Bears back on track with PSU sweep

Thursday, September 29

Greeley, Colo.

6 p.m. MT

University of Northern Colorado

7-7,1-2Big Sky

Portland State

7-7,2-1Big Sky

Portland St.

Northern Colo.

Photo by: Jam David

9/29/2022 8:52:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: By Jason Dormeyer

GREELEY, Colo.—Following a dramatic opener that featured a combined 10 chances at set point, Northern Colorado dispatched Portland State in straight sets (36-34, 25-17- 25-21) in Big Sky volleyball action on Thursday night.

With the team's fourth sweep of the season UNC evened its record to 7-7 and improved to 1-2 in conference play. Portland State also ended the night at 7-7, but now stands at 2-1 in league contests.

The opening set was the highest scoring set for UNC since a 36-34 win against Eastern Washington on Nov. 3, 2017.

The Bears hit a robust .341 on the night with the trio of Makenzie Harris (16), Kailey Jo Ince (13), and Rachel Hickman (12) all reaching double figures in kills despite playing in just three sets. In addition to her 44 assists and 13 digs, setter Syd Cole was 3-of-3 in attacking opportunities.

The Bears will return to action on Saturday when they face Sacramento State for 'Power in Pink' night inside the Bank of Colorado Arena. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m. against the Hornets.

Set 1: UNC 34, PSU 32
In the longest set for UNC in almost five years, the Bears finally put away the opener on their eighth chance at set point for a 34-32 win. The Vikings were able to create two of their own opportunities for set point, the second of which occurred at 31-30 following a combo block, but after the final tie at 32-all, a pair of Rachel Hickman plays wrapped up win. The Bears took the lead on one of Hickman's 12 kills while the senior was joined teammates Kailey Jo Ince and Cece Huhn on an emphatic block for the finale.

Set 2: UNC 25, PSU 17
Syd Cole provided a pair of early aces to help UNC jump out to a 5-0. The Bears never trailed in the set and eventually built a 20-12 gap following a Hickman kill.

Set 3: UNC 25, PSU 21
Once again, the Bears never trailed in the set after generating a 4-1 lead. A PSU attacking error provided UNC's largest advantage at 13-5, but the Vikings roared back to within two points (23-21) thanks to an ace from Ashlyn Blotzer. Ending thoughts of another drawn-out set, Ince and Hickman quickly finalized the sweep with back-to-back kills.

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.