University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, December 6
Honolulu, Hawaii
7 pm HT / 10 pm MT
University of Northern Colorado
26-8,17-1Big Sky
1
at
3
Hawaii
25-3,14-2Big West
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Colo.
24
26
8
15
1
Hawaii
26
24
25
25
3
Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer
Volleyball Season Comes to an End at NCAA Tournament
12/7/2019 2:15:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UNC volleyball fell 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday
HONOLULU, Hawaii – In front of a crowd of 7,818 fans Northern Colorado showed it just didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament by winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament, but that they belonged. UNC fell in four sets to Hawaii 3-1. (26-24, 24-26, 25-8, 25-15).
Taylor Muff and Kailey Jo Ince combined for 33 kills for the Bears in the match finishing with 19 and 14, respectively.
In her final match in a Northern Colorado uniform Taylor Els led the team with 22 digs. She finishes her UNC career with 1,818 career digs to place third all-time in UNC history.
The Bears came out strong to start the match forcing an early UH timeout on 4-0 run after an ace from Hawaii to open the match. The teams traded runs in the first set tying 15 times and exchanging the lead eight. UNC held the edge late until Hawaii closed the set on a 7-2 run to win it 26-24.
The second set was a lot like the first featuring 13 ties and seven lead changes. UNC closed the second set on a 5-1 run to even the match at one going to the break. Northern Colorado hit .361 in the set, led by the duo of Muff and Ince. Muff had eight kills and Ince wasn't far behind with six.
The third set was all Hawaii as they won it 25-8.
UH parlayed a 4-0 and 5-0 run to take control of the fourth set and match. Despite the deficit Northern Colorado never gave in turning in great rallies with Hawaii and brining the large crowd to its feet in appreciation of the great volleyball being played.
What They Said
Head coach Lyndsey Oats
Opening statement: "I thought we played really hard tonight. We maybe didn't play well in the third and fourth set, but we played really, really hard all the way to the final point where our senior libero is making some unbelievable saves. So, we certainly can't fault our effort. We didn't play better longer. We were able to find a good level in the first two sets and just couldn't sustain it. We got caught in the same rotation, our rotation six in the third and fourth set with a big run and just couldn't get out of it."
On Rasmussen playing: "No, I didn't, honestly. I mean she's obviously a good player but their other opposite was leading them in kills at that point so I don't think that was a matchup that was crucial for us and I don't think in the third or fourth sets that was a factor.
On what swung the match to Hawaii: "It really was just our rotation six that that was the run in both of those sets that got out of hand. So, we just didn't have enough offense in that rotation with only two hitters to get out of those rotations.
On Taylor Muff's performance: A little bit of reckless abandon and that's what we needed from her all season. So, she was just swinging for high hands, chopping at the block, I thought Daisy set her a good tempo ball and once we found that in the middle of the second set she was able to see the block well and attack the block.
On blocking disparity: "They're a good blocking team, but quite honestly, those are pretty normal blocking stats for us. We were last in the conference in blocks in the Big Sky so that three isn't uncommon for us. We need to be a dig and transition team and we take big swings. So, those type of stats didn't bother me because we are pretty used to that. We can sideout. Our sideout numbers were more of a concern than the blocking gap.
On significance of making the NCAA Tournament: This was big. It's been since 2014 since we've been in the NCAA Tournament, so it was a little bit of a rebuild in the last five years to get here. We finished sixth in the conference last year with the same group primarily. So, this was a good turnaround season for us to dominate the Big Sky and have a four-game gap to win the regular season. Really proud of this group and with a lot returning should continue for us.
On if Hawaii did anything to surprise them: I don't think there were any surprises but there were definitely some things we saw in scout that were going to be unique. We haven't seen a jump spin in our conference, we haven't seen that since preseason. They're a little more balanced than what we've seen in our conference where we have one or two hitters on the other side of the net that can bring a big swing, they're going to have six hitters bringing it. So, we weren't able to commit block and we are typically a commit-blocking team. So, there were some things we had to prepare for that we are not used to but once we started the match there weren't any surprises."
Taylor Muff
On what she was seeing to be productive: "Honestly, when Daisy (Schultz) went down in the first set with a rolled ankle it put me in a position to take the balls with reckless abandon like (head coach) Lyndsey (NAME) said, which was good for me to have, and just to play for Dais.
On what this year means: "Just getting from the underdog position to getting on top. Our coaches spoke it into existence that this was a championship team and they had been with a championship team before and we had exactly what they had and even more, so that really put us through the season in the best way possible."
Daisy Schultz
On battling back to make a comeback: "I think just knowing it could be our last game and putting it all out on the floor especially for our senior libero and for the rest of our teammates just because we have worked so hard all season to get here. I think that was the key."
On what this year means: "I think just the amount of time we've been rebuilding and tried and tried and tried. At the end of last season, we said this was going to be our year and we have worked for that since the end of last season. So, we just knew coming in we were going to give it our all and we were going to make a difference."
Game Notes
- Northern Colorado finishes the season at 26-8. The 26 wins is a program best since joining the Division I ranks.
