University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Friday, September 2
Omaha, Neb.
4 p.m. MT
University of Northern Colorado
vs
Wichita State
Photo by: Dean Popejoy
Undefeated Bears off to Omaha
8/31/2022 4:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
THIS WEEK
Northern Colorado (3-0) will play a pair of out-of-state matches at the Omaha Challenge on Sept. 2-3. UNC faces Wichita State University on Friday (4 p.m.) before taking on the hosts from the University of Nebraska Omaha on Saturday (3 p.m.).
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TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
Both matches will feature live statistics, and can be streamed online.
THE SERIES VS. WICHITA STATE
UNC and Wichita State have faced each other on two occasions with the teams splitting the contests. The Shockers defeated the Bears 3-0 in Wichita during the 2004 season while UNC evened the series in 2011 with a 3-1 win while playing a neutral match in Fort Collins, Colo.
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
Former co-members of the North Central Conference, UNC and Omaha will meet on the court for the first time since 2002. Beginning in 1979, the Bears hold a 24-9 mark in matches against the Mavericks.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears made the short trip to Fort Collins to play in-state rival Colorado State on Tuesday, August 30. The Bears held the Rams to just 23 points through the first two sets and went on to post a 3-1 (25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22) win. Hailey Jo Ince led all players with 19 kills while Makenzie Harris added 17 kills and 17 digs.
BATTLE OF THE UNC'S
Facing the 'other' UNC, Northern Colorado swept Northern Carolina 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-12) inside the Bank of Colorado Arena on August 27. The Bears outhit the visitors .419 to .109 in the match. The Tar Heels were placed just outside the top-25 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
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HARRIS FOR BIG SKY POW
Senior Makenzie Harris was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on August 30. Harris opened her 2022 campaign with an 11-kill performance in a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara. Harris followed that effort with a match-high 15 kills in just three sets as the Bears swept North Carolina inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. Harris hit a sparkling .464 to help top the Tar Heels while adding 11 digs for the 'double-double' in the UNC battle. For the week, Harris averaged 3.71 kills per set on .302 hitting percentage.
NEXT UP
UNC will return to Central Time with a trio of matches at the South Dakota Classic on Sept. 9-10. The Bears will face West Virginia and CSU Bakersfield on Friday before squaring off against the host Coyotes of USD on Saturday. Saturday's match against South Dakota will take place at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
CONFERENCE SEASON OPENERS
UNC will open the 16-match Big Sky slate on Sept. 22 when it travels to face Idaho State. The Bears return home and will host its first conference contest two days later when they welcome Montana State to Greeley.
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' Preseason Poll. 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.
RETURNERS
An even 12 players return from the Big Sky championship squad a year ago. Five returners will be entering their senior season while Kailey Jo Ince will be playing as a graduate.
1,000-KILL CLUB
Graduate Kailey Jo Ince entered the year having already surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau and will look to continue the climb up the UNC record books. With 1,110 career kills, Ince ranks No. 8 all-time on UNC's NCAA DI kill list. Ashley Lichtenberg (1,111) and Kendra Cunningham (1,131) are next on the list at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
NEW TO THE SQUAD
A total of six true freshman joined the team in Greeley this season: two from Colorado, two from Minnesota, and one each from Utah and Ontario, Canada.
2021 BIG SKY ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After leading the Bears to the Big Sky Tournament title, Rachel Hickman, Lauren Stein and Makenzie Harris were selected to the All-Tournament team. Harris led the Bears with 23 kills and 22 digs in the title match and was awarded the tournament MVP honors for her efforts.
300 WINS
With a win against Montana on Oct. 30, 2021, UNC Head Coach Lyndsey Oates reached 300 career wins. As one of four coaches in program history, Oates is the second coach to reach the 300-win mark while Linda Delk owns the UNC record with 593 victories.
