University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Sunday, January 31
Cheney, Wash.
4:30 p.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
2-1,2-1Big Sky
3
at
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Eastern Washington
1-3,0-3Big Sky
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Colo.
16
25
25
25
3
Eastern Wash.
25
18
14
19
1
Photo by: Woody Myers
Bears start road trip on right note
1/31/2021 7:19:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
CHENEY, Wash. – A bit slow out of the starting block, Northern Colorado needed a set to get things going against Eastern Washington, eventually finding their rhythm to cruise past the Eagles, 3-1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19).
Eastern Washington jumped out to the early lead in the opening set. Five service aces combined with three blocks from the Eagles left a hefty lead for the Bears to cut into.
Late in the set, Lyndsey Oates' crew started to gain momentum. Before EWU finally closed out the set, 25-16, UNC had mounted a 5-0 run, foreshadowing what was to come.
Schultz showed why she was voted Big Sky MVP in 2019, distributing the ball left and right all afternoon long and notching her first double-double of the season. The senior tallied a season-high 41 assists, 18 digs and helped three Bears finish in double-figure kill totals.
Leading the way, Kailey Jo Ince dialed up six kills in the second set. Ince was just getting started, however, as the Hesston, Kansas, native finished with a game-high 14 kills, hitting .263.
After leading the team in kills a week ago, Rachel Hickman impressed once again on Sunday evening. Hickman hit .250 against the Eagles and racked up 11 kills and two blocks.
Post-match Thoughts
Head Coach, Lyndsey Oates
"It certainly came down to serving and passing. We were way outmatched in that category in set one and that showed on the scoreboard. They served very aggressively, and we didn't handle it well.
Once we were able to get our first contact under control, that helped with everything else. I thought we were able to serve a little more aggressive after missing too many in the first set.
As the match went on, our left side started to find more rhythm. That's something that we've been working on all week and we're getting closer. They took some good swings at the ball.
The goal is always to keep improving, be better tomorrow than we were today and make some adjustments to be sharper on our side of the net tomorrow."
Game Notes
Northern Colorado will go head-to-head with Eastern Washington once more on Monday. The match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Eastern Washington jumped out to the early lead in the opening set. Five service aces combined with three blocks from the Eagles left a hefty lead for the Bears to cut into.
Late in the set, Lyndsey Oates' crew started to gain momentum. Before EWU finally closed out the set, 25-16, UNC had mounted a 5-0 run, foreshadowing what was to come.
Feeling a touch of momentum, Kyndall Feather began the second set with a tone-setting ace. Feather's stout serving and stellar defense led UNC to a quick 4-0 lead and the Bears never looked back.S1 | Back-to-back kills from @HinrichsLauren and we're on a 5-0 run!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/EOzbkwo4Mv
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
Defensively, Feather finished with a team-high 20 digs and contributed two aces, followed by Daisy Schultz with 18 and Taylor Muff with 11.S2 | That's how you start a set @kyndall_feather !!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/RLP9KKYS9j
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
Schultz showed why she was voted Big Sky MVP in 2019, distributing the ball left and right all afternoon long and notching her first double-double of the season. The senior tallied a season-high 41 assists, 18 digs and helped three Bears finish in double-figure kill totals.
Leading the way, Kailey Jo Ince dialed up six kills in the second set. Ince was just getting started, however, as the Hesston, Kansas, native finished with a game-high 14 kills, hitting .263.
Northern Colorado kept its energy and offensive balance up through the third and fourth sets.S2 | Three straight from @KaileyInce21 and four in a row!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/HvDNM0hgKR
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
After leading the team in kills a week ago, Rachel Hickman impressed once again on Sunday evening. Hickman hit .250 against the Eagles and racked up 11 kills and two blocks.
Senior outside hitter Taylor Muff also found her groove on the Bears' left side. Muff ended with 12 kills, 11 digs and an ace.S3 | Hickman kicking off the third set where she left off#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/m1TkhYSmyg
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
Narrowly missing out on a double-figure kill total, Lauren Hinrichs collected nine kills while hitting a team-high .333.S3 | @taymuff makes it a 6-1 run to open the set!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/Q874kcCtn4
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
Up front, Cece Huhn proved a problem at the net for Eastern Washington. The middle blocker collected five kills, a block and kept numerous plays alive.S4 | @HinrichsLauren with back-to-back kills. She's got 8 on the night!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/MTDaC7zDFf
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) February 1, 2021
Post-match Thoughts
Head Coach, Lyndsey Oates
"It certainly came down to serving and passing. We were way outmatched in that category in set one and that showed on the scoreboard. They served very aggressively, and we didn't handle it well.
Once we were able to get our first contact under control, that helped with everything else. I thought we were able to serve a little more aggressive after missing too many in the first set.
As the match went on, our left side started to find more rhythm. That's something that we've been working on all week and we're getting closer. They took some good swings at the ball.
The goal is always to keep improving, be better tomorrow than we were today and make some adjustments to be sharper on our side of the net tomorrow."
Game Notes
- Two Bears turned in double-doubles for the first time this season. Daisy Schultz had 41 assists and 18 digs while Taylor Muff finished with 12 kills and 11 digs.
- Kyndall Feather led the way defensively with 20 kills on a night when the Bears out-dug the Eagles 74-49.
- Kailey Jo Ince collected a season-high 14 kills while hitting .263 on the night.
- Lauren Hinrichs narrowly missed out on double-figure kill totals, finishing with nine.
- Bronwyn Timperley saw her first action as a Bear, grabbing two digs.
Northern Colorado will go head-to-head with Eastern Washington once more on Monday. The match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MT.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Team Stats
UNC
EWU
Kills
54
33
Errors
20
15
Attempts
152
140
Hitting %
.224
.129
Points
62
45
Assists
45
31
Aces
5
7
Blocks
3
5
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballCoaches Show Episode 3
Tuesday, November 04
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Montana
Sunday, November 02
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Montana State
Friday, October 31
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Colorado
Wednesday, October 29
