University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Saturday, November 5
Greeley, Colo.
6 p.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Northern Arizona
Photo by: Jam David
Bears back home to face Lumberjacks
11/2/2022 10:40:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo.—Riding a six-match winning streak, the Northern Colorado volleyball team will host Northern Arizona in its lone match this week.
The Bears will face the Lumberjacks on Saturday, Nov. 5. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m. (MT) inside the Bank of Colorado arena.
TICKETS
Tickets for all regular-season volleyball matches are available via the UNC Athletics app, online at UNCBears.com/tickets or by calling (970) 351-4849. Tickets can also be purchased in person by visiting the Ticket Office in Campus Commons from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA (3-15, 2-9 BIG SKY)
Having dropped their last three matches, the Lumberjacks open the week in ninth place out of 10 in the Big Sky Standings. NAU is ranked ninth in the conference with a .183 hit rate and No. 8 defensively by allowing .232.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Despite only two wins in conference play this season, one of NAU's wins was against the defending champs with a 3-2 win over UNC on Oct. 8. The Bears have won six straight since that setback and hold an 18-3 edge in individuals sets over that stretch.
LAST TIME OUT
After dropping their first two conference matches of the season, UNC has rebounded with wins in eight of their last nine contests, including five via 3-0 sweeps. Last weekend, UNC bounced Sacramento State, 3-1, and swept Big Sky-leading Portland State, 3-0.
HOME SLATE
With an 8-2 record inside the Bank of Colorado Arena, the Bears will look to continue their winning ways at home with three remaining home contests on their schedule. Following this week's match, the Bears close out the home slate with Idaho State on Nov. 10 and Weber State on Nov. 12 for Senior Night. Both matches are set for 6 p.m. starts.
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.
BIG SKY'S TOP OFFENSE
Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in several offensive categories, including: attack percentage (.273), kills per set, (13.99) assists per set (13.07). Individually, junior setter Syd Cole holds the top average in the conference with 11.23 assists per set.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Bears have moved up to No. 3 in the Big Sky by allowing a .187 attack rate. The UNC defense has held its opponents to .150 or less in each of its last five matches. In 11 conference games, the best an opponent has posted vs. UNC has been a .218 hit rate by NAU on Oct. 8.
SETTING THE SCENE
Syd Cole has dominated the Big Sky single-match charts this season. The junior has the top four (4) assist marks in 4-set matches, and the top spot in a 5-set contest. Her 70 assists at Northern Arizona smashed the Big Sky single-match high by 11 assists as Sacramento State's Ashtin Olin has put up the next best total of 59. Her 70 assists were two shy of the UNC NCAA DI record set by Daisy Schultz during the 2019 season as well as the 2022 NCAA DI lead. UTRGV's Luanna Emilano holds the single-match high this year with 72 assists vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
HITTING .300
With 1,653 career attacks at UNC, Rachel Hickman is now qualified for UNC's all-time hitting percentage (min. 1,500 attempts). Hickman is hitting .330 this season to up her career average to .308, a rate good for No. 3 all-time in the UNC's records books.
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 257 kills this season, Ince has already moved up five places to No. 2 all-time (1,339 kills). Kelly Arnold (2009-12) holds the UNC NCAA DI record with 1,566 career kills. Ince is also ranked No. 3 in school history in points (1,470) and No. 4 in attacks (3,581).
1,500 ASSISTS AND CLIMBING
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 1,522 career assists. Cole's 11.34 assists per set is ranked No. 7 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.
The Bears will face the Lumberjacks on Saturday, Nov. 5. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m. (MT) inside the Bank of Colorado arena.
TICKETS
Tickets for all regular-season volleyball matches are available via the UNC Athletics app, online at UNCBears.com/tickets or by calling (970) 351-4849. Tickets can also be purchased in person by visiting the Ticket Office in Campus Commons from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA (3-15, 2-9 BIG SKY)
Having dropped their last three matches, the Lumberjacks open the week in ninth place out of 10 in the Big Sky Standings. NAU is ranked ninth in the conference with a .183 hit rate and No. 8 defensively by allowing .232.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Despite only two wins in conference play this season, one of NAU's wins was against the defending champs with a 3-2 win over UNC on Oct. 8. The Bears have won six straight since that setback and hold an 18-3 edge in individuals sets over that stretch.
LAST TIME OUT
After dropping their first two conference matches of the season, UNC has rebounded with wins in eight of their last nine contests, including five via 3-0 sweeps. Last weekend, UNC bounced Sacramento State, 3-1, and swept Big Sky-leading Portland State, 3-0.
HOME SLATE
With an 8-2 record inside the Bank of Colorado Arena, the Bears will look to continue their winning ways at home with three remaining home contests on their schedule. Following this week's match, the Bears close out the home slate with Idaho State on Nov. 10 and Weber State on Nov. 12 for Senior Night. Both matches are set for 6 p.m. starts.
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.
BIG SKY'S TOP OFFENSE
Northern Colorado leads the Big Sky in several offensive categories, including: attack percentage (.273), kills per set, (13.99) assists per set (13.07). Individually, junior setter Syd Cole holds the top average in the conference with 11.23 assists per set.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Bears have moved up to No. 3 in the Big Sky by allowing a .187 attack rate. The UNC defense has held its opponents to .150 or less in each of its last five matches. In 11 conference games, the best an opponent has posted vs. UNC has been a .218 hit rate by NAU on Oct. 8.
SETTING THE SCENE
Syd Cole has dominated the Big Sky single-match charts this season. The junior has the top four (4) assist marks in 4-set matches, and the top spot in a 5-set contest. Her 70 assists at Northern Arizona smashed the Big Sky single-match high by 11 assists as Sacramento State's Ashtin Olin has put up the next best total of 59. Her 70 assists were two shy of the UNC NCAA DI record set by Daisy Schultz during the 2019 season as well as the 2022 NCAA DI lead. UTRGV's Luanna Emilano holds the single-match high this year with 72 assists vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
HITTING .300
With 1,653 career attacks at UNC, Rachel Hickman is now qualified for UNC's all-time hitting percentage (min. 1,500 attempts). Hickman is hitting .330 this season to up her career average to .308, a rate good for No. 3 all-time in the UNC's records books.
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 257 kills this season, Ince has already moved up five places to No. 2 all-time (1,339 kills). Kelly Arnold (2009-12) holds the UNC NCAA DI record with 1,566 career kills. Ince is also ranked No. 3 in school history in points (1,470) and No. 4 in attacks (3,581).
1,500 ASSISTS AND CLIMBING
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 1,522 career assists. Cole's 11.34 assists per set is ranked No. 7 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.
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