@UNCBearsVB Sweeps Eastern Washington Behind Balanced Offense

Saturday, September 22

Greeley, Colo.

7 pm

University of Northern Colorado

5-6, 1-1

Eastern Washington

8-6, 1-1

Eastern Washington

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

9/22/2018 9:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado had good production from both its hitters and middles to top the Eagles

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- It was strong offensive Saturday night for Northern Colorado volleyball, as they swept Eastern Washington [25-18, 25-20, 25-28] t at Bank of Colorado Arena. Three Bears had double-digit kills, with Kortney Lockey, Lauren Hinrichs, and Taylor Muff all scoring 11 in the match.

"We really got our middles going tonight that helped opened up our offense," said head coach Lyndsey Oates. "Lauren was able to score well and we got Brittany more attempts that gave her more opportunities to score."

The combination of Hinrichs and Brittany Lawrence scored 18 kills with only three errors on 38 total attempts. Hinrichs continued to hit at a high level with a .429 attack percentage and Lawrence followed with a strong .353 percentage.

On the pins, Lockey and Muff were also creating opportunities, with 26 and 32 total attempts respectively. Lockey hit .269 for the match and Muff finished with a .156 percentage.

"We were able to get everyone involved out there tonight and take advantage of some matchups we had talked about," Lockey said. "Daisy was feeding both the hitters and the middles passes that gave us open lanes to score."

The first set was close at the beginning, with score knotted up at four. UNC began to pull away from the Eagles with kills from Hinrichs and Lawrence. The lead ballooned to 17-10 as Muff tallied two of her kills on the night. EWU was never able to get closer and the Bears won the first set 25-18 and went up 1-0 in the match.

The Eagles jumped ahead in the second set with an early 4-1 lead, looking to tie the match up. The offense from Muff and Hirnichs brought UNC back into the game. Lockey scored three kills to give the Bears the lead at 11-7. EWU was back in the game after several UNC errors cut the lead down to 15-14. The two teams traded scores and tied four times as the set went into the closing phase. After being tied at 19, the Bears went on a 4-0 run with kills from Lawrence and Jadyn McCartney. UNC held on for a 25-20 set win and were up 2-0 in the match, heading to the break.

In the third set, UNC built an early 5-3 lead on the Eagles with a pair of kills from Hinrichs. The Bears were able to maintain their lead throughout the set with kills from their hitters. Lockey and Muff scored a combined 10 kills in the set and UNC would secure the match with a 25-18 win to complete the sweep.

UNC hit .220 for the match with 45 kills and had a .220 attack percentage. EWU was held to a 0.53 percentage.

"We needed to get at least a split this weekend to start conference," Oates said. "It's good to get the win under our belts and prepare for Montana and Montana State next weekend who are playing very well."

"It feels good to get the first conference win. Every match is important and we can get some momentum going into next week," added Lockey.

Northern Colorado improved its record to 1-1 in Big Sky matches and 5-6 overall.

Game Notes

Kortney Lockey recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs against the Eagles.
Taylor Muff scored her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 13 digs.
Lauren Hinrichs led UNC this weekend with 20 kills and a .364 attack percentage in the two matches played.
Daisy Schultz had 41 assists on the night and matched a career high with two kills on five total attempts.
Taylor Els recorded 19 digs for her 34 consecutive game with double-digit digs.
With the sweep tonight, UNC has four sweeps on the season.
The .053 attack percentage was the second lowest UNC has held opponents to this season, with the Bears holding Northeastern to a .047 percentage.

Up Next
Northern Colorado will stay at home next week and host Montana and Montana State on Thursday, September 27^th at 7 P.M.(MT) and Friday, September 28^th at 6 P.M. respectively.