- Daisy Schultz finished the game with 37 assists even with turning her ankle early in the first set.
- Hawaii out-hit UNC .315 to .145 for the match.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Taylor Muff and Kailey Jo Ince combined for 33 kills for the Bears in the match finishing with 19 and 14, respectively.
In her final match in a Northern Colorado uniform Taylor Els led the team with 22 digs. She finishes her UNC career with 1,818 career digs to place third all-time in UNC history.
The Bears came out strong to start the match forcing an early UH timeout on 4-0 run after an ace from Hawaii to open the match. The teams traded runs in the first set tying 15 times and exchanging the lead eight. UNC held the edge late until Hawaii closed the set on a 7-2 run to win it 26-24.
The second set was a lot like the first featuring 13 ties and seven lead changes. UNC closed the second set on a 5-1 run to even the match at one going to the break. Northern Colorado hit .361 in the set, led by the duo of Muff and Ince. Muff had eight kills and Ince wasn't far behind with six.
The third set was all Hawaii as they won it 25-8.
UH parlayed a 4-0 and 5-0 run to take control of the fourth set and match. Despite the deficit Northern Colorado never gave in turning in great rallies with Hawaii and brining the large crowd to its feet in appreciation of the great volleyball being played.
What They Said
Head coach Lyndsey Oats
Opening statement: "I thought we played really hard tonight. We maybe didn't play well in the third and fourth set, but we played really, really hard all the way to the final point where our senior libero is making some unbelievable saves. So, we certainly can't fault our effort. We didn't play better longer. We were able to find a good level in the first two sets and just couldn't sustain it. We got caught in the same rotation, our rotation six in the third and fourth set with a big run and just couldn't get out of it."
On Rasmussen playing: "No, I didn't, honestly. I mean she's obviously a good player but their other opposite was leading them in kills at that point so I don't think that was a matchup that was crucial for us and I don't think in the third or fourth sets that was a factor.
On what swung the match to Hawaii: "It really was just our rotation six that that was the run in both of those sets that got out of hand. So, we just didn't have enough offense in that rotation with only two hitters to get out of those rotations.
On Taylor Muff's performance: A little bit of reckless abandon and that's what we needed from her all season. So, she was just swinging for high hands, chopping at the block, I thought Daisy set her a good tempo ball and once we found that in the middle of the second set she was able to see the block well and attack the block.
On blocking disparity: "They're a good blocking team, but quite honestly, those are pretty normal blocking stats for us. We were last in the conference in blocks in the Big Sky so that three isn't uncommon for us. We need to be a dig and transition team and we take big swings. So, those type of stats didn't bother me because we are pretty used to that. We can sideout. Our sideout numbers were more of a concern than the blocking gap.
On significance of making the NCAA Tournament: This was big. It's been since 2014 since we've been in the NCAA Tournament, so it was a little bit of a rebuild in the last five years to get here. We finished sixth in the conference last year with the same group primarily. So, this was a good turnaround season for us to dominate the Big Sky and have a four-game gap to win the regular season. Really proud of this group and with a lot returning should continue for us.
On if Hawaii did anything to surprise them: I don't think there were any surprises but there were definitely some things we saw in scout that were going to be unique. We haven't seen a jump spin in our conference, we haven't seen that since preseason. They're a little more balanced than what we've seen in our conference where we have one or two hitters on the other side of the net that can bring a big swing, they're going to have six hitters bringing it. So, we weren't able to commit block and we are typically a commit-blocking team. So, there were some things we had to prepare for that we are not used to but once we started the match there weren't any surprises."
Taylor Muff
On what she was seeing to be productive: "Honestly, when Daisy (Schultz) went down in the first set with a rolled ankle it put me in a position to take the balls with reckless abandon like (head coach) Lyndsey (NAME) said, which was good for me to have, and just to play for Dais.
On what this year means: "Just getting from the underdog position to getting on top. Our coaches spoke it into existence that this was a championship team and they had been with a championship team before and we had exactly what they had and even more, so that really put us through the season in the best way possible."
Daisy Schultz
On battling back to make a comeback: "I think just knowing it could be our last game and putting it all out on the floor especially for our senior libero and for the rest of our teammates just because we have worked so hard all season to get here. I think that was the key."
On what this year means: "I think just the amount of time we've been rebuilding and tried and tried and tried. At the end of last season, we said this was going to be our year and we have worked for that since the end of last season. So, we just knew coming in we were going to give it our all and we were going to make a difference."
Game Notes
- Northern Colorado finishes the season at 26-8. The 26 wins is a program best since joining the Division I ranks.
- Daisy Schultz finished the game with 37 assists even with turning her ankle early in the first set.
- Hawaii out-hit UNC .315 to .145 for the match.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Team Stats
UNC
Hawaii
Kills
46
54
Errors
25
14
Attempts
145
127
Hitting %
.145
.315
Points
53
76
Assists
44
51
Aces
4
9
Blocks
3
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballWomen's Walk Recap 2025
Wednesday, July 30
VB vs. Portland State
Thursday, November 15
VB vs. Idaho State
Saturday, November 03
VB vs. Weber State
Thursday, November 01
