UNC Survives Scare in BSC Quarterfinals

Wednesday, November 27

Sacramento State

2:00 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

24-6,14-2Big Sky

Montana State

9-19,7-9Big Sky

Montana St.

Northern Colo.

11/27/2024 10:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Final Match Book (PDF)

By: Michael High, Assistant Athletics Director for Strategic Communications

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Special seasons need magical or memorable moments.

Northern Colorado (24-6, 14-2 Big Sky) produced both at the Nest Wednesday in the Big Sky Conference Quarterfinal victory over eighth-seeded Montana State (9-19, 7-9 Big Sky).

UNC, which entered the tournament as regular-season champions and top-seeded, faced a 2-0 deficit as the teams went to the locker room at intermission. The Bears utilized every second of the break conjuring up a plan to produce their first reverse sweep of the season. The last comeback from down 2-0 for the Bears occurred Nov. 25, 2022, against Sacramento in the Big Sky Conference Semifinals in Ogden, Utah.

Syd Cole, Maddie Davies and Gabi Placide registered double-doubles in the Bears (21-25, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12).

Cole dished out 49 assists, with 19 digs and added six kills and two blocks. Davies tallied 13 kills and a career-high 10 blocks. Placide registered a career-high 20 successful attacks, with 10 digs and two blocks. Donning the libero jersey, Sam Steele stuffed the stat sheet with 18 digs, nine assists and a career-high six aces. Brynn Reines added 15 kills, five digs, three blocks and an ace.

UNC overcame its second-lowest hitting percentage to advance to Thursday's semifinal against fourth-seeded Weber State. The defending champion Wildcats defeated No. 5 Eastern Washington in four sets in the first match of the day Wednesday.

Montana State employed an aggressive blocking defense, registering 19 blocks, with 15 in the first three games. UNC hit .142 over the first three sets, with 41 kills and 23 errors on 127 swings. After surviving game three, the Bears converted 25 of 71 swings with 10 miscues for a .211 success rate.

UNC cranked up the defense, holding the Bobcats to .112 over the final three stanzas, including .079 and .024 in games three and four, respectively. Montana State built its 2-0 advantage with 10 blocks and recording a kill on every four swings.

In other action, No. 2 Idaho State defeated No. 7 Northern Arizona 3-1, while No. 3 Sacramento State held serve on its home court, with a triumph in four sets over No. 6 Portland State.

The Bears and Wildcats meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, with Idaho State and Sacramento State squaring off at 8 p.m. All times are Mountain time and all games are available on ESPN+.