehn had a big week for UNC at the net last week, she averaged 3.43 kills and 1.00 blocks per set, while hitting .422 over the two matches. Against Idaho she had four blocks, including two solo blocks. Her strong performance earned her Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors.

• The Bears had a strong defensive week, holding its opponents to .119 attack percentage, including two below .000 sets. Four players finished the weekend with double figure digs, led by Makenna Meier's 30. Overall as a team UNC had 16.00 digs per set.

• Kim Weissmann had a career-high 16 kills against Idaho and followed it up with another 11 kills against EWU.

• Northern Colorado has already played North Dakota once this year, sweeping the Fighting Hawks in October in Greeley.

• Freshman Alyssa Chisholm earned her first career start on Saturday against Eastern Washington.

Scouting the Bears
Northern Colorado continued its strong play last week, extending its win streak to four with wins over Idaho and Eastern Washington.

A balanced attack and strong defense were the keys for the Bears to continue the hot streak. Senior setter Ashley Guthrie had a big week setting up the offense with 12.86 assists per set last week, helping increase her season average to 11.13.

One of her main targets with her sets was Kim Weissmann. She recorded a team high 3.86 kills per set, including a career-high 16 kills against Idaho. UNC's other outsides in Timarie Nymyer and Korney Lockey each averaged 2.14 kills a set.

The team's middle blockers played well too, as Emily O'Neil and Alex Kloehn combined for 37 kills just 10 attack errors. Kloehn averaged 3.43 kills per set and hit a highly efficient .422. The duo also combined for nine blocks, seven of them from Kloehn.

On the back row Makenna Meier once again led the way with 4.29 digs a set. Taylor Els, Kortney Lockey and Alyssa Chisholm also added in over 2.00 digs per set of the week. The defense overall held its opponents to just a .119 attack percentage.

Scouting Southern Utah
Southern Utah enters its final weekend of the season on a five match losing streak after falling to Idaho State and Weber State on the road last week.

The Thunderbirds rely heavily on the arm of Chennin Benson and her 3.17 kills per set. After Benson SUU has no one over 1.88 on the team.

Southern Utah's offense has struggled throughout the year with a .150 attack percentage ranking 10 of 12 in the Big Sky.

As for their defense, it all starts up front with the arm of Ann Clappier. She enters the week with 1.29 blocks per set, ranking second in the conference for blocks.

If the attack where to get past Clappier, libero Sariah Pelaez is there to keep the rally going with 4.42 digs a set.

Coming into the 2016 season, the Big Sky coaches picked SUU to finish 10th in the conference.

Scouting North Dakota
North Dakota enters the final the final week of the regular season with a one game lead on UNC, NAU and Sac St for the Big Sky Conference title. The Fighting Hawks will have to earn the title though, taking on Northern Arizona in Flagstaff Thursday before facing the Bears in Grand Forks on Saturday.

A high powered, balanced offense has helped UND position itself into the stop of the Big Sky. Four North Dakota players are averaging over 2.00 kills per set, and another three over 1.00. Tamara Merseli leads the way with 2.76 kps.

Setting up this potent attack is Sydney Griffin and her 10.56 assists per set. She also is chipping in 2.31 digs, 0.83 kills and 0.71 blocks for the Fighting Hawks.

Defensively, UND is led up front by Faith Dooley and her 1.18 blocks per set. In league games only she is getting 1.44 blocks.

If the attack get pasts Dooley and the block, Alivia Fraase and the rest of the UND backline has been there to earn the dig.

Last Time vs
Southern Utah
Errors came back to hurt Northern Colorado as they fell to Southern Utah last year in four sets. The Bears hit just .151 in the match, including 33 attack errors. Alex Kloehn and Timarie Nymeyer led the way for UNC on attack with 13 and 12 kills each. Defensively, Meagan Garcia (23), Ashley Guthrie (14) and Kendra Cunningham (13) had double figure kills.

North Dakota
Northern Colorado picked up its first win of the Big Sky season this year with a sweep of North Dakota on opening weekend. After squeaking out a 26-24 first set, UNC won the final two sets by a score of 25-18. UNC's offense was like a well-oiled machine hitting .352 in the match with 50 kills, while the defense had 10 blocks and 56 digs.

On the Date
November 10
UNC has lost just twice on November 10th, coming in 1978 and most recently in 2012, sandwiched in between those two losses, is a 10 match win streak. Four of those 10 wins on the date have come on the road.

