University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Pfeifer
Volleyball Ready for Challenging 2020 Schedule
6/3/2020 1:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNC will face seven teams that qualified for postseason play in 2019
GREELEY – Coming off an impressive 2019 season Northern Colorado Volleyball aims to take the next step in 2020 with a challenging and exciting schedule. UNC will face seven teams that qualified for postseason play in 2019, including hosting USC, Colorado State and Wyoming inside Bank of Colorado Arena in non-conference play. Five of the nine non-conference opponents come from a power five conference.
The Big Sky schedule features five of the seven teams who competed alongside the Bears in last year's Big Sky Tournament including the second through fifth seed all visiting Greeley. It culminates to the 2020 Big Sky Championship being hosted in Greeley November 24 and 25 after the Bears won last year's regular season title.
"I am hopeful that we will have a normal fall season. I have never been more excited about a non-conference season. This will be the toughest schedule we have ever played, but we're ready for it," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "Our team needs to be challenged to see what our weaknesses are and build our confidence going into the Big Sky season. Traveling to two Pac-12 schools will prepare us for a first round NCAA match-up."
The 2020 season starts on August 28 with the UNC-CSU Invite featuring the Bears, Rams, USC and Ole Miss. The Rebels of Ole Miss visit Bank of Colorado Arena to open the year on the 28th with USC coming to Greeley on the 29th. It will be the first of two meetings between the Trojans and Bears as Northern Colorado makes the trip to Los Angeles two weeks later for a tournament also featuring Tulane and Long Beach State.
Northern Colorado's annual game against Colorado State takes place on September 1st inside Bank of Colorado Arena.
UNC hosts another preseason tournament in mid-September when Wyoming, Kansas State and Arizona State come to town. The Bears face the Cowgirls on September 15, Kansas State on the 17th and Arizona State on the 19th.
Sandwiched between the opening weekend and trip to LA is a two-game set against NCAA qualifier Washington State in Pullman, September 4th and 5th.
Northern Colorado aims to capture a second straight Big Sky regular season title starting at the end of September when Montana State comes to town. The Big Sky announced changes to the 2020 Big Sky schedule in May to help cut travel costs, featuring eight back-to-back matches against the same opponent.
"I am also looking forward to our back-to-back schedule in the conference. The format will favor the teams that are fit, have depth, make the best adjustments and are resilient," Oates added. "I like how that matches our team's strengths. The conference will be strong this year and it will be no small feat to compete for a championship again."
The four teams that will visit Greeley are Montana State (Sept. 25-26), Sacramento State (Oct. 9-10), Weber State (Oct. 23-24) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 13-14). UNC will travel to Eastern Washington (Oct. 1-2), Portland State (Oct. 15-16), Idaho State (Oct. 29-30) and Idaho (Nov. 19-20).
This year's Big Sky Tournament will feature the top four teams from the regular season competing for the title November 24 and 25 in Greeley.
The Bears return all but one player from last year's team that matched the Big Sky record for conference wins in 2019 with a 17-1 record, won both the Big Sky Regular Season and Tournament Championship and gave No. 14 seed Hawaii a scare in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
For information on season tickets go to UNCBears.com/Tickets.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The Big Sky schedule features five of the seven teams who competed alongside the Bears in last year's Big Sky Tournament including the second through fifth seed all visiting Greeley. It culminates to the 2020 Big Sky Championship being hosted in Greeley November 24 and 25 after the Bears won last year's regular season title.
"I am hopeful that we will have a normal fall season. I have never been more excited about a non-conference season. This will be the toughest schedule we have ever played, but we're ready for it," head coach Lyndsey Oates said. "Our team needs to be challenged to see what our weaknesses are and build our confidence going into the Big Sky season. Traveling to two Pac-12 schools will prepare us for a first round NCAA match-up."
The 2020 season starts on August 28 with the UNC-CSU Invite featuring the Bears, Rams, USC and Ole Miss. The Rebels of Ole Miss visit Bank of Colorado Arena to open the year on the 28th with USC coming to Greeley on the 29th. It will be the first of two meetings between the Trojans and Bears as Northern Colorado makes the trip to Los Angeles two weeks later for a tournament also featuring Tulane and Long Beach State.
Northern Colorado's annual game against Colorado State takes place on September 1st inside Bank of Colorado Arena.
UNC hosts another preseason tournament in mid-September when Wyoming, Kansas State and Arizona State come to town. The Bears face the Cowgirls on September 15, Kansas State on the 17th and Arizona State on the 19th.
Sandwiched between the opening weekend and trip to LA is a two-game set against NCAA qualifier Washington State in Pullman, September 4th and 5th.
Northern Colorado aims to capture a second straight Big Sky regular season title starting at the end of September when Montana State comes to town. The Big Sky announced changes to the 2020 Big Sky schedule in May to help cut travel costs, featuring eight back-to-back matches against the same opponent.
"I am also looking forward to our back-to-back schedule in the conference. The format will favor the teams that are fit, have depth, make the best adjustments and are resilient," Oates added. "I like how that matches our team's strengths. The conference will be strong this year and it will be no small feat to compete for a championship again."
The four teams that will visit Greeley are Montana State (Sept. 25-26), Sacramento State (Oct. 9-10), Weber State (Oct. 23-24) and Northern Arizona (Nov. 13-14). UNC will travel to Eastern Washington (Oct. 1-2), Portland State (Oct. 15-16), Idaho State (Oct. 29-30) and Idaho (Nov. 19-20).
This year's Big Sky Tournament will feature the top four teams from the regular season competing for the title November 24 and 25 in Greeley.
The Bears return all but one player from last year's team that matched the Big Sky record for conference wins in 2019 with a 17-1 record, won both the Big Sky Regular Season and Tournament Championship and gave No. 14 seed Hawaii a scare in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
For information on season tickets go to UNCBears.com/Tickets.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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