Volleyball Preview: Hampton Inn & Suites UNC Classic

SETTING THE SCENE
University of Northern Colorado hosts Bradley, Omaha and Wichita State in the 2023 Hampton Inn & Suites UNC Classic Thursday, Sept. 14 – Saturday, Sept. 16 at Bank of Colorado Arena. It is the first time playing in front of the home crowd for the Bears since Aug. 31.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 14
Bradley vs. Wichita State | 3 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Omaha at Northern Colorado 6 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 15
Omaha vs. Wichita State 3 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Bradley at Northern Colorado 6 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 16
Omaha vs. Bradley 11 a.m. | Watch | Live Stats
Wichita State at Northern Colorado 6 p.m.

UNC MATCH INFO
Omaha (0-7) at Northern Colorado (3-5)
Bank of Colorado Arena – Greeley, Colo.
Thursday, Sept. 14 | 6 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
UNC Mobile App on Apple | Google Play

Bradley (7-2) at Northern Colorado (3-5)
Bank of Colorado Arena – Greeley, Colo.
Friday, Sept. 15 | 6 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
UNC Mobile App on Apple | Google Play

Wichita State (3-4) at Northern Colorado (3-5)
Bank of Colorado Arena – Greeley, Colo.
Saturday, Sept. 16 | 6 p.m.
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
UNC Mobile App on Apple | Google Play

PROMOTIONS/SPONSORS SCHEDULE

Hampton Inn & Suites is the official sponsor for the Northern Colorado Classic.
Friday's match against Bradley is sponsored by the Haefeli Foundation and all tickets are free.
Saturday is kids' night, district 6 night and parents' night.

ABOUT THE BEARS

UNC dropped both matches last weekend at the Northeastern Tournament – hosted by Northeastern in Boston.
Makenzie Harris paces the squad with 77 kills and 56 digs.
Freshman Bella LePore owns a share of the team lead with 56 digs.
Cece Huhn tops the team with 23, including seven solo blocks.
Brynn Reines dropped in eight service aces, best on the squad.

SCOUTING OMAHA

The Mavericks enter the weekend 0-7, with five matches against Power Five Schools and four of the seven losses against teams in the top-25 or receiving votes.
Omaha and Nebraska played in front of 92,003 fans at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium Aug. 30, setting the record for the largest crowd ever to watch a women's sporting event.
McKenna Ruch leads Omaha with 51 kills and she accounts for 21 of the team's 39 blocks.
Olivia Curry directs the offense with 127 assists.
Shayla McCormick's 63 digs paces the team, which totals six members with at least 20 digs.

SERIES HISTORY

UNC leads the all-time series 24-10.
The Bears fell in five sets in Omaha last season at the Omaha Challenge.
Makenzie Harris tallied 19 kills and eight digs, with a service ace.
Syd Cole dished out 55 assists.
Michaela Boon paced the squad with 24 digs.

SCOUTING BRADLEY

The Braves begin the week at 7-2, including a three-match winning streak after claiming the Southern Indiana Tournament title.
Bradley swept Jacksonville State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff Sept.8 before claiming a five-set triumph over host Southern Indiana Sept. 9.
The Braves utilize a balanced attack with four members of the team totaling at least 50 kills, with Tendai Titley leading the way with 72.
Loren Scott and Corrie Brown direct the offense with 163 and 139 assists, respectively.
Dru Kuck anchors the back line with a quarter of the team's 500 digs, totaling 125.
Kendal Minta (30.0) and Karagan Coggin (25) guard the net, tallying 55 of the Braves' 63.5 blocks.

SERIES HISTORY

The series is tied at 1-1.
UNC fell in the last meeting between the two squads, a five-set match Sept. 17, 2021.
Cece Huhn netted nine kills and six blocks.
Michaela Boon, Syd Cole and Bronwyn Timperley appeared in the match.

SCOUTING WICHITA STATE

The Shockers enter the week at 3-4 after dropping both matches at the Shocker Classic.
Wichita State fell to No. 22 Kansas 3-1, Sept. 7, before being swept by Colorado Sept. 9.
Natalie Foster leads the squad with 67 kills and nearly half of the team's 67 blocks, with 37.
Izzi Strand tallied 262 of the team's 216 assists.
Gabi Maas paces Wichita State with 122 digs.

SERIES HISTORY

UNC trails the all-time series 2-1.
The Bears fell 3-0 in last season's meeting at the Omaha Classic Sept. 2, 2022.
Makenzie Harris tallied nine kills and nine digs.
Syd Cole finished with a double-double, dishing out 28 assists with 10 digs.
Isabel Bennett netted six kills and four blocks.
Bronwyn Timperley tallied nine digs, while Michaela added seven and Cece Huhn totaled five kills.

FAN SUPPORT

In the first three matches, Northern Colorado averaged 2,211 fans.
Opening night against No. 3 Stanford produced the largest crowd in program history, with 2,801 fans in attendance Aug. 25.
The next night, 1,941 witnessed the Bears battle No. 10 Kentucky for four sets.
Against Colorado State on Aug. 29., 1,890 fans watched Northern Colorado rally from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Rams.

OPENING WEEKEND

The largest crowd in program history was on hand for the season opener against No. 3 Stanford, with 2,801 in attendance.
Brynn Reines led the team with 15 kills.
Makenzie Harris tallied the most points (18) and service aces (3)
Syd Cole directed the offense with 65 assists.
Cece Huhn, Gabi Placide and Isabel Bennett tallied 4.0 blocks each.
- Placide registered five kills on 14 swings, with a block solo and a block assist in her collegiate debut.
Bella LePore tallied three digs in her first college match.

CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE

Since moving to Division I before the 2006 campaign, Northern Colorado made 14 Big Sky Tournament appearances.
The Bears own the best winning percentage in tournament play at .687 (22-10), with seven championships, the most by any league member over the last 17 seasons. They collected six regular-season titles over that span.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

Syd Cole garnered All-American honors after the 2022 season, finishing with 1,325 assists, 271 digs, 78 kills, 50.0 blocks and 29 service aces over 120 sets.
In addition, she earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region selection, the Big Sky Player of the Year, All-Big Sky First Team, All-Big Sky Tournament Team and Big Sky All-Academic selections.

THE ROSTER

Freshmen Bella LePore, Gabi Placide and Alayna Tessena join 14 returners from the 2022 Big Sky Championship squad.

TICKETS
To purchase tickets, visit uncbears.com/tickets or call 970-351-4849. Tickets can also be purchased at the Campus Commons Ticket Office, Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Isabel Bennett

Michaela Boon

Syd Cole

Makenzie Harris

Cece Huhn

Bella LePore

Gabi Placide

Brynn Reines

Alayna Tessena

Bronwyn Timperley

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