Winning Streak Ends for Bears in Flagstaff

Thursday, October 24

Flaggstaff, Ariz.

7:30 PM

University of Northern Colorado

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Northern Arizona

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Northern Colorado

Northern Arizona

Photo by: Woody Myers

10/24/2019 10:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado drops first Big Sky game of 2019

By: Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz- Northern Colorado volleyball's historic win streak in conference came to an end on Thursday against Northern Arizona. UNC suffered its first conference loss of the season, falling to NAU [17-25, 17-25, 18-25].

"NAU was very low error tonight and they were going to make us earn everything," head coach Lyndsey Oates. "We didn't win the serving battle or passing battle. That's been a foundation for us in our last eight matches."

Northern Colorado finished with a .144 attack percentage and 21 attack errors. The Bears were also high error at the service line, committing nine errors to only four aces.

Taylor Muff played well, scoring 13 kills with a .346 attack percentage, along with five digs.

Comparatively, NAU was effective after recording a .353 attack percentage with only seven errors. The Lumberjacks recorded seven service aces to only four errors as well.

In the first set, NAU set the tone for the match, racing out to an 8-2 lead over UNC. The Bears tried to claw their way back into the set, but could not put together a long enough run to overcome the early deficit. The Lumberjacks would win the set 25-17, hitting .458 and holding UNC to a .125 figure to take a 1-0 lead in the game.

NAU started quickly again in the second set, building a 9-2 advantage. UNC battled back and pulled within three at 17-14 on a service ace from Laura Katarzynski. The Lumberjacks responded with a 3-0 run to give themselves a cushion to hold on in the set. NAU was up 2-0 in the game after the 25-17 win in set two.

Starting the third set, UNC held the early 6-5 lead over the Lumberjacks. NAU would pull ahead of the Bears at 10-9 and would separate with a 4-0 run. UNC stayed within striking distance of the Lumberjacks but could not close the gap. NAU completed the sweep with a 25-18, win in set three.

"This will be a good learning experience for us and get us back on the right track and maybe of a wake-up call," Oates added. "I like how our team responded after the match and we will get back on track."

Game Notes

Laura Katarzynski was effective at the service line again, scoring three aces with one error. Katarzynski leads the Big Sky with 0.45 aces per set.
Cece Huhn matched her career high with four kills, while recording a .375 attack percentage.
Thursday's loss was only the second time this season Northern Colorado has been swept, with the other coming against Colorado State.

What's Next
Northern Colorado will return to Bank of Colorado on Saturday to host Southern Utah at 2 p.m. (MT).