Bears rout Rams to claim in-state showdown

Tuesday, August 30

Fort Collins, Colo.

7 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

3-0,0-0Big Sky

Colorado State

2-1,0-0Mountain West

Northern Colo.

Colorado St.

Photo by: Dean Popejoy

8/30/2022 8:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Northern Colorado 3, Colorado State 1 (25-11, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22)

By: By Jason Dormeyer

UNC Athletics · VB Postgame vs. CSU: Lyndsey Oates

FORT COLLINS, Colo.—After breaking through with a home win against their regional rivals last year, Northern Colorado continued its hot start to the season with a commanding 3-1 (25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22) win on Colorado State's court this time.

Northern Colorado, now 3-0 on the season, held Colorado State (2-1) to just 23 points through the first two sets combined before finally being threatened in the third.

Up 2-1 and trailing from the start in the fourth, the Bears managed to even the set on seven occasions before finally gaining an edge at 18-17 following a Rachel Hickman kill.

Hoping to extend the match to the fifth, the Rams stayed close by squaring the set at 21-21 and again at 22-all. Remaining composed, the UNC senior-laden squad closed the book on the match with the final three points, two of which came from the arm of Kailey Jo Ince.

Ince's final swing accounted for her match-high 19th kill. Teammate and newly minted Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week, Makenzie Harris closely followed with 17 terminations of her own.

The duo combined 36 kills, just three shy of CSU's team total.

GAME NOTES

Ince's 19 kills fell one shy of her career high during a four-set match. Ince has recorded 20 kills in a four-set match on four occasions.
Syd Cole reached 50 assists for the first time this season and the third time om her career.
UNC defeated CSU in a five-set thriller in Greeley a year ago (11-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-19, 15-13)
The Bears have started the season with three wins in back-to-back years. UNC opened the 2021 campaign with a 5-0 mark.

UP NEXT
The Bears will play a pair of matches at the Omaha Challenge on Sept. 2-3. UNC faces Wichita State University on Friday before squaring off against the University of Nebraska Omaha on Saturday.

BACK IN THE BANK
UNC volleyball returns to Bank of Colorado Arena for a three-match swing September 15-17 when the Bears host Tarleton State, Cal Poly and Santa Clara. All three matches are 6 p.m. first serves and tickets are available via the UNC Athletics app, online at UNCBears.com/tickets or by calling (970) 351-4849 or visiting the Ticket Office in Campus Commons from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.