November 12
The Bears have played just two games on the road on November 12th, but are 2-0 in those matches. Overall on the date, UNC is 14-3 including winning their past two matches against Weber State and Eastern Washington in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

So Who's Going to Host?
The final week of the Big Sky regular season is here, and the big question going into the week is who will host the conference tournament next week? Northern Colorado, Northern Arizona, North Dakota and Sacramento State all are still in the running to host. There are two scenarios in which the Bears could host.
Scenario 1:
   - UNC wins out AND UND beats NAU AND Sac St wins out.
Scenario 2:
   - UNC wins out AND UND beats NAU AND Sac St splits its matches this week.

Defend the North
The Bears will look to defend the north again this season, with a pair of wins this week. UNC was co-North Division champions last season with Idaho, and have a chance to win it outright this season. By winning the North Division, UNC would be guaranteed no worse than the No. 2 seed in next week's tournament.

Road Warriors
UNC has been road warriors all season long going 7-2 in true road matches. In Big Sky matches the team has dropped just one road match, against Idaho State in a hard fought five setter. The only other loss came against Pacific, also in five sets.

RPI Report
Northern Colorado continues to hold onto the second spot in the RPI ranks for the Big Sky Conference. UNC which ranks No. 118 this week, only behind Northern Arizona at 97. This week's opponents in Southern Utah and North Dakota rank No. 293 and 137, respectively.

Leading the Sky
The offense has been one of best during Big Sky play this year. The team leads the conference in kills (14.81), attack percentage (.257) and assists (13.90) during conference games. Senior setter Ashley Guthrie leads the conference with 12.04 assists per set, and Timarie Nymyer, Emily O'Neil and Alex Kloehn are all in the Top 10 in attack percentage at .372, .326, and .300.

Player of the Week
Alex Kloehn was big for Northern Colorado both on the attack and in blocking all week, and earned herself her first career Big Sky Player of the week honor. Kloehn averaging 3.43 kills per set along with a block per set. Not only did she accumulate 24 kills, but hit a team best .422 as UNC went 2-0 over Idaho and Eastern Washington. Against the Vandals, she had 14 kills on a .333 attack percentage and four total blocks, including a pair of solo blocks. She followed up the strong performance with another good match vs EWU. In that match she finished with 10 kills on fifteen swings with just one error for a .600 percentage. She added in three blocks as well.

Making Weiss(Mann) Decisions
While Alex Kloehn earned the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honor, teammate Kim Weissmann had a big week as well. She led the team with 3.86 kills per set and hit .262 on 61 swings. She also had four digs and a block. Against Idaho she set a career high with 16 kills, by making the right decision of attacking the big Vandals' block in hitting the top of their hands.

Blockin' Solo
Alex Kloehn is no stranger to making the big block for UNC, and 43 times in her career she has done so all by herself. Her two solo blocks last weekend puts her one behind Lizzy Rhoads 44, for second place in the programs DI history. She currently has 21 solo blocks this season, a new career high for a season, breaking her previous best of 18 that she set last year, and two off the programs DI best 23 set by Brianna Strong in 2013.

Setting the Way
Senior setter Ashley Guthrie has been setting the way for the Bears for the past four year, and the numbers are starting to add up. On September 24th she recorded her 4,000th career assist, becoming just the sixth player in program history to do so. She currently sits at 4,577 assists, with her sights set on Tatjana Smith's mark of 4,747 to crack the Top 5. Guthrie is now in the Top 10 all-time in the Big Sky conference for assists, passing Garyn Schlatter (2010-13) of Portland State.

Guthrie is averaging 11.13 assists per set this season to rank second in the Big Sky only behind Sacramento State's Kennedy Kurtz 11.33. She also ranks 21st in the NCAA in sets per set.

1-2 Punch
The duo of Kortney Lockey and Kim Weissmann provide Northern Colorado with a tough 1-2 punch on the pins. Lockey leads the team with 3.17 kills per set, while also adding in 2.97 digs a set. Her right arm was leaned on heavily to begin the season, and the numbers proved it. Against North Dakota State during the first weekend Lockey set a career high with 27 kills in the five set victory. She also has set a new career high in digs this season, with 22 against Idaho State.

Weissman had to work her way back from an offseason knee injury during non-conference play, but has come on strong during Big Sky play. She is averaging 2.90 kills per set in fourteen conference matches, and has added in 15 total blocks over them.

