Bears look to continue streak at NAU

Saturday, October 8

Flagstaff, Ariz.

7:30 pm MT

University of Northern Colorado

Northern Arizona

Photo by: Jam David

10/5/2022 7:45:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

ESPN+Live Stats UNC Notes (PDF)

By: By Jason Dormeyer

GREELEY, Colo.—After a perfect 2-0 weekend at home last week, Northern Colorado will look to continue to move up the conference standings with a match at Northern Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 8 for its lone contest of the week. Opening serve against the Lumberjacks is set for 7:30 p.m. (MT) in Flagstaff, Arizona.

ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA
The Lumberjacks enter this week's action with a 1-10 overall record and an 0-4 mark in Big Sky play. NAU has dropped eight straight matches, including four via five-set marathons. NAU's lone victory came in a 3-0 sweep at home against Old Dominion on Aug. 27.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bears bounced back to .500 in conference play with a 3-0 win over Portland State and a 3-1 victory against Sacramento State. Several Bears recorded season-best performances against the Hornets, including 32 digs by Michaela Boon. Syd Cole registered 58 assists to set a new Big Sky season high for a 4-set match.

WHAT'S AHEAD
UNC continues play on the road next week with a pair of matches in the Treasure State. UNC travels to face Montana State on Oct. 13 and Montana on Oct. 15. Both contests are set for a 7 p.m. (MT) opening serve.

HOME SLATE
With a 6-2 record inside the Bank of Colorado Arena, the Bears will look to continue their winning ways at home with two home weeks remaining on their schedule. Idaho (Oct. 20) and Eastern Washington (Oct. 22) will be the next teams to make the trip to Greeley.

BIG SKY'S TOP OFFENSE
Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in several offensive categories, including: attack percentage (.265), kills per set, (13.93) assists per set (12.98). Individually, junior setter Syd Cole holds the top average in the conference with 11.14 assists per set. Her assist average currently stands as the No. 6 mark in NCAA DI.

REIGNING CHAMPS
Northern Colorado enters the 2022 season as the reigning Big Sky regular season and tournament champions. The Bears secured their sixth tournament title in program history in a thrilling five-set match against the Weber State Wildcats in Ogden, Utah. The victory also punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament where they faced Washington State.

2022 BIG SKY PRESEASON POLL
After picking up six of 10 first-place votes, Northern Colorado was picked to repeat as champions in 2022 by the Big Sky Coaches. The Bears received 78 points in the poll while Weber State (70 points) and Portland State (66 points) rounded out the top three. Weber State collected the two remaining first-place picks.

RETURNERS
UNC enters 2022 with nine key players from their championship season returning to the roster, including returning First Team All-Big Sky selections Rachel Hickman and Kailey Jo Ince. Last year's Big Sky Tournament MVP, Makenzie Harris, also returns for her senior season

NEWCOMERS
Oates welcomed a total of six true freshman to the team in Greeley this season: two from Colorado, two from Minnesota, and one each from Utah and Ontario, Canada.

300 WINS
With a win against Montana on Oct. 30, 2021, UNC Head Coach Lyndsey Oates reached 300 career wins. As one of four coaches in program history, Oates is the second coach to reach the 300-win mark while Linda Delk owns the UNC record with 593 victories.

CHAMPIONSHIP QUALITY
Since joining the Big Sky conference in 2006, UNC has made it to the conference championship match seven times while winning on six occasions. All under the guidance of head coach Lyndsey Oates, Northern Colorado has made six appearances in the NCAA DI Tournament since joining the ranks in 2006.

1,000 KILL CLUB
Graduate Kailey Jo Ince entered the year with 1,071 career kills to rank No. 8 on UNC's all-time NCAA DI leaderboard. With 201 kills this season, Ince has already moved up five places to No. 2 all-time (1,252 kills). Kelly Arnold (2009-12) holds the UNC NCAA DI record with 1,566 career kills.

1,000 ASSISTS
Junior Syd Cole eclipsed 1,000 career assists during the UNC Classic this season. Cole is ranked No. 7 all-time in UNC's NCAA DI history with 1,295 career assists.