Feather eclipses 100 aces, Bradley steals five-set victory

Friday, September 17

Peoria, Ill.

6 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

7-3

Bradley

4-6

Northern Colorado

Bradley

9/17/2021 8:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: By Thomas Hoffman, UNCBears.com

PEORIA, Ill. – For the second time on Friday, Northern Colorado found itself in a five-set thriller. It was tournament host Bradley, however, who found the final blows to give UNC its first five-set loss of the season, 2-3 (25-14, 18-25, 25-14, 17-25, 11-15)

After ending the morning match with solid serving, Kyndall Feather picked up right where she left off.

Four straight points to open the match, including two quick kills from Rachel Hickman, had UNC out in front early.

Michaela Boon wasn't about to let Feather have all the fun. Though Boon didn't record an ace during the Bears' six-point run, her serves set up Lauren Strain, Daisy Schultz and Kailey Jo Ince for a couple of blocks and all of the sudden, Northern Colorado had a commanding lead.

Senior setter Daisy Schultz had Bradley guessing as Cece Huhn and Rachel Hickman had three kills apiece while Lauren Strain led everyone with four.

Though UNC started the second with the same aggressive serving style, it was Bradley who found the momentum midway through the set.

Six blocks and three aces were all part of a nine-point run for the Braves as the hosts tied it up at two.

Feather opened the third set with a bit of history. Her back-to-back aces helped her eclipse the 100 mark for her career, becoming just the fourth player in program history to reach a century.

In the meantime, Schultz and the offense got back on track, mimicking their play in set No. 1. Heading into the fourth, Strain and Ince each had nine kills with Hickman close behind with eight.

Northern Colorado hit a solid .306 while holding the Braves to .094 to give the Bears the two-set lead.

Bradley went back to what worked in the second set. Sixteen kills on .293 and four blocks tied up the match and sent the contest to the fifth set for the second time on Friday for the Bears.

UNC raced out to an early 3-0 lead in the fifth but the Braves rallied to even the match once more.

In the end, five errors and only four kills in the final set prevented Northern Colorado from escaping with another victory.

Game Notes

With her first ace of the night, Kyndall Feather eclipsed 100 for her career. She's just the fourth UNC player in history to do so.
Kailey Jo Ince finished with 10 kills and 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Rachel Hickman led all hitters with 13 kills
14 total blocks represent a season-high for the Bears.
Northern Colorado drops to 4-1 in five-set matches.

What's Ahead
Northern Colorado gets set for old Big Sky foe North Dakota in another morning match in Peoria. The Bears and Fighting Hawks are set to go at 9 a.m. MT Saturday morning.

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