University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, November 18
Ogden, Utah
University of Northern Colorado
22-6,13-3Big Sky
3
vs
0
Eastern Washington
11-14,7-9Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Eastern Wash.
17
20
19
0
Northern Colo.
25
25
25
3
Bears offense too much for Eagles, UNC advances to Big Sky Semifinals
11/18/2021 3:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
OGDEN, Utah -Â Â Northern Colorado did a little more than survive and advance Thursday afternoon at Swenson Gym. The Bears showed why they are the most efficient offense in the Big Sky, sweeping Eastern Washington, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-19).
UNC made sure they packed their potent offense with them to Ogden. Led by Makenzie Harris and Rachel Hickman, the Bears hit an aggressive .444 in the opening frame.
Harris tallied five kills on .364 while Hickman equaled Harris' five but hit a perfect. 1.000 on all five of her attempts.
Laura Katarzynski's six digs added to the effort, leading to a first-set win.
Hickman stayed perfect halfway through the second set. The Lawrence, Kansas native was 7-7 before finally missing on an attempt. She would finish the set 7-9.
Though Eastern Washington came through with four aces in the second, the Bears' servers countered with four of their own. Combined with the .267 hitting and eight more digs from Katarzynski, UNC was able to take a commanding two-set lead.
Northern Colorado added three more aces in the third set, tallying nine on the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Harris continued to have herself a match. The junior from Eaton, Colorado was more than in her groove, finishing with a match-high 12 kills.
Hickman wasn't far from chasing Harris down. The highly-efficient First Team All-Conference selection grabbed 10 kills on .444 hitting.
Defensively, there were few performances better than Katarzynski. Runing down seemingly every dig, the Winfield, Illinois native piled up a massive 22 digs in just three sets.
The Bears block also rose to the occasion. Fellow First Teamer Lauren Strain led the way with three total blocks as Cece Huhn and Syd Cole each secured two blocks apiece.
As UNC was barreling toward a three-set sweep, freshman Annette Baker made sure to leave her stamp on the winning effort. Four quick kills on seven attempts were too much for the Eagles to overcome and handed Northern Colorado the opening-round win.
What They Said
Laura Katarzynski and head coach Lyndsey Oates
Game NotesÂ
Northern Colorado advances to the Big Sky semifinals where they'll face Portland State. The match is slated for 4 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.
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UNC made sure they packed their potent offense with them to Ogden. Led by Makenzie Harris and Rachel Hickman, the Bears hit an aggressive .444 in the opening frame.
Harris tallied five kills on .364 while Hickman equaled Harris' five but hit a perfect. 1.000 on all five of her attempts.
Laura Katarzynski's six digs added to the effort, leading to a first-set win.
Hickman stayed perfect halfway through the second set. The Lawrence, Kansas native was 7-7 before finally missing on an attempt. She would finish the set 7-9.
Though Eastern Washington came through with four aces in the second, the Bears' servers countered with four of their own. Combined with the .267 hitting and eight more digs from Katarzynski, UNC was able to take a commanding two-set lead.
Northern Colorado added three more aces in the third set, tallying nine on the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Harris continued to have herself a match. The junior from Eaton, Colorado was more than in her groove, finishing with a match-high 12 kills.
Hickman wasn't far from chasing Harris down. The highly-efficient First Team All-Conference selection grabbed 10 kills on .444 hitting.
Defensively, there were few performances better than Katarzynski. Runing down seemingly every dig, the Winfield, Illinois native piled up a massive 22 digs in just three sets.
The Bears block also rose to the occasion. Fellow First Teamer Lauren Strain led the way with three total blocks as Cece Huhn and Syd Cole each secured two blocks apiece.
As UNC was barreling toward a three-set sweep, freshman Annette Baker made sure to leave her stamp on the winning effort. Four quick kills on seven attempts were too much for the Eagles to overcome and handed Northern Colorado the opening-round win.
What They Said
Laura Katarzynski and head coach Lyndsey Oates
Game NotesÂ
- Makenzie Harris led all hitters with 12 kills.
- 22 digs by Laura Katarzynski were the most in any three-set match this season for the Bears.
- Rachel Hickman (.444), Lauren Strain (.636) and Annette Baker (.571) all hit north of .400.
- UNC's defense held EWU to just .104 hitting.
Northern Colorado advances to the Big Sky semifinals where they'll face Portland State. The match is slated for 4 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.
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Team Stats
EWU
UNC
Kills
27
43
Errors
17
16
Attempts
96
101
Hitting %
.104
.267
Points
38
58
Assists
27
40
Aces
4
9
Blocks
7
6
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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