University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, November 18
Cheney, Wash.
7 p.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
at
Eastern Washington
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Bears eye regular-season title in final weekend
11/16/2022 10:36:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo.—Seeking for their third championship in the last four seasons, Northern Colorado will close out the regular season at Eastern Washington (Nov. 18) and Idaho (Nov.19) this week.
Carrying a nine-match winning streak, the Bears will need just one win to clinch the 2022 regular-season Big Sky championship. The Bears shared the 2021 title with Weber State and was the league's outright champion during the 2019 campaign. A win would also clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament that will be held in Ogden, Utah from Nov. 23-26.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON (10-16, 5-9 BIG SKY)
The Eagles are tied with Idaho State for seventh place in the conference standings and can clinch one of the eight Big Sky Tournament spots with one win in their final two contests. EWU is 3-3 while playing at home this season. Hitting .424 in the match, UNC swept the Eagles 3-0 in Greeley on Oct. 22. The Bears have won 10 straight matches in the series and hold a 26-10 all-time record against the Eagles.
ABOUT IDAHO (4-22, 1-13 BIG SKY)
Idaho has lost its last six matches and has been eliminated from qualifying for the Big Sky Tournament. UNC defeated Idaho 3-0 in their meeting in Colorado with Cece Huhn (14), Kailey Jo Ince (13) and Rachel Hickman (10) all reaching double figures in kills. The Bears hold an eight-match winning streak in the series. Idaho hasn't defeated UNC since 2018 when it won 2-of-3 matchups that year, including a 3-2 win in the Big Sky Championship semifinal.
LAST TIME OUT
UNC extended its winning streak to nine matches with a pair of wins last week. After dispatching Idaho State, 3-0, the Bears edging Weber State, 3-2, in a matchup of the top two teams in the league. After taking the first two sets, UNC survived six WSU match points in the fifth set before closing out the marathon finale, 21-19.
OCTOBER TREATS
After a 4-7 record in September, the Bears have been nearly unbeatable since the calendar turned. The Bears went 7-1 in the month of October with four sweeps and have since been undefeated in November (3-0).
BIG SKY'S TOP OFFENSE
UNC's leads the Big Sky in several offensive categories, including: attack percentage (.270), kills per set (14.07), and assists per set (13.21). Individually, junior setter Syd Cole holds the top average with 11.36 assists per set.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Bears have moved up to No. 3 in the Big Sky by allowing a .182 attack rate. The UNC defense has held its opponents to .200 or less in each of its last six matches. In 11 conference games, the best an opponent has posted vs. UNC has been a .218 hit rate by NAU on Oct. 8.
Carrying a nine-match winning streak, the Bears will need just one win to clinch the 2022 regular-season Big Sky championship. The Bears shared the 2021 title with Weber State and was the league's outright champion during the 2019 campaign. A win would also clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament that will be held in Ogden, Utah from Nov. 23-26.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON (10-16, 5-9 BIG SKY)
The Eagles are tied with Idaho State for seventh place in the conference standings and can clinch one of the eight Big Sky Tournament spots with one win in their final two contests. EWU is 3-3 while playing at home this season. Hitting .424 in the match, UNC swept the Eagles 3-0 in Greeley on Oct. 22. The Bears have won 10 straight matches in the series and hold a 26-10 all-time record against the Eagles.
ABOUT IDAHO (4-22, 1-13 BIG SKY)
Idaho has lost its last six matches and has been eliminated from qualifying for the Big Sky Tournament. UNC defeated Idaho 3-0 in their meeting in Colorado with Cece Huhn (14), Kailey Jo Ince (13) and Rachel Hickman (10) all reaching double figures in kills. The Bears hold an eight-match winning streak in the series. Idaho hasn't defeated UNC since 2018 when it won 2-of-3 matchups that year, including a 3-2 win in the Big Sky Championship semifinal.
LAST TIME OUT
UNC extended its winning streak to nine matches with a pair of wins last week. After dispatching Idaho State, 3-0, the Bears edging Weber State, 3-2, in a matchup of the top two teams in the league. After taking the first two sets, UNC survived six WSU match points in the fifth set before closing out the marathon finale, 21-19.
OCTOBER TREATS
After a 4-7 record in September, the Bears have been nearly unbeatable since the calendar turned. The Bears went 7-1 in the month of October with four sweeps and have since been undefeated in November (3-0).
BIG SKY'S TOP OFFENSE
UNC's leads the Big Sky in several offensive categories, including: attack percentage (.270), kills per set (14.07), and assists per set (13.21). Individually, junior setter Syd Cole holds the top average with 11.36 assists per set.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Bears have moved up to No. 3 in the Big Sky by allowing a .182 attack rate. The UNC defense has held its opponents to .200 or less in each of its last six matches. In 11 conference games, the best an opponent has posted vs. UNC has been a .218 hit rate by NAU on Oct. 8.
Players Mentioned
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