@UNCBearsVB Resilient in Win Over Thunderbirds

Thursday, October 11

Greeley, Colo.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

8-8, 4-3

Southern Utah

2-18, 1-7

Southern Utah

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/11/2018 11:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado offense showed its balance once against to power the team to victory

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

Northern Colorado volleyball showed its toughness on Thursday night, as they defeated Southern Utah [18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22]. After dropping the first set, UNC responded by winning the next three, including being down by one point late in both the third and fourth sets.

"I do like our resilience and finished the last set down 22-21," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "We made some plays and scored two kills at the end, not just getting let off the hook by [Southern Utah] errors."

Balance was the key again for UNC, as the three Bear outside hitters recorded double-digit kills and Brittany Lawrence added eight kills.

Kortney Lockey and Taylor Muff tied for the match high with 15 kills apiece, while each also recorded a double-double. Jadyn McCartney matched her season high with 13 kills and had a .367 attack percentage.

"I thought we had pretty good balance tonight. Jadyn was scoring really well and hitting a high percentage," Oates said. "Brittany was our go to player. Anytime we could get her the ball, we tried to. She only finished with eight, but if we could pass that's where we wanted to take the ball. I like we have that kind of balance, with Lauren [Hinirchs] sometimes leading us in kills, which means all five of our hitters at times are go to players. That kind of balance will be important down the road."

A strong night from Daisy Schultz also helped the UNC hitters, as she finished with 44 assists. Schultz recorded a double-double with 12 digs and nearly matched a program record with five service aces.

"We have all been working on our serves in practice and it has been a goal for our team the last few games to serve tough," said Schultz. "Having that in our minds during the game has made us better servers. I think it's a good energy to have going into Northern Arizona on Saturday."

"I think Daisy set a very good match with a lot of hittable balls. Early in the set I thought the balls were dying inside, but she made a quick change and set aggressive balls," Oates added.

Lawrence added another layer to the Bears dynamic offense, hitting .368 in the match, while also protecting the net with four blocks.

After starting the first set with back-to-back aces from Muff, UNC struggled to hold of the Thunderbirds and would drop the set 25-18 to go in a 1-0 hole. The Bears hit .057 in the set, while Southern Utah was swinging with a .400 percentage.

UNC jumped out to another quick lead in the second set with two kills from McCartney and were up 6-1. The Bears kept their advantage from the Thunderbirds, limiting prolonged runs that could have swing the momentum. Schultz followed Muff's lead with back-to-back aces in the set. McCartney would secure the set with a kill to win 25-18 and tie the match at one apiece.

Southern Utah built a quick 4-2 lead to open the third set, but two kills from McCartney got the Bears back in the set and they went back in front 5-4. Lockey had been consistent all game and elevated her play even further in third set with five kills. The set went back-and-forth with both teams taking the lead. After leading 22-21, Southern Utah jumped back in front 23-22. McCartney would tie the set up at 23 with a kill. Following a kill from Muff, UNC was serving for match point, which Kayla Uyemura took advantage of with an ace to win the set 25-23 and the Bears were up 2-1 in the match.

Neither team was backing down in the fourth set and the score remained tight throughout. UNC had some separation at 19-16, but the Thunderbirds stormed back to tie and then take the lead, 20-19. The Bears were down 22-21, but Lockey came up with a timely ace to tie the set back up. Lawrence and McCartney combined for a block that handed UNC the lead. McCartney would seal the victory with two kills and UNC won the set 25-21, ending the match on a 5-1 run.

Northern Colorado finished the match with a .178 attack percentage and 56 kills, while Southern Utah had .197 percentage and 45 kills.

Game Notes

Three Bears had double-doubles against Southern Utah, with Kortney Lockey getting her eighth of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs. Taylor Muff recorded her fourth with 15 kills and 14 digs, while Daisy Schultz had her third of the year with 44 assists and 12 digs.
Northern Colorado tallied 10 services aces against the Thunderbirds, the most for the team since they played Arkansas Pine-Bluff in Greeley last season. Daisy Schultz recorded five aces, nearly tying the program record she tied last season in the match against Pine-Bluff. Taylor Muff scored three aces on the night as well.
UNC matched its season high with seven blocks, with Brittany Lawrence setting a new career mark with four total blocks, recording three block assists and one solo.
Taylor Els recorded 22 digs to extend her double-digit dig streak to 40 matches.
Jadyn McCartney tied her season-best with 13 kills, but did recorded a season-best .367 attack percentage.

Up Next
Northern Colorado will host Northern Arizona at Bank of Colorado Arena on Saturday night at 7 P.M. UNC defeated NAU last year in the only match that was played in Flagstaff. The Lumberjacks pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when defeated No. 9 Florida in non-conference.