Bears rally from two sets down to reach fourth straight Big Sky championship

Friday, November 25

Ogden, Utah

3 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

21-8,13-3Big Sky

#4 Sacramento State

15-15,10-6Big Sky

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Sacramento St.	25	25	15	18	11	2
Northern Colo.	21	16	25	25	15	3

11/25/2022 5:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UNC extends winning streak to school record 13 matches

UNC Athletics · VB Postgame vs Sacramento State: Lyndsey Oates

OGDEN, Utah—Overcoming a 2-0 deficit for the second time in a week, No. 1-seeded Northern Colorado recovered to defeat No. 4-seed Sacramento State 3-2 (21-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-18, 15-11) on Friday to advance to the Big Sky Championship.

Just seven days ago, Northern Colorado (21-8) needed a similar epic rally to clinch the top seed in the tournament, but with their season on the line the Bears came through again to continue its quest to defend their title from a year ago.

The championship will be the fourth straight appearance for UNC. The Bears have won six Big Sky tournament crowns since joining the league in 2006, including two of the last three (2021, 2019) seasons.

In addition, the win extends UNC's winning streak to 13 matches to establish a new NCAA DI school record for consecutive victories.

After facing Weber State in the championship bout the previous three years, the Bears will face a new opponent in this year's finale as the Wildcats, the tournament hosts, lost to Montana State in the quarterfinals.

The championship match is set for 7 p.m. (MT) on Saturday, Nov. 26.

Hitting over .350 through the first two sets, Sacramento State (15-15) was poised to send the defending champs home early, but the Bears clamped down on defense to eventually even the match.

With momentum fully shifted, UNC opened a 5-1 lead in the fifth set with freshman Brynn Reines connecting on back-to-back kills. Makenzie Harris, the returning tournament MVP, kept the Hornets at a distance with three kills of her own before Reines closed out the match with the final two terminations.

Despite the loss, Sacramento State finished with a .250 hitting percentage for the best attack rate yielded by the Bears in more than two months of play.

Harris ended the contest with an even dozen kills while Rachel Hickman tied for the match high with 16 kills. Reines, meanwhile, tied a career high with 10 kills. Syd Cole, the recently anointed conference MVP, nearly posted a 'triple-double' as the setter tallied 44 assists, 12 digs, and seven kills.