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Northern Colorado (3-0) will play a pair of out-of-state matches at the Omaha Challenge on Sept. 2-3. UNC faces Wichita State University on Friday (4 p.m.) before taking on the hosts from the University of Nebraska Omaha on Saturday (3 p.m.).
Â
TOURNAMENT COVERAGE
Both matches will feature live statistics, and can be streamed online.
THE SERIES VS. WICHITA STATE
UNC and Wichita State have faced each other on two occasions with the teams splitting the contests. The Shockers defeated the Bears 3-0 in Wichita during the 2004 season while UNC evened the series in 2011 with a 3-1 win while playing a neutral match in Fort Collins, Colo.
THE SERIES VS. OMAHA
Former co-members of the North Central Conference, UNC and Omaha will meet on the court for the first time since 2002. Beginning in 1979, the Bears hold a 24-9 mark in matches against the Mavericks.
LAST TIME OUT
The Bears made the short trip to Fort Collins to play in-state rival Colorado State on Tuesday, August 30. The Bears held the Rams to just 23 points through the first two sets and went on to post a 3-1 (25-10, 25-13, 23-25, 25-22) win. Hailey Jo Ince led all players with 19 kills while Makenzie Harris added 17 kills and 17 digs.
BATTLE OF THE UNC'S
Facing the 'other' UNC, Northern Colorado swept Northern Carolina 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 25-12) inside the Bank of Colorado Arena on August 27. The Bears outhit the visitors .419 to .109 in the match. The Tar Heels were placed just outside the top-25 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches' Poll.
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HARRIS FOR BIG SKY POW
Senior Makenzie Harris was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on August 30. Harris opened her 2022 campaign with an 11-kill performance in a 3-1 win over UC Santa Barbara. Harris followed that effort with a match-high 15 kills in just three sets as the Bears swept North Carolina inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. Harris hit a sparkling .464 to help top the Tar Heels while adding 11 digs for the 'double-double' in the UNC battle. For the week, Harris averaged 3.71 kills per set on .302 hitting percentage.
NEXT UP
UNC will return to Central Time with a trio of matches at the South Dakota Classic on Sept. 9-10. The Bears will face West Virginia and CSU Bakersfield on Friday before squaring off against the host Coyotes of USD on Saturday. Saturday's match against South Dakota will take place at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
CONFERENCE SEASON OPENERS
UNC will open the 16-match Big Sky slate on Sept. 22 when it travels to face Idaho State. The Bears return home and will host its first conference contest two days later when they welcome Montana State to Greeley.
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' Preseason Poll. 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.
RETURNERS
An even 12 players return from the Big Sky championship squad a year ago. Five returners will be entering their senior season while Kailey Jo Ince will be playing as a graduate.
1,000-KILL CLUB
Graduate Kailey Jo Ince entered the year having already surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau and will look to continue the climb up the UNC record books. With 1,110 career kills, Ince ranks No. 8 all-time on UNC's NCAA DI kill list. Ashley Lichtenberg (1,111) and Kendra Cunningham (1,131) are next on the list at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
NEW TO THE SQUAD
A total of six true freshman joined the team in Greeley this season: two from Colorado, two from Minnesota, and one each from Utah and Ontario, Canada.
2021 BIG SKY ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After leading the Bears to the Big Sky Tournament title, Rachel Hickman, Lauren Stein and Makenzie Harris were selected to the All-Tournament team. Harris led the Bears with 23 kills and 22 digs in the title match and was awarded the tournament MVP honors for her efforts.
300 WINS
With a win against Montana on Oct. 30, 2021, UNC Head Coach Lyndsey Oates reached 300 career wins. As one of four coaches in program history, Oates is the second coach to reach the 300-win mark while Linda Delk owns the UNC record with 593 victories.
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Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballCoaches Show Episode 3
Tuesday, November 04
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Montana
Sunday, November 02
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Montana State
Friday, October 31
Lyndsey Oates Press Conference vs Colorado
Wednesday, October 29
