2018 season ends for @UNCBearsVB Against the Pilots

Thursday, November 29

Laramie, Wyo.

4 pm

University of Northern Colorado

15-14, 10-7Big Sky

Portland

19-12, 6-12WCC

Northern Colorado

Portland

11/29/2018 10:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado was swept by Portland in the first round of the NIVC

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The 2018 season ended for Northern Colorado volleyball on Thursday, as they fell to Portland [19-25, 15-25, 18-25] in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

"That's a frustrating match to finish on," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "We were not ourselves. Portland's a good team and they played well. But we didn't compete very hard which is what is really frustrating. That starts with me. It's a tough locker room right now. We weren't as invested as emotionally in this match and I'm not sure where that came from. We had a great week of practice and it felt good going in until there was a little adversity. Hopefully, this is a learning experience for approaching the postseason for future years. This is a tough learning experience and tough to swallow right now."

UNC struggled with errors against the pilots, committing 21 and hitting .043. The Bears were limited on offense, with 25 kills and no one scoring in double figures. Kortney Lockey led UNC with nine kills and hit .318 in the match.

The struggles were apparent in the first set, with UNC having 10 errors and only six kills while hitting -.143. Portland scored 12 kills and hit .214 on the way to a 25-19 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, The Bears cut down on their errors but still were only able to manage a .097 hitting percentage. The Pilots' offense was strong in the second set, scoring 15 kills and hitting .375. The efficient attack helped Portland to a 25-15 win in the set and they took a 2-0 advantage in the match into the break.

UNC further improved on offense in the third set, scoring 10 kills and hitting .152. Portland's offense was able to carry over its success into the third, scoring 13 kills to only one attack error for a .364 attack percentage. The Pilots went on to win the set 25-18 and sweep the Bears in straight sets to advance in the NIVC.

The Bears now head into the offseason after exiting the NIVC in the first round.

"We have to get better in blocking and we have to be lower error," Oates added. "In a couple of key places tonight we were bleeding points. It didn't have anything to do with who was on the other side of the net. We couldn't make plays on our side of the net. We have to reduce unforced errors. That will be a focal point for the offseason."

Game Notes

Taylor Els set a program record for digs in a season, after scoring seven against Portland to give her a total of 607 in 2018. The previous top mark was 602 by Merideth Johnson during 2013.
Lauren Hinrichs matched her career-high with four total blocks against the Pilots, recording four block assists.
UNC played in its first NIVC tournament in 2018 and surpassed its win total from last season.

To stay up to date with Northern Colorado volleyball visit UNCBears.com or follow the team on Twitter with @UNCBearsVB.