Hickman, Boon's career highs power Bears on Pink Night

Saturday, October 1

Greeley, Colo.

6 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

8-7,2-2Big Sky

Sacramento State

7-9,3-1Big Sky

Sacramento St.

Northern Colo.

10/1/2022 9:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: By Jason Dormeyer

UNC Athletics · VB Postgame vs. Sacramento State: Lyndsey Oates

GREELEY, Colo.—After a back-and-forth affair through the first two sets, Northern Colorado controlled the action the rest of the way to defeat Sacramento State, 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-21) in Big Sky volleyball action on Saturday night.

With the 2-0 homestand, Northern Colorado improved to 8-7 on the year and evened its conference mark to 2-2. The Hornets fell to 7-9 and 3-1 in league action.

Leading the Bears defense, Michaela Boon smashed her career best with 32 digs on the night. The total adds eight digs to her previous best in a match of any length and represents the No. 3 total in school history for a four-set match. Accomplished during the 2021 season, Laura Katarznyksi holds the school record with 35 digs in a four setter.

Adding three kills to her previous best, senior Rachel Hickman bested her career high with 22 kills. Hickman hit .366 on the night while the team finished with a .230 to .129 edge in attack percentage.

Syd Cole's 58 assists were also a season high.

UNC will return to action on Oct. 8 when it travels to Northern Arizona.

Set 1: Northern Colorado 25, Sacramento State 23
With neither team generating more than a two-point lead in the opener, the visiting side from Sacramento State managed to secure the final points thanks to a Bridgett Smith kill. The Hornets edged the Bears .080 to .078 in hit rate as both teams struggled to find consistent offense.

Set 2: Northern Colorado 27, Sacramento State 25
In another balanced set, the second stanza featured 21 ties with the final occurrence at 25-25. Makenzie Harris evened the match with back-to-back kills for the 27-25 final.

Set 3: Northern Colorado 25, Sacramento State 23
After tight contests in the first two sets, UNC doubled up the Hornets 10-5 after forcing the Hornets into an attacking error. Sacramento State managed to even the set at 18-18 and generated a brief one-point lead at 23-22, but the Bears regrouped with the final three points as Hickman and Harris added late kills.

Set 4: Northern Colorado 25, Sacramento State 21
The Hornets stayed close through the first half of the fourth set, but the UNC offense clicked in the later stages to complete the win. The Bears hit a match-high .333 in the fourth.