Bears Overpower Vandals to Stay on Top in the Big Sky

Saturday, October 12

Greeley, Colo.

1 PM

University of Northern Colorado

12-6,4-2Big Sky

Idaho

8-10,2-4Big Sky

Idaho

Northern Colo.

10/12/2019 4:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado defeated the No. 2 team in the Conference with two comeback wins in setsthree and four

By: UNCBears.com

The one-two matchup in the Big Sky lived up to the hype, as Northern Colorado defeated Idaho, 3-1 [15-25, 25-11, 25-23, 25-23], on Saturday afternoon. After dropping the first set, UNC [12-6, 6-0) won three consecutive sets to keep the top spot in the conference.

UNC poured on 67 kills to overpower the Vandals and finished with a .198 team attack percentage. It was the team's highest kill total since their five-set win over Oregon State(9/19) earlier this season.

Three Bears recorded 15+ kills, with Taylor Muff leading the way with a game-high, 16. Lauren Hinrichs was a measure of efficiency, matching her career-high, with 15 kills to only one error and finishing with a .483 percentage. Kailey Jo Ince continued to be a force in her sophomore season, tallying 15 kills.

Makenzie Harris also matched her career-high with eight kills in three sets played.

The three were set up all day by great passes from Daisy Schultz, who finished with 62 assists, one shy of her career-best.

Idaho came out of the gates swinging, with 10 kills and a .357 attack percentage in the first set. UNC scored 15 kills but struggled with 14 errors that gave Idaho the 25-15 win in set one.

The roles reversed in set two, as UNC improved by only committing a pair of errors for a .333 percentage and finishing with 14 kills. The Bears defense tightened up as well, limiting the Vandals to a .000 percentage. Muff led the team with five kills in the sets and added two solo blocks to help UNC cruise to a 25-11 win to even the match at one set.

The third set would turn into a highly-competitive contest, as neither team held more than a three-point lead during the set. Idaho built a 23-21 lead late in the set, looking to take control of match. Two kills from Muff, coupled with two Idaho attack errors, powered UNC's comeback to take set three, 25-23. Muff again led the way with six kills in the set and Ince stepped up with five of her own to help give UNC a 2-1 lead in the match.

Moving to the fourth set, the teams once again went back-and-forth and neither holding more than a three-point lead. UNC held a 13-10 advantage in the set with kills from Hinrichs. Idaho responded and eventually pulled ahead again at 23-21. The Bears would rally late again, this time powered by two kills from Maddy Bremer. Following a Vandal attack error, Jadyn McCartney clinched the match for UNC with a kill for the 25-23 set win.

UNC has now started 6-0 in conference for the first time since the 2010 season when the team finished 14-2 in the Big Sky.

Thoughts from the Coach

What's Next
Northern Colorado will be on the road next weekend, traveling to play Sacramento State on Thursday, October 17^th8 pm(MST). They will take on Portland State on Saturday, October 19^th at 1 pm.

To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNC_BearsVB.