Digging Bones
UNC had been digging up a lot of balls this season, ranking fifth in the Big Sky in digs per set at a rate of 16.32. That places the team 45th in the nation. Makenna Meier leads the team with 4.37 digs per set, ranking her seventh overall in the Big Sky, and 103rd in the NCAA. She turned in a career-high 31 dig effort against Northern Arizona on September 22, and ended up winning the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week. That mark is the most by any UNC player in the DI era for a four set match. After Meier, four other Bears are getting over 2.00 digs a set, with Kortney Lockey just a tick below averaging 3.00 at 2.97 digs per set.

Double Trouble
The Bears have a double trouble duo up the middle with Alex Kloehn and Emily O'Neil. Kloehn leads the way for the two with 2.60 kills a set and 0.77 blocks a set. She is second on the team with a .294 hitting percentage. O'Neil is not far behind Kloehn with 1.89 kills and 0.52 blocks a set, while hitting .320 for the year. The duo combined for 37 kills and nine blocks last weekend, while hitting .370. Against Eastern Washington, they contributed 19 kills and just three attack errors.

Triple-Double
For the second time in her career, Ashley Guthrie recorded her second ever triple-double. Against Weber State last Friday night, Guthrie had 60 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills. It was the first triple-double at UNC since Guthrie had her first in 2013 also against Weber State. In that triple-double she had 50 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs. She is one of 29 players to have a triple-double this season in the NCAA.

Everybody Digging In
In the match against Idaho State, everyone was contributing on the defensive end by grabbing a dig. The team finished with 102 digs for the match, and had three players with 20+. Makenna Meier led the team with 24, while teammates Kortney Lockey (22) and Ashley Guthrie (21) weren't far behind. Kayla Uyemura also added in 15 digs, while Taylor Els just missed out on double figures as well with nine.

Adding To A Legacy
Entering her 12th year as the head coach at Northern Colorado, Lyndsey Oates has made a name for herself. During her time at the helm she has led the program into the Division I era and seen plenty of success. She has led four teams to NCAA Tournament appearances and five to Big Sky championships. Along with those accomplishments, Oates has also been a three time recipient of the Big Sky Coach of the Year honor (2009, 2011, 2014). She added to that legacy on September 15 in the victory over Air Force by accomplishing win No. 200 for her career.

Marathon Set
Northern Colorado and Houston Baptist played in one of the longest sets in NCAA history on September 3rd. UNC and HBU ended up playing in a set that had the final score of 45-43 in favor of the Huskies. That tied the record set by Manhattan and Rider in 2010.

In the set, Kortney Lockey reached double figures in kills with 11, while teammate Kayla Uyemura had 11 digs.

Veteran Leadership
Head coach Lyndsey Oates has a plethora of veterans to lean on this season with 12 returns on the team. Of those 12 players, 10 are letter winners.

Preseason Expectations
Preseason expectations are nothing new to the Northern Colorado volleyball program. This season the Bears are once again expected to compete for the Big Sky title, being picked second in the preseason poll. UNC is also seeing national attention, receiving votes in the VolleyballMag.com preseason Top 25.

Freshman Five
UNC brought in five new faces for the 2016 season in freshmen Anna Graham, Taylor Els, Alyssa Chisholm, Sarah Wyland and Kaitlyn Detlefsen. Even with the 12 returners on the team, don't be surprised to see the freshmen to be key contributors as well.

Making the Grades
For the fifth straight season UNC volleyball earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association academic honor. The team posted a GPA over 3.30 to earn the honor. The Bears also had 12 players from last year's team earn All-Big Sky Academic honors as well.

On the Tube
Northern Colorado will be on a TV near you again this season thanks to CET Sports. For the second straight year CET Sports will carry select UNC volleyball games. This year's matches broadcasted will be a pair of intra-state rivalries with Colorado State on August 30th and Denver on September 7th.

Big Sky TV
In a partnership with EverSport.tv all home Big Sky school matches will be streamed for free on Big Sky TV once again for 2016. The Northern California-based company will provide service for streaming all Big Sky football, volleyball and basketball events both on PC or laptop along with any tablet and phone through the Watch Big Sky app.

UNC Bears Focus
Back again this year for all Northern Colorado athletics fans is the UNC Focus presented by Advantage Bank. The UNC Focus is a weekly radio show. The Voice of the Bears Troy Coverdale will host it each Wednesday night on 1310 KFKA from 5pm-6pm.

Looking Ahead
Next week UNC will compete in its 11th straight Big Sky Conference Tournament. The dates are known, November 17-19, but the times and place are still to be determined. Following the conclusion of regular season play Saturday, the conference will announce the times of the matches, along with knowing where it will be held at.