50th season for @UNCBearsVB officially starts this weekend

Saturday, August 26

Greeley, Colo.

7pm

University of Northern Colorado

Duke University

8/23/2017 7:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

GN Week 1

Bears face UCF and Duke at home

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. - The 50th season of Northern Colorado Volleyball will officially begin this weekend as the team takes the court at Bank of Colorado Arena.

The Bears will first take on Central Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. and then 24 hours later, they will face Duke on Saturday at 7 p.m. The matches mark the beginning of the Northern Colorado Classic and account for two of the three matches UNC will play in the tournament. The Bears will finish out tournament play when they play Colorado State on Tuesday in Fort Collins.

Northern Colorado was selected second in the Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving two first-place votes, with North Dakota receiving the other 10 votes. The Bears had a successful season in 2016, going 12-4 in conference and 18-11 overall. Northern Colorado returns five starters and four additional letter-winners, giving the team a veteran core that will allow it to carry over the success from last season.

Up Front
Veteran experience of the team is apparent on the front row with senior outside hitters Kim Weissmann and Kortney Lockey. An All-Big Sky second-team selection, Lockey looks to build on her already impressive resume, recording a team-leading 335 kills and 1064 total attacks. The middle blocker position is also deep for the Bears, with fellow Big Sky second-team selection Alex Kloehn and redshirt junior Emily O'Neil. Also, expect to see sophomore Sarah Wyland take on a more prominent role at middle blocker in the rotation. UNC adds more options up front with freshman outside hitters Taylor Muff and Jadyn McCartney, along with redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Detlefsen at middle blocker.

Back Row
The back row might not have as much experience or depth as the front row, but it still boasts talent. Taylor Els takes over at libero after Makenna Meier graduated, but the sophomore already played like a veteran last season. Els started in all 29 matches last season and was third on the team with 257 digs. With Ashley Guthrie graduating, Ryleigh Haynes will step into the setter role. The redshirt-sophomore played in 10 matches last season and was second on the team with 109 assists. The back row defense will be stabilized by junior Kayla Uyemura, who was fourth on the team last year with 196 digs.

Scouting Central Florida
Central Florida will bring its own veteran experience to Bank of Colorado Arena on Friday night. Redshirt senior Kia Bright was named to the All-American Athletic Conference preseason team after being a unanimous selection in 2016. Bright recorded 15 double-doubles, along with 19 games of double-digit kills and 23 games of double-digit digs. Another redshirt-senior, Taylor Wickey, recorded 94 blocks last season and had three matches with an .800-plus hitting percentage and no errors. UNC last faced UCF in 2015, with the Knights sweeping the Bears.

Scouting Duke
This will be the first-ever meeting between Northern Colorado and Duke. Last season, Duke ended with a 21-9 record and 15-5 in the ACC. Junior middle blocker Leah Meyer was named to the Preseason All-ACC team after leading the team with 139 blocks. Meyer was also second on the Blue Devils with 316 kills.

In their own words
"I'm excited for the season to start. It's a great opportunity to get the chance to play two, top-40 teams in one weekend. That opportunity does not come around often. Our blocking has improved since the beginning of practice and we feel good about it going into the first weekend of matches." –Kortney Lockey, Junior Outside Hitter

"This is the start of our season. Last weekend the lineup wasn't as important. Now were putting a lineup in to win the game. Our blocking has greatly improved since last season, but we still have work to do in improving that aspect of our game"- Lyndsey Oates, Head Coach

All day Thursday, you can purchase Volleyball tickets for Friday's match against Central Florida for $.50. Just go to uncbears.com/tickets.
There will also be an autograph session after the match, so you have a chance to meet your favorite Bear!

Season tickets to UNC Volleyball's 50^th Anniversary Season are on sale now for as low as $80 each for adults. UNC is once again offering the Family Pack for just $125, featuring two adult and two child tickets with each additional child ticket for larger families being prorated. Individuals and companies wishing to support the Bears and the Northern Colorado community can also purchase Send-A-Bear tickets for just $25 each with those tickets being donated to area youth and non-profit groups. Single game group tickets are also available at just $5 (per adult) and $3 (per youth, 13 & under)) per ticket when purchasing 10 or more. For more information on any UNC Volleyball ticket opportunities, please call the UNC Ticket Office at 970-351-4849 or click here.