University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer
Top Seeded Bears Ready for Big Sky Tournament
11/27/2019 4:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNC volleyball enters the 2019 Big Sky Tournament as the team to beat
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The quest for another championship begins on Thursday for Northern Colorado volleyball as they begin the Big Sky Conference Tournament in Sacramento, California. After a 17-1 regular season, UNC enters the tournament as the top seed. The Bears will take on Montana at 5:30 pm inside the Nest on the campus of Sacramento State.
Northern Colorado comes into the tournament on a nine-match win streak after finishing the regular season last weekend with wins over Portland State and Sacramento State.
A Look at the Bears
UNC had four players named to the All-Big Sky first or second team earlier this week in Daisy Schultz (first team), Kailey Jo Ince (first team), Taylor Muff (first team) and Lauren Hinrichs (second team). Schultz sets up the potent Northern Colorado attack that enters the tournament hitting .229 for the season and averaging 13.70 kills per set, both leading the Big Sky. Schultz is averaging 11.25 assists per set.
The Bears increased their offensive output during Big Sky play with a .259 attack percentage and 14.42 kills per set. Ince leads the team averaging 3.77 kills per set on the year and 4.30 in conference play. Muff also averaged over 3.00 kills per set on the year at 3.09 and increased her output to 3.45 in conference play.
Hinrichs has the best attack percentage on the team hitting .313 on the season averaging 2.33 kills per set. Her numbers in conference play are even more impressive with an attack percentage of .346 and 2.41 kills.
UNC's defense all starts at the service line as they average 1.63 aces per set. Kyndall Feather led the conference with 42 overall during the regular season. Senior libero Taylor Els leads the team with 4.49 digs per set.
Scouting Montana
Montana finished the conference season at 6-12 winning their final match of the year at Idaho State to earn a spot in the Big Sky Tournament. The Lady Griz It is the first time UM is making back-to-back Big Sky Tournaments since 2013 and 2014.
The Lady Griz are led by Missy Huddleston who earned All-Big Sky honors by averaging 2.46 kills, 2.48 digs and 0.75 blocks per set.
UNC and Montana met twice during the regular season with the Bears winning both matches 3-0 in Greeley and 3-1 in Missoula.
That's Our Coach
Head coach Lyndsey Oates picked up her third Big Sky Coach of the Year honor on Tuesday as announced by the conference. Oates led the Bears to a conference record-tying 17 wins in 2019 as they ran away with the regular season title finishing four games ahead of second place Northern Arizona and Weber State.
What's Ahead
With a win on Thursday UNC will advance to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals to face the winner of 4th-seed Montana State and host and 5th-seed Sacramento State on Friday, November 29. The match is set for an 8 pm MT start and will be aired on Eleven Sports and Pluto TV ch. 531.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsVB.
Northern Colorado comes into the tournament on a nine-match win streak after finishing the regular season last weekend with wins over Portland State and Sacramento State.
A Look at the Bears
UNC had four players named to the All-Big Sky first or second team earlier this week in Daisy Schultz (first team), Kailey Jo Ince (first team), Taylor Muff (first team) and Lauren Hinrichs (second team). Schultz sets up the potent Northern Colorado attack that enters the tournament hitting .229 for the season and averaging 13.70 kills per set, both leading the Big Sky. Schultz is averaging 11.25 assists per set.
The Bears increased their offensive output during Big Sky play with a .259 attack percentage and 14.42 kills per set. Ince leads the team averaging 3.77 kills per set on the year and 4.30 in conference play. Muff also averaged over 3.00 kills per set on the year at 3.09 and increased her output to 3.45 in conference play.
Hinrichs has the best attack percentage on the team hitting .313 on the season averaging 2.33 kills per set. Her numbers in conference play are even more impressive with an attack percentage of .346 and 2.41 kills.
UNC's defense all starts at the service line as they average 1.63 aces per set. Kyndall Feather led the conference with 42 overall during the regular season. Senior libero Taylor Els leads the team with 4.49 digs per set.
Scouting Montana
Montana finished the conference season at 6-12 winning their final match of the year at Idaho State to earn a spot in the Big Sky Tournament. The Lady Griz It is the first time UM is making back-to-back Big Sky Tournaments since 2013 and 2014.
The Lady Griz are led by Missy Huddleston who earned All-Big Sky honors by averaging 2.46 kills, 2.48 digs and 0.75 blocks per set.
UNC and Montana met twice during the regular season with the Bears winning both matches 3-0 in Greeley and 3-1 in Missoula.
That's Our Coach
Head coach Lyndsey Oates picked up her third Big Sky Coach of the Year honor on Tuesday as announced by the conference. Oates led the Bears to a conference record-tying 17 wins in 2019 as they ran away with the regular season title finishing four games ahead of second place Northern Arizona and Weber State.
What's Ahead
With a win on Thursday UNC will advance to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals to face the winner of 4th-seed Montana State and host and 5th-seed Sacramento State on Friday, November 29. The match is set for an 8 pm MT start and will be aired on Eleven Sports and Pluto TV ch. 531.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @UNC_BearsVB.
Players Mentioned
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