On the road, Bears fall short in 5-set rally

Saturday, October 8

Flagstaff, Ariz.

7:30 pm MT

University of Northern Colorado

8-8,2-3Big Sky

Northern Arizona

2-10,1-4Big Sky

Northern Colo.

Northern Ariz.

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

10/8/2022 9:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: By Jason Dormeyer

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.—Down 2-0 after a pair of close setbacks, Northern Colorado battled back to force five sets, but fell to Northern Arizona, 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 18-28, 18-25, 16-14), in Big Sky Conference volleyball action on Saturday night.

UNC (8-8, 2-3 Big Sky) will continue its road swing next week when it travels to face Montana State and Montana. The Bears next home match is scheduled for Oct. 20 when they host Idaho on Oct. 20.

Junior Syd Cole recorded a career-high 70 assists in the match. The total fel two shy of UNC's all-time NCAA DI record of 72 set by Daisy Schultz during the 2019 season.

Set 1: Northern Arizona 25, Northern Colorado 23
Opening the match with quick attacks by Kailey Jo Ince and a combined block from Rachel Hickman and Cece Huhn, UNC generated a 4-2 lead out of the gate. The Bears continued to lead until a kill by NAU's Savannah Hasson tied it at 21-21. Closing out the opener, the Lumberjacks received set point via a Kylie Moran.

Set 2: Northern Arizona 25, Northern Colorado 21
The Lumberjacks continued to put pressure on the Bears with a 12-9 lead. The Bears tied the set at 14-14 thanks to Makenzie Harris and Cece Huhn kills, but NAU put the set away with the final three points.

Set 3: Northern Colorado 25, Northern Arizona 18
With early kills by Kailey Jo Ince and Maddie Davis, UNC jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third. Facing elimination, the Bears never trailed in the set to avoid the sweep.

Set 4: Northern Colorado 25, Northern Arizona 18
With their backs against the wall once again, the Bears weathered seven lead changes before taking the advantage for good at 17-16 on another Huhn swing. Huhn continued with three more kills down the stretch to force the match to the fifth set.

Set 5: Northern Arizona 16, Northern Colorado 14
NAU secured the first two points to leave little room for error for the Bears. A Syd Cole kill capped a three-point rally to tie the finale at 5-5, but the home side rattled off four straight points for a commanding 9-5 lead. The Bears gave it a fight with consecutive kills by Makenzie Harris to tie the set at 14-14 before NAU closed out the match on a block.