University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Wednesday, September 8
Greeley, Colo.
6 p.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Texas Tech
Photo by: Jam David
Volleyball resets for another busy week with Buffs Invitational on deck
9/7/2021 3:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo. – It's another busy week of volleyball in Greeley. Northern Colorado plays host to Texas Tech and San Jose State before heading south to Boulder to match up against in-state rival Colorado.
Who: vs Texas Tech, 5-2 | vs San Jose State, 4-1 | vs Colorado, 4-0
When: Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. MT | Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. MT | Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. MT
Where: Bank of Colorado Arena | Bank of Colorado Arena | Boulder, Colo.
How To Follow: TTU LIVE STREAM | SJSU LIVE STREAM | CU LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | UNCBearsVB
Quick Sets
Northern Colorado picked up two votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. It's the first time in program history the team has received votes.
Seniors Kailey Jo Ince and Kyndall Feather swept the Big Sky Player of the Week Awards. Ince's 59 kills, 28 digs, four blocks and three aces earned her Offensive POTW while Feather turned in a performance of 54 digs, eight assists and three aces to earn the defensive honor.
Feather, who has now won three Big Sky Defensive Player of the week awards, has now reached double-figure dig totals in each of the five games to begin the season.
With a spotless 5-0 record, UNC is off to its best start since 2012 when they were 6-0 to begin the season. That year, UNC also took down two Power Five opponents in TCU and Oklahoma.
Last weekend proved to be a very productive slate of games playing-time-wise. All four newcomers made their Blue and Gold debut in the Denver invitational and each recorded their first kills. Freshman Maddie Davies started both the Mercer and Northeastern Contests, while Annette Baker made her first-career start against the Huskies.
Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Strain turned in her best blocking performance of her career against Northeastern with six block assists and one solo.
Last time out
Northern Colorado remains perfect in the fall of 2021. Days after beating Colorado State for the first time since 1982, the Bears kept the streak alive, sweeping both Denver and Mercer, then rallying past Northeastern in five sets.
Along the way, seniors Kailey Jo Ince and Kyndall Feather swept the Big Sky Player of the Week Awards. Ince totaled 59 kills, 28 digs, three aces and four blocks while Feather racked up 54 digs, eight assists and three aces.
Scouting Texas Tech
Sixth-year head coach Tony Graystone is off to another good start in Lubbock. The Red Raiders' only losses have come at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State and No. 23 Tennessee.
Defensive specialist KJ Adams was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Adams racked up 65 digs (5.0 digs per set), twice reaching the 23 dig mark against Texas State and Rhode Island.
Texas Tech has hosted an enormous block party in the early parts of 2021. With 87 blocks (2.65 per set), the Red Raiders have reached 10+ blocks in four of its seven matches to begin the season.
History against the Red Raiders
Northern Colorado hasn't seen Texas Tech since 1981 but is an even 2-2 against the Red Raiders. Interestingly, UNC matched up against TTU three times during that 1981 campaign, all at neutral sites. The Bears won two of those matches.
Scouting San Jose State
Fall of 2021 marks the second season for head coach Trent Kersten. Kersten took over a program that went 10-19 in 2019 and has already made improvements, guiding the Spartans to a 7-9 finish last spring.
After being picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West, San Jose State is off to a solid start, already posting wins against two Big Sky schools in Portland State and Sacramento State.
Following last week's wins over the Hornets and Saint Mary's, senior defensive specialist Sarah Smevog was voted Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. Smevog average 5.57 digs per set, 1.0 assists per set and .29 aces per set aiding the Spartans to two resounding victories.
History against the Spartans
Thursday marks just the third time in program history the Bears have matched up against San Jose State. The two schools played a home-and-home in 2018 and 2019, with each institution splitting wins. UNC swept the Spartans the last time these two met in San Jose.
Scouting Colorado
As the only other team besides Northern Colorado in the Centennial State to boast an undefeated season, head coach Jesse Mahoney's team is also receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top-25 poll.
Most recently, Colorado picked up two huge wins in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, besting both Iowa (3-1) and Illinois (3-2).
Senior setter Jenna Ewert has the offense rolling, ranking second in the Pac-12 in assists per set with 10.75. Meanwhile, outside hitter Leah Clayton ranks second in the conference and 19th in the nation in kills per set with 4.56.
History against the Buffaloes
Since 1981, the Bears and Buffaloes have met only eight times, with UNC enjoying most of the spoils owning a 5-3 record. The two programs haven't met since the NCAA Tournament in 2014, when the Buff beat the Bears, 3-1. Northern Colorado's last win over CU came in 2009, when the Bears swept the Buffs at the Bank of Colorado Arena.
