University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Thursday, April 1
Greeley, Colo.
7 p.m.
University of Northern Colorado
15-3,14-3Big Sky
3
vs
0
Southern Utah
9-8,9-6Big Sky
1
2
3
F
Southern Utah
14
11
14
0
Northern Colo.
25
25
25
3
Northern Colorado rolls past Thunderbirds to earn spot in Big Sky Championship Match
4/1/2021 9:17:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado Volleyball was on a mission.
UNC would not be denied a second straight trip to the Big Sky Championship match, rolling right through the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah, 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-14).
The Bears roared out of the starting gate.
An ace from Daisy Schultz and a block from Cece Huhn set the tone for the evening. In particular, it was the play of Rachel Hickman who propelled the Bears to an early one-set advantage.
Fans would be hard-pressed to find anything UNC did wrong in the second set. Northern Colorado hit an astronomical .615, covered every hitter and chased down every ball.
No one had a better evening than Rachel Hickman. The lefty went 11 for 13 with no errors, finishing with a .846 hitting percentage and one kill shy of setting a school record for individual hitting percentage in a single match.
While Hickman was the only Bear to finish with a double-figure kill total, head coach Lyndsey Oates still got great production out of Muff (9 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces), Lauren Hinrichs (6 kills, 2 blocks), Cece Huhn (6 kills, 3 blocks) and Kailey Jo Ince (5 kills, 3 blocks).
What They Said
Game Notes
What's Ahead
Limited tickets are available for purchase, get yours at 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.
UNC would not be denied a second straight trip to the Big Sky Championship match, rolling right through the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah, 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-14).
The Bears roared out of the starting gate.
An ace from Daisy Schultz and a block from Cece Huhn set the tone for the evening. In particular, it was the play of Rachel Hickman who propelled the Bears to an early one-set advantage.
The sophomore dialed up six kills with a near-perfect hitting percentage in the first set alone.S1 | @daisy_schultz with the early ACE!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/xWcH2r3ppR
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) April 2, 2021
Fans would be hard-pressed to find anything UNC did wrong in the second set. Northern Colorado hit an astronomical .615, covered every hitter and chased down every ball.
No one had a better evening than Rachel Hickman. The lefty went 11 for 13 with no errors, finishing with a .846 hitting percentage and one kill shy of setting a school record for individual hitting percentage in a single match.
Freshman Bronwyn Timperley even capped off the 25-11 victory with an in-perfect serve.S1 | Oh my goodness Rachel Hickman!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/By0POgYatL
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) April 2, 2021
The third frame featured much of the same for the Bears. While they didn't manage to exceed its .615 hitting effort from set No. 2, UNC mustered a .346 and served brilliantly to close out the Thunderbirds in three straight.S2 | An in-perfect serve by Bron!!#BearsStrong #BigSkyVB pic.twitter.com/QX5baOkLaf
— UNC Bears Volleyball (@UNC_BearsVB) April 2, 2021
While Hickman was the only Bear to finish with a double-figure kill total, head coach Lyndsey Oates still got great production out of Muff (9 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces), Lauren Hinrichs (6 kills, 2 blocks), Cece Huhn (6 kills, 3 blocks) and Kailey Jo Ince (5 kills, 3 blocks).
What They Said
Game Notes
- Rachel Hickman finished one kill shy of setting a school record for individual kill percentage in a single match. Her .846 effort is a Big Sky Tournament record.
- As a team, Northern Colorado racked up 13 aces, tying the most in a single match this season. The Bears previously had 13 aces against Portland State back in February.
- The Bears had 13 aces while the Thunderbirds only had 17 kills.
- Taylor Muff's four aces represents a season-high and are two shy of tying her career-best
- Northern Colorado reaches the Big Sky Tournament Championship match for the second consecutive year.
- Syd Cole tallied a career-high seven assists
- Bronwyn Timperley's two aces were the first two of her career
What's Ahead
Limited tickets are available for purchase, get yours at 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.
Team Stats
SUU
UNC
Kills
17
39
Errors
15
11
Attempts
73
72
Hitting %
.027
.389
Points
19
57
Assists
15
36
Aces
1
13
Blocks
1
5
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
4
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
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