Recap: Balanced Offense Powers @UNCBearsVB at Night, Spartans Win in Afternoon

Friday, September 7

Greeley, Colo.

12 pm

University of Northern Colorado

2-5

San Jose State

2-2

Team	1	2	3	Final F
San Jose State	28	25	25	3
Northern Colorado	26	19	20	0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Pacific	25	21	11	22	1
Northern Colorado	19	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

9/7/2018 10:27:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Northern Colorado went 1-1 on Friday with a win over Pacific and a loss to San Jose State

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo.- Bank of Colorado Arena was alive on Friday night, as Northern Colorado Volleyball defeated Pacific 3-1 in the Hampton Inn and Suites Northern Colorado Classic. Earlier in the day, UNC was swept by San Jose State to give the Bears a 1-1 record in the tournament.

Bears Against the Spartans
Northern Colorado opened their match against San Jose State with a 4-0 run and it would be the largest lead for either team in the set. The Spartans would get back in the set with a 4-0 run of their own and the score stayed close through out the set. The Bears would extend the lead back out to four at 15-11, but SJSU responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead in the set. UNC would take back the lead at 19-18 on a pair of kills from Lauren Hinrichs. The match went back-and-fourth, with three lead changes in the final 15 points scored.

The Spartans earned the set victory 28-26 on a Caitlin Betteney service ace and they had a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, SJSU jumped on the Bears with a 6-1 run to take an early lead. The Spartans had breathing room from UNC and kept them at distance during the set. The Bears pulled within three at 17-14 with kills from Jadyn McCartney and Kailey Jo Ince. UNC could not get any closer to SJSU and dropped the set 25-19 and were in a 2-0 hole in the set.

UNC looked to keep the match alive in the third set, but the Spartans built an early 8-5 lead over the Bears. A 3-1 run by UNC brought them within one of SJSU on a Taylor Muff kill and a Laura Katarzynski ace. Despite staying close, UNC could not string enough points together to take the lead back. The Spartans built a 23-18 lead over the Bears to put the match win in sight. A pair of kills from Kortney Lockey kept UNC in the set, but SJSU managed to put the match away with a 25-20 set win in the third.

The Spartans swept the Bears, hitting .250 in the match and holding UNC to a .129 percentage.

Tigers and Bears
UNC wanted to put together a better performance in the night match against the Pacific Tigers. The two teams traded points in the in the first set and the teams were tied at 10. The Tigers began to separate from the Bears and held a 18-13 edge with momentum on their side. Pacific won the first set 25-19 and was up 1-0 in the match.

The Tigers looked keep momentum in the second set and had a slim 6-4 lead over UNC early. With Taylor Muff serving, UNC went on a 8-0 run to take a 12-6 lead over the Tiger. Kortney Lockey scored a pair of kills and Muff's aggressive serving allowed the Bears to take control in the set. The Bears extended the lead out to 19-12, with kills from Lockey, Lauren Hinrichs, and Brittany Lawrence. Pacific got back in the set and cut the lead to 22-20. Kills from Muff and Lawrence would hold off the Tigers and the UNC evened up the match at one game with a 25-21 second-set win.

The third set was one of the best the Bears have played all season, with a dominating 25-11 showing. UNC hit .500 in the set and had five kills from Lockey and four from Muff. The Bears separated from Pacific with a 6-0 run, with Kayla Uyemura serving and two kills from Lockey. Up 16-9, UNC put Pacific away with a 6-0 run, aided by four Tiger errors and blocks from Hinrichs, Muff and Jadyn McCartney.

Up 2-1 in the match, UNC wanted to finish strong and close out the Tigers in the fourth set. Pacific was clinging to a three point lead mid-way through the set, but could not separate any further from the Bears at 17-14. A 4-0 run from UNC, powered by an ace from Uyemura and a pair of kills from Lockey, gave the Bears the lead for the first time in the set. UNC would further build the lead, as Lockey scored a service and McCartney tallied a pair of kills. UNC won the fourth set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Game Changer
UNC hit .303 in the match and had three double-digit kill performances from Muff(14), Lockey(14), and McCartney(13).

In Their Words

Game Notes

Kortney Lockey recorded her fourth double-double of the season against Pacific, with 14 kills and a season-high 18 digs. Lockey had 23 kills between the two matches and is 18 kills away from 1000 for her career.
Freshman Kyndall Feather made her debut for UNC against San Jose State, playing in two sets, while recording 10 assists and four digs.
Taylor Muff had a productive Friday, scoring a team best 24 kills, with a .270 attack percentage.
Lauren Hinrichs played in all seven sets for the Bears on Friday and led the team with a .286 attack percentage.
Jadyn McCartney had a career-high 13 kills against Pacific.

Up Next
Northern Colorado will play Alabama State in the final game of the Hampton Inn and Suites Northern Colorado Classic on Saturday at 12 P.M.