Bears push No. 3 San Diego to four in NCAA Tourney

Thursday, December 1

San Diego, Calif.

8:30 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

22-9,13-3Big Sky

University of San Diego

28-1,18-0WCC

Northern Colo.

San Diego

12/1/2022 10:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

SAN DIEGO—Going toe-to-toe against the No. 3-ranked team in the country, Northern Colorado's season came to an end with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 21-25, 25-11) loss to the University of San Diego in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Northern Colorado (22-9) held late leads in both odd-numbered sets and claimed a win in the third after hitting .325. The Bears were just one of seven teams all year to avoid a sweep against San Diego (28-1) as the Toreros have posted 19 wins in straight sets this season.

The Bears nearly pulled off the feat in the opening set with a 21-19 advantage in the first. A late reversal on a call swung a potential two-point lead into a tied set at 21-21 where USD managed to close out the stanza with the final four points

After the Toreros controlled action in the second set, UNC rebounded with a 25-21 in the third. The Bears received a whopping eight kills by Kailey Jo Ince and five more by Makenzie Harris in the third set alone.

Forced into just a single error while hitting .428, San Diego jumped out to a 9-0 advantage in the fourth to close out the overall win.

The win extended San Diego's NCAA-leading streak to 25 matches while snapping UNC's NCAA DI program record 14-match unbeaten run.

The No. 2 seed in the tournament, San Diego is the highest seeded opponent in seven trips to the NCAA Tournament for Northern Colorado.

A first team All-Big Sky selection, Ince went on to post a match-high 21 kills for her fifth 20-plus kill performance of the season. Harris, another All-Big Sky pick, closed out the night with 18 kills.

Syd Cole, the conference MVP, registered 38 assists and 11 digs for her ninth 'double-double' of the season. Just one off the match high, Michaela Boon reached for a team-high 18 digs.