Looking Ahead
Northern Colorado heads to one final non-conference tournament before Big Sky play begins. UNC will face Saint Louis, Bradley and old conference foe North Dakota at the Bradley Invitational Sept. 17-18.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Who: vs Texas Tech, 5-2 | vs San Jose State, 4-1 | vs Colorado, 4-0
When: Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. MT | Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. MT | Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. MT
Where: Bank of Colorado Arena | Bank of Colorado Arena | Boulder, Colo.
How To Follow: TTU LIVE STREAM | SJSU LIVE STREAM | CU LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | UNCBearsVB
Quick Sets
Northern Colorado picked up two votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. It's the first time in program history the team has received votes.
Seniors Kailey Jo Ince and Kyndall Feather swept the Big Sky Player of the Week Awards. Ince's 59 kills, 28 digs, four blocks and three aces earned her Offensive POTW while Feather turned in a performance of 54 digs, eight assists and three aces to earn the defensive honor.
Feather, who has now won three Big Sky Defensive Player of the week awards, has now reached double-figure dig totals in each of the five games to begin the season.
With a spotless 5-0 record, UNC is off to its best start since 2012 when they were 6-0 to begin the season. That year, UNC also took down two Power Five opponents in TCU and Oklahoma.
Last weekend proved to be a very productive slate of games playing-time-wise. All four newcomers made their Blue and Gold debut in the Denver invitational and each recorded their first kills. Freshman Maddie Davies started both the Mercer and Northeastern Contests, while Annette Baker made her first-career start against the Huskies.
Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Strain turned in her best blocking performance of her career against Northeastern with six block assists and one solo.
Last time out
Northern Colorado remains perfect in the fall of 2021. Days after beating Colorado State for the first time since 1982, the Bears kept the streak alive, sweeping both Denver and Mercer, then rallying past Northeastern in five sets.
Along the way, seniors Kailey Jo Ince and Kyndall Feather swept the Big Sky Player of the Week Awards. Ince totaled 59 kills, 28 digs, three aces and four blocks while Feather racked up 54 digs, eight assists and three aces.
Scouting Texas Tech
Sixth-year head coach Tony Graystone is off to another good start in Lubbock. The Red Raiders' only losses have come at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State and No. 23 Tennessee.
Defensive specialist KJ Adams was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Adams racked up 65 digs (5.0 digs per set), twice reaching the 23 dig mark against Texas State and Rhode Island.
Texas Tech has hosted an enormous block party in the early parts of 2021. With 87 blocks (2.65 per set), the Red Raiders have reached 10+ blocks in four of its seven matches to begin the season.
History against the Red Raiders
Northern Colorado hasn't seen Texas Tech since 1981 but is an even 2-2 against the Red Raiders. Interestingly, UNC matched up against TTU three times during that 1981 campaign, all at neutral sites. The Bears won two of those matches.
Scouting San Jose State
Fall of 2021 marks the second season for head coach Trent Kersten. Kersten took over a program that went 10-19 in 2019 and has already made improvements, guiding the Spartans to a 7-9 finish last spring.
After being picked to finish eighth in the Mountain West, San Jose State is off to a solid start, already posting wins against two Big Sky schools in Portland State and Sacramento State.
Following last week's wins over the Hornets and Saint Mary's, senior defensive specialist Sarah Smevog was voted Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week. Smevog average 5.57 digs per set, 1.0 assists per set and .29 aces per set aiding the Spartans to two resounding victories.
History against the Spartans
Thursday marks just the third time in program history the Bears have matched up against San Jose State. The two schools played a home-and-home in 2018 and 2019, with each institution splitting wins. UNC swept the Spartans the last time these two met in San Jose.
Scouting Colorado
As the only other team besides Northern Colorado in the Centennial State to boast an undefeated season, head coach Jesse Mahoney's team is also receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top-25 poll.
Most recently, Colorado picked up two huge wins in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, besting both Iowa (3-1) and Illinois (3-2).
Senior setter Jenna Ewert has the offense rolling, ranking second in the Pac-12 in assists per set with 10.75. Meanwhile, outside hitter Leah Clayton ranks second in the conference and 19th in the nation in kills per set with 4.56.
History against the Buffaloes
Since 1981, the Bears and Buffaloes have met only eight times, with UNC enjoying most of the spoils owning a 5-3 record. The two programs haven't met since the NCAA Tournament in 2014, when the Buff beat the Bears, 3-1. Northern Colorado's last win over CU came in 2009, when the Bears swept the Buffs at the Bank of Colorado Arena.
Looking Ahead
Northern Colorado heads to one final non-conference tournament before Big Sky play begins. UNC will face Saint Louis, Bradley and old conference foe North Dakota at the Bradley Invitational Sept. 17-18.
To stay up to date on all things UNC volleyball, visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Players Mentioned
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