@UNCBearsVB Never Trails, Sweeps Bobcats

Friday, October 26

Bozeman, Mont.

6 pm

University of Northern Colorado

11-9, 7-4Big Sky

Montana State

10-13, 5-7Big Sky

Northern Colorado

Montana State

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/26/2018 9:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado used strong serving and passing to win its second match in a row

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

BOZEMAN, Mon.- A different night, but the same result as the Northern Colorado volleyball defeated the Montana State for the 26^th consecutive time. UNC put together a complete match to sweep of the Bobcats, while leading the match from the first serve to the last.

"I thought we served and passed well and kept service pressure on them which led to some points," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "We were lower error and Kortney was scoring more efficiently. But our serving was the key to those scoring runs during the match."

The Bears continued to show their ability at the service line, scoring seven aces, while having six errors. Taylor Els, Laura Katarzynski, and Kayla Uyemura each recorded two aces against the Bobcats.

Kortney Lockey picked her shots well, scoring 13 kills and committing four errors, for a .346 averaging.

Brittany Lawrence was right behind Lockey with 12 kills, hitting a staggering .632 in the match. Lawrence is the first Bear to record an attack percentage above .600 with at least 12 kills since 2015.

"Obviously Britt was a good matchup for us tonight and she executed our game plan effectively," Oates said of Lawrence's performance.

In the first set, the Bears would take the lead early, but Montana State was able to score to keep the score close. UNC was able to pull away from the Bobcats in the first during a 4-0 run with Katarzynski serving. A pair of attack errors from Montana State, and a Katarzynski ace would give UNC a 15-9 lead and the Bears would end up winning the set 25-18 to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Lockey scored four kills during the set.

Now in the second set, UNC again jumped out with the quick 3-0 lead on a kill from Lawrence. The Bears broke the set open during a 5-0 run that was fueled by an ace from Lockey, and kills from Muff and Lawrence. UNC hit .333 in the set, with 16 kills and only four attack errors on the way to a commanding 25-16 victory to go up 2-0 in the match. Lawrence and Muff would each record five kills in the set.

Montana State would put up a fight early in the third set, tying the Bears twice. But similar to the first two sets, UNC would separate from the Bobcats with a rally. The Bears went on a 4-0 run to take a 11-6 lead on kills from Lockey, Muff, and Jadyn McCartney. Lawrence would be the hot scorer down the stretch, scoring three of UNC's final five points to complete the sweep with a 25-16 set-three win.

UNC finished with a solid .250 attack percentage, scoring 45 kills, with 18 attack errors. The Bears defense held Montana State to a .082 attack percentage.

Game Notes

Northern Colorado never trailed against Montana State and the match was only tied three times. Along with the UNC's 26th consecutive win, it was the team's fourth consecutive sweep of the Bobcats.
Brittany Lawrence scored 12 kills on 19 total attacks, committing no errors. Timarie Nymeyer recorded a .600 attack percentage with 12 kills also against Montana State in 2015. Lawrence's .632 attack percentage ties Brianna Strong for the 7th highest single-match percentage during UNC's time in Division I, after she had a stat line of 14 kills, one error, and 21 total attempts.
UNC out-blocked the Bobcats six to three on Friday night, with Taylor Muff setting a new career-best with four total blocks, including two solo.
Taylor Els narrowly kept her double-digit dig streak alive with 11 against the Bobcats. Her streak now stands at 44 matches. Els has also recorded multiple service aces in four consecutive matches.
Daisy Schultz matched her season-high with four kills and recorded 38 assists on the night.
After starting 0-4 on the road, UNC has won its last two road matches. The Bears won back-to-back road matches last season during their Montana road trip.