University of Northern Colorado Athletics
University of Northern Colorado
Cal
Preview: @UNCBearsVB Hits the Road for the South Dakota Classic
8/30/2018 4:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Northern Colorado will play three matches against Cal, Northeastern, and South Dakota
GREELEY, Colo.- Â Northern Colorado will make its first road trip of the season to Vermillion, South Dakota for the South Dakota Classic. In Vermillion, UNC will face Cal, Northeastern, and host South Dakota. The matches will take place from August 31st to September 1st.
The Bears started the 2018 season with a three game home stand, that included two ranked opponents. UNC opened its season with a sweep of UNC Wilmington, showing its versatility on the attack. Five different players recorded six or more kills, led by Kortney Lockey with 14. Lauren Hinrichs and Brittany Lawrence made their debuts in Blue and Gold with nine and six kills respectively.
Northern Colorado narrowly pulled off the program's first win over a ranked team against No. 12 Illinois on Saturday night. The Bears won the first set 25-23, before dropping set two and three. The Bears forced a fifth set with a 25-20 win in set four. Momentum looked to be on UNC's side, as they opened the fifth set with a 5-0 lead. Illinois fought back, but UNC held an 11-8 late in the set. The Illini would close out the game on a 7-1 run to escape Bank of ColoradoÂÂ Arena with the win. UNC faced in-state rival No. 25 Colorado this past Tuesday in Bank of Colorado Arena, with the Rams sweeping the Bears.
Lockey is in regular form to start the season, leading the team with 3.45 kills per set and 120 total attempts, with a .192 hitting percentage. Along with the offense, Lockey continues to be a two-way player for the Bears with 2.27 digs per set, tying for second on the team with Taylor Muff. Â Now a sophomore, Muff is following Lockey's example as a two-way player, ranking third on the team with 2.36 kills per set and a .148 hitting percentage.
Daisy Schultz has been efficient in her second year as the starting setter for the Bears, with 10.73 assists per set in the first three matches. Jadyn McCartney is also showing improvement in her sophomore year, averaging 1.82 kills per set and posted a career-best 10 kills against No. 12 Illinois
Taylor Els continues to command the back row defense for the Bears, averaging 5.27 digs per set. Els has been active communicating with the front row to help organize the entire team on defense.
Both of UNC's transfers have made an impact early in the 2018 campaign. Hinrichs leads the team with a .426 average on 54 attempts and is second on the team with 0.55 blocks per set. Lawrence leads the Bears with 0.64 blocks per set and has added 1.36 kills per set.
Scouting Cal
First year head coach, Jenn Dorr, has started the season off strong with a three sweeps to begin her career with the program. The Golden Bears swept Chicago State, Rutgers and Colgate in the Cal Molten Classic that they hosted.
Sophomore outside hitter Mima Markovic currently leads Cal with 3.22 kills per set and has a .313 hitting percentage. Markovic is also second on the team with four service aces and leads the team with 3.56 digs per set. Sophomore middle blocker Preslie Anderson has been effective at the net, with 11 total blocks, including one solo. Anderson is averaging 3.11 kills per set from the middle.
Northern Colorado and Cal last faced each other in 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska, with Golden Bears sweeping UNC.Â
Scouting Northeastern
Northeastern has opened the season 2-1 after competing in the North Texas Invitational last weekend. The Huskies swept Grambling State in the season opener and then were swept by host North Texas. NU concluded its tournament play with a 3-2 win over Nicholls State.
Freshman outside hitter Hannah Boyd has made her presence on the court felt, leading the team with 3.18 kills per set and has a .225 attack percentage. Boyd also leads the team with 1.45 digs per set and is tied for second on the team with four service aces. The Huskies middles have been producing for the team, with red-shirt senior Taylor Reiter leading the team with 11 total blocks. Sophomore Gabrielle Tschannen and freshman Kaylyn Winkler each have eight total blocks. The trio are each averaging 1.00 blocks per set.
The match on Friday between UNC and Northeastern will be the first meeting between the two programs in history.
Scouting South Dakota
South Dakota's season began with a 1-3 loss to Northwestern at the Panther Invitational in Milwaukee, Wis. The Coyotes would then sweep host Milwaukee the same day and finished the tournament with a 3-1 victory over New Hampshire.
Senior outside hitter Hayley Dotseth leads USD with 3.55 kills per set and has a .105 attack percentage on 133 total attempts. Dotseth is third on the team with five service aces and has averaging 2.36 digs per set. Red-shirt freshman Emily Grathoff protects the middle for Coyotes, with a 1.30 blocks per set average and 13 total blocks. Senior middle blocker Taylor Wilson also has 13 block assists this season and is second on the team with 2.36 kills per set.
Northern Colorado hosted South Dakota last season in the Northern Colorado Classic. The Bears won a close-fought, five-set match, with Kim Weissmann leading the team with 17 kills and Alex Kloehn had six solo blocks.
Following the Bears
Northern Colorado faces Cal on Friday, August 31st at 9 A.M. (MT) and Northeastern later that day at 4 P.M. UNC will finish its road trip with a match against host South Dakota on Saturday, September 1st at 11 A.M. Live streaming and live stats will be provided for all three matches by GoYotes.com. Follow the matches live on Twitter with @UNCBearsVB.
