University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Volleyball draws Washington State in opening round of NCAA Tournament
11/28/2021 7:31:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo. – The stage is set!
Northern Colorado will face Washington State in the opening round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Baylor will play host to the Bears, Cougars and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Waco, Texas. UNC and Washington State will go toe-to-toe on Thursday, December 2 at 3:30 p.m. MT, and will match up against the winner between Baylor and the Islanders on Friday, December 3, should they advance.
The Bears are 1-1 versus the Cougars dating back to 1981. Northern Colorado got the better of WSU in '81, 2-0, in a best of three affair while the Cougars won 3-1 in the early fall of 2007. UNC is 10-25 against the Pac-12 conference with five of those wins coming against in-state rival Colorado.
It's the sixth time Northern Colorado has earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Bears last reached the Big Dance in 2019 and went toe-to-toe with Hawaii in the opening round before falling in four sets.
UNC clinched the Big Sky Conference's automatic bid via a thrilling five-set affair with Weber State in Ogden, Utah. For the third time in as many seasons, the final day of the conference tournament has come down to the Wildcats and Bears. With the victory, Northern Colorado is now 2-1 in those matches.
Due to COVID-19 protocols head coach Lyndsey Oates will not travel with the team to the NCAA Tournament. Associate Head Coaches Pi'i Aiu and Jon Haruguchi will serve as co-head coaches.
Before arriving in Greeley, Aiu served as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. In 12 seasons at the helm in Boulder, Aiu compiled a record of 199-154 and took CU to the NCAA Tournament on nine different occasions. Haruguchi has been responsible for UNC's dynamite defense that racked up a program-record 107 digs in the championship match against Weber State. Prior to UNC, Haruguchi helped coordinate Louisiana-Lafayette's best five-year stretch since 1990, including its first 20-win season as associate head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns.
Fans looking to make the trip to Waco can purchase tickets HERE. The Ferrell Center is general admission for volleyball matches. However, those who purchase tickets to see the Blue and Gold can sit behind the reserved seating in Section 103.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
