@UNCBearsVB Aces Eagles in Four

Saturday, October 20

Cheney, Wash.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

10-9 (6-4)

Eastern Washington

8-14 (0-10)

Northern Colorado

Eastern Washington

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/20/2018 10:08:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado split its weekend matches to remain above .500 in conference

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

CHENEY, Wash.- Northern Colorado volleyball shook off a slow start to defeat Eastern Washington [20-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-15]. UNC (10-9, 6-4) had a season-best 11 services aces against the Eagles.

"It was another match similar to last night where we served aggressive to stay in the match," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "I thought Taylor Els played well and dug a lot of balls, especially in a four set match. She kept us in a lot of rallies. We are just too high error so we have to get that fixed going into next week."

Freshman Kyndall Feather recorded her first three aces of her young career, while Kortney Lockey and Taylor Els matched her with three each.

"The positive is we can learn a lesson an easy way and get a win because of our serving and defensive play," added Oates.

UNC's defense was outstanding, holding the Eagles to a .070 attack percentage. Els was at the center of the defense in the back row with 29 digs.

The offensive balance for the Bears was again prevalent, with Lockey scoring a match-high 15 kills and Jadyn McCartney adding 11. Lauren Hinrichs and Kailey Jo Ince each had eight kills, while Brittany Lawrence added seven. Daisy Schultz was the steady presence a setter for UNC with 47 assists, also adding a pair of kills.

The first set was forgettable for the Bears, as the team hit .102 and had 10 attack errors, but did score 15 kills. Eastern Washington hit .227 and had 13 kills on the way to a 25-20 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Bears started the second set more efficiently, with kills from Lockey, Lawrence, and Hinrichs to lead 9-6. The Eagles pulled to within one of UNC at 12-11 on kills from Kennedy Kaminksy. Keeping their composure, the Bears ripped off a 7-0 run to blow the set open. The run was highlighted by back-to-back aces from Feather. Lockey would score four kills in the set to help UNC even the match with a 25-15 set win.

The Eagles grabbed momentum to start the third set with a 7-1 run. The Bears, once again, did not panic and slowly chipped away at the EWU lead. UNC would tie the set at 10, during a strong serving run from Els that included a pair of aces from the junior libero. The set would stay close following the run, tying seven more times. The Bears would close out the set on another impressive run, topping their performance in set one with a 9-0 run to win 25-17 and go up 2-1 in the match. The Bears were powered by key kills from McCartney and Lawrence, along with two aces from Lockey who was served during the run.

In the fourth set, the score was tight early, but the Bears had built up momentum and separated from the Eagles. Lockey scored six kills and the Bears had 15 total during the set to overpower EWU 25-15 and win the match 3-1. UNC served aggressive during the final set to keep the Eagles off balance.

Game Notes

UNC scored 11 service aces against Eastern Washington, with five different Bears recording an ace. It was the most for UNC since they had 11 aces against UTEP in 2016.
Kortney Lockey recorded her 10^th double-double of the season with 15 kills and 15 digs.
UNC had 84 total digs against the Eagles, the second highest total for the team this season. Taylor Els was strong again, with a match-high 29 digs and now has double-digit digs in 43 consecutive matches. Kayla Uyemura added 11 digs, while Laura Katarzynski added eight.
Kailey Jo Ince did not wait long to set a new career mark in kills, scoring eight tonight to surpass her old career-best of seven that she scored last night.
UNC matched the Eagles in blocks with six apiece; it is the second time this season the Bears have tied in blocks. Lauren Hinrichs matched her career best with four block assists, while Jadyn McCartney tied her career-mark with three block assists. Ince also had three block assists to set a new career-best.