Bears Beat Hornets for Best Conference Start in Program History

Thursday, October 17

Sacramento, Calif.

8 PM

University of Northern Colorado

13-6, 7-0Big Sky

Sacramento State

10-11, 5-3Big Sky

Northern Colorado

Sacramento State

Photo by: Woody Myers

10/17/2019 11:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado improves to 7-0 and keeps the top spot in conference

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Northern Colorado's impressive run continues as they defeated Sacramento State, 3-1 [25-16, 25-19, 19-25, 25-22] to improve their conference record to 7-0. UNC now has the best start in the Big Sky since joining the conference in 2006.

"I saw a couple of good things tonight with serving and blocking," head coach Lyndsey Oates said, "Our serving kept them out of system and that led to good blocking. It's a skill that we are not known for. I like how we limited their middles and kept them out of system. Lauren Hinrichs scored efficiently. Makenzie Harris was key for us and she really provided a spark for us in the third set that gave us some momentum going to the fourth."

UNC served aggressively, scoring eight service aces, with three Bears recording multiple on Thursday night. The Big Sky aces leader, Kyndall Feather, added two more to her impressive season, while Taylor Els and Taylor Muff both scored two as well.

The Bears had a big night at the net, recording 14 total blocks, with three solo blocks and 22 assists. Maddy Bremer led the way with five block assists, a career-high for her. Muff added three total blocks, with two solo and one assist.

Muff was the Bears' high scorer on the night, tallying 15 kills on 45 total attacks.

Along with Muff, Hinrichs and Kailey Jo Ince put up double-digit kills, with 11 and 10, respectively. Hinrichs had another highly efficient night, recording a .476 attack percentage and committing only one error, also adding two block assists.

Harris helped spark UNC off the bench, recording a career-best, nine kills with a staggering .467 attack percentage. The freshman contributed at the net with two block assists.

Set one started with a back-and-forth battle between the Bears and Hornets. UNC would pull ahead 12-9 and then used a 4-0 run to give themselves a buffer. The Bears went on to win 25-16 and take a 1-0 match lead.

The Hornets fought back in the second set and the score remained close throughout. UNC had two big 4-0 runs in the set that was key. The first came with Laura Katarzynski serving at 12-14 to take back the lead. With the Bears up 17-16 and Kyndall Feather serving, UNC separated aided by kills from Ince, Muff and Bremer. UNC won the set 25-19 and held a 2-0 advantage over Sac St.

The Hornets got back into the match with a 25-19 win in set three. They hit .438 as a team in the set and poured on 15 kills.

In set four, Sac St. held the early lead over UNC, looking to force a fifth set. The Bears used another 4-0 run to race ahead, getting kills from Muff and Harris, along with an ace from Daisy Schultz. Hinrichs came up big down the stretch with key kills including the final, match-clinching point. UNC won the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

"Were just taking it one match at a time," Oates added. "There is a lot of volleyball left this season. That was a good, tough win tonight because they always defend their home court well. It's good to get a win like this in a difficult matchup."

Other Notes

Daisy Schultz leads the Big Sky in assists per set and finished with 47 against the Hornets.
Taylor Muff finished with 10 digs, earning her seventh double-double this season.
UNC's 14 blocks are the most the team has recorded since 2017 against Portland when they also had 14.

What's Next
Northern Colorado will be back on the court on Saturday against Portland State at 1 pm MT.

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.