University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, September 20
Greeley, Colo.
7 pm
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Idaho
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Conference Play Opens for @UNCBearsVB This Weekend
9/18/2018 12:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Northern Colorado hosts Idaho and Eastern Washington at BOCA
GREELEY, Colo.- After being off for almost two weeks, Northern Colorado volleyball will stay at Bank of Colorado Arena for the beginning of Big Sky play. UNC (4-5, 0-0) will host Big Sky, preseason-favorite Idaho on Thursday at 7 P.M., followed by Eastern Washington on Saturday at 7 P.M.
The Bears had an unexpected bye week after Hurricane Florence canceled the Mason Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia. The two-day tournament was going to be hosted by George Mason University, but the hurricane's potential impact was a risk that the teams did not want to take.
The last competition for UNC was at the Hampton Inn and Suites Northern Colorado Classic at the beginning of September. After dropping the first match against San Jose State, UNC defeated Pacific, 3-1, and then swept Alabama State to close out the tournament with a 2-1 record.
There's been no shortage of offense for UNC this season, as the team currently leads the Big Sky in kills per set(12.97) and assists(12.28). The Bears are second in the conference with 1.53 service aces per set and rank fifth with a .217 hitting percentage.
The offense for UNC starts with senior Kortney Lockey, who currently is third in the Big Sky with 11.31 kills per set and is hitting .218. Lockey is currently two kills away from 1,000 for her career and she will have an opportunity to be the 18th UNC player to reach that milestone this weekend. In addition, Lockey is second on the team with 3.03 digs per set and was named to the Northern Colorado Classic All-Tournament team.
Along with Lockey, Lauren Hinrichs is been efficient in her scoring, with a .366 attack percentage that leads the Big Sky. Hinrichs is second on the team with 2.59 kills per set.
Taylor Muff continues to develop as a two-way player for the Bears, ranking third on the team in both kills per set(2.53) and digs per set(2.38). At the service line, Muff has excelled this season, ranking second in the conference with 0.47 aces per set and eighth with 15 total aces.Muff was also named to All-Tournament team along with LockeyÂ
Scouting Vandals
Idaho was picked to win the Big Sky Conference in the preseason poll, receiving nine of 11 first place votes. In their non-conference schedule, the Vandals went 6-6 and have played the last nine matches away from home. Idaho went 1-2 in the Fullerton Classic this past weekend. Senior outside hitter Kaela Straw leads the Vandals with 3.64 kills per set and is hitting .321 on the season. Straw earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week earlier this season, recording 4.46 kills per set and scoring a career high 27 kills against New Mexico. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nikki Ball protects the net for the Vandals with a team high 56 total blocks and 1.17 blocks per set average. Ball also adds 1.00 kills per set.
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Northern Colorado was swept by Idaho in the last meeting between these two teams in Moscow, ID last November. Emily O'Neil led the team with nine kills and Kortney Lockey had five.
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Scouting Eagles
Eastern Washington begins its first season under head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud and the team was selected to finish last in the Big Sky in the preseason poll, but finished their non-conference schedule with an 8-4 record. The team is coming off a 1-3 loss to Incarnate Word last weekend. Freshman middle blocker Kennedy Kaminsky has already made an impact for the Eagles, ranking second on the team with 2.25 kills per set and has a .245 hitting percentage. Kaminsky is also fourth on the team with 0.73 blocks per set. Sophomore middle blocker Kamilee Langford leads EWU with 36 total blocks for a 0.98 blocks per set average. Langford is third on the team with 2.18 kills per set.
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Last season, Eastern Washington defeated Northern Colorado 3-2 in Cheney, Washington. Kortney Lockey led the Bears with 22 kills and the two teams played a competitive match that included a 36-34 set win by UNC.
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Following the Bears
UNC will face Idaho at 7 P.M.(MT) on Thursday, September 20th and Eastern Washington at 7 P.M. on Saturday, September 22nd. Both matches will be streamed live on the free PlutoTV app and live stats will be provided by UNCBears.com. Follow the match live on Twitter with @UNCBearsVB.
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The Bears had an unexpected bye week after Hurricane Florence canceled the Mason Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia. The two-day tournament was going to be hosted by George Mason University, but the hurricane's potential impact was a risk that the teams did not want to take.
The last competition for UNC was at the Hampton Inn and Suites Northern Colorado Classic at the beginning of September. After dropping the first match against San Jose State, UNC defeated Pacific, 3-1, and then swept Alabama State to close out the tournament with a 2-1 record.
There's been no shortage of offense for UNC this season, as the team currently leads the Big Sky in kills per set(12.97) and assists(12.28). The Bears are second in the conference with 1.53 service aces per set and rank fifth with a .217 hitting percentage.
The offense for UNC starts with senior Kortney Lockey, who currently is third in the Big Sky with 11.31 kills per set and is hitting .218. Lockey is currently two kills away from 1,000 for her career and she will have an opportunity to be the 18th UNC player to reach that milestone this weekend. In addition, Lockey is second on the team with 3.03 digs per set and was named to the Northern Colorado Classic All-Tournament team.
Along with Lockey, Lauren Hinrichs is been efficient in her scoring, with a .366 attack percentage that leads the Big Sky. Hinrichs is second on the team with 2.59 kills per set.
Taylor Muff continues to develop as a two-way player for the Bears, ranking third on the team in both kills per set(2.53) and digs per set(2.38). At the service line, Muff has excelled this season, ranking second in the conference with 0.47 aces per set and eighth with 15 total aces.Muff was also named to All-Tournament team along with LockeyÂ
Scouting Vandals
Idaho was picked to win the Big Sky Conference in the preseason poll, receiving nine of 11 first place votes. In their non-conference schedule, the Vandals went 6-6 and have played the last nine matches away from home. Idaho went 1-2 in the Fullerton Classic this past weekend. Senior outside hitter Kaela Straw leads the Vandals with 3.64 kills per set and is hitting .321 on the season. Straw earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week earlier this season, recording 4.46 kills per set and scoring a career high 27 kills against New Mexico. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Nikki Ball protects the net for the Vandals with a team high 56 total blocks and 1.17 blocks per set average. Ball also adds 1.00 kills per set.
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Northern Colorado was swept by Idaho in the last meeting between these two teams in Moscow, ID last November. Emily O'Neil led the team with nine kills and Kortney Lockey had five.
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Scouting Eagles
Eastern Washington begins its first season under head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud and the team was selected to finish last in the Big Sky in the preseason poll, but finished their non-conference schedule with an 8-4 record. The team is coming off a 1-3 loss to Incarnate Word last weekend. Freshman middle blocker Kennedy Kaminsky has already made an impact for the Eagles, ranking second on the team with 2.25 kills per set and has a .245 hitting percentage. Kaminsky is also fourth on the team with 0.73 blocks per set. Sophomore middle blocker Kamilee Langford leads EWU with 36 total blocks for a 0.98 blocks per set average. Langford is third on the team with 2.18 kills per set.
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Last season, Eastern Washington defeated Northern Colorado 3-2 in Cheney, Washington. Kortney Lockey led the Bears with 22 kills and the two teams played a competitive match that included a 36-34 set win by UNC.
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Following the Bears
UNC will face Idaho at 7 P.M.(MT) on Thursday, September 20th and Eastern Washington at 7 P.M. on Saturday, September 22nd. Both matches will be streamed live on the free PlutoTV app and live stats will be provided by UNCBears.com. Follow the match live on Twitter with @UNCBearsVB.
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Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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