Bears brush by Bengals for second straight sweep

Monday, March 1

Pocatello, Idaho

6 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

9-3,9-3Big Sky

Idaho State

4-8,2-8Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Idaho St.

Photo by: ISU Athletics

3/1/2021 7:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

POCATELLO, Idaho – After holding off late runs from Idaho State a day ago, Northern Colorado left no doubt on Monday, sweeping the Bengals 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-18).

In a mirror image to yesterday's match, the Bears ran off to a quick 6-0 lead. Idaho State did rally back to even the set but Taylor Muff and Kyndall Feather weren't going to let UNC fall behind.

Set 2 | Make that THREE aces for @kyndall_feather !!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/Gavu1Wo5DQ
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) March 2, 2021

Muff smashed home eight kills, grabbed three digs and recorded a solo block in just the first set alone. Alongside Muff, Feather found six digs and served two aces.

As a team, the Bears hit .267 and held the Bengals to .032 on its way to a first-set win.

It was more of the same in the second set as Northern Colorado took a commanding lead.

Rachel Hickman and Lauren Hinrichs joined the kill party. Both reached five kills by the end of the set.

UNC's prolific offense was set up by a terrific defensive performance in the back row. Kyndall Feather finished with a game-high 19 digs to go along with her three aces.

Set 3 | @kyndall_feather KILL ALERT!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/33F13dAJVR
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) March 2, 2021

Aggressive serving paid dividends all match long. Between Feather, Syd Cole, Daisy Schultz and Rachel Hickman, whenever they didn't force an ace, each of them set up easy put-away kills for the front row.

Set 3 | @kyndall_feather KILL ALERT!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/33F13dAJVR
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) March 2, 2021

With everything clicking into high gear, Schultz set up her hitters beautifully to run out the third set. Muff tallied a game-high 13 kills, Hickman added 10 and Kailey Joe Ince and Lauren Hinrichs each added eight. Kyndall Feather even got in on the action with her first kill of the season.

Set 3 | Make that 10 kills for Rachel Hickman!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/Oi30jlvnfN
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) March 2, 2021

What They Said
Head Coach Lyndsey Oates
"I thought we were much sharper tonight and didn't give away so many unforced errors. We were aggressive at the service line again which kept them out of rhythm and off-balance. Our offense was very balanced which was a good sign for us that we can be scoring from five different positions. I thought Daisy [Schultz] set a good offense, and that's usually a sign of a balanced offense."

Stat of the Match
Attack percentage – Eager to emphatically close out the Bengals in each set, Northern Colorado hitters combined to hit for .316 compared to just .067 for Idaho State.

Game Notes

Fresh off a 16-kill performance, Taylor Muff rallied for 13 more Monday evening.
A .316 hitting percentage represents the second-best effort from UNC this season. They previously hit .339 against Portland State back in February.
Kyndall Feather dialed up 19 digs for the Bears' back row and added her first kills of the season to go along with three aces.
Lauren Hinrichs was downright lethal in the middle on Monday, hitting a team-high .467 and sliding over for two block assists.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado gets the week off before welcoming Northern Arizona for a primetime matchup in the Bank of Colorado Arena.

To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.