Bears Advance to Semifinals After Defeating Montana State

Monday, November 24

Greeley, Colo.

7 p.m. MST

University of Northern Colorado

15-15,11-5Big Sky

Montana State

13-15,8-8Big Sky

Montana St.

Northern Colo.

Lexie Martin | UNC Athletics

11/24/2025 10:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Elian Soto, Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado opened Big Sky tournament action Monday night against No. 6 seed Montana State at Bank of Colorado Arena. Backed by an energetic home crowd, the Bears earned a five-set victory over the Bobcats, advancing to Tuesday's semifinal round on November 25 to face No. 2 seed Sacramento State.

Northern Colorado came out strong in the first set, with Zoe Gibbs and Isabel Bennett posting a pair of early blocks. Montana State countered with a scoring run to take a four-point lead. The Bears clawed back behind key kills from Brynn Reines and Alaya Tessena, but the Bobcats ultimately pulled ahead to win the opener, 25–18.

The second set was a tightly contested battle. After the Bears built an early advantage, Montana State fought back to even the frame. Northern Colorado responded with a surge to go up 17–12, forcing a Bobcat timeout. The Bears kept control from there, closing out the set 25–17. Through two sets, Reines led the offense with seven kills, followed by Tessena with six.

Carrying momentum into the third, UNC jumped out to a quick lead before Montana State evened the score at 6–6. The teams traded points throughout, delivering clutch plays on both sides. Strong defense from Bella LePore and timely kills from Bella Van Lannen and Zoe Gibbs helped the Bears edge out the set 25–23, giving them a 2–1 match lead. UNC tallied 13 kills in the frame.

The fourth set was just as intense. Northern Colorado again built an early cushion, but Montana State battled back. Trailing late, the Bears cut the Bobcats' lead to 18–17, prompting a Montana State timeout. After tying the set at 23–23, UNC couldn't quite complete the comeback and fell 25–23, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

In the final frame, both teams came out firing. Northern Colorado's strong play at the net and in the back row created an 8–3 advantage at the switch. The Bears extended their lead to 12–8 before Montana State responded with three straight points, forcing a UNC timeout. Out of the break, the Bears regrouped and closed out the match 15–13 in a hard-fought finish.

Reines led the Bears with 17 kills while hitting .244. Tessena added 12 kills, and Gibbs contributed 10 with an impressive .474 hitting percentage. LePore anchored the defense with 22 digs.

Nerea Alvarez Jorge finished the match with 44 assists and 14 digs, notching a double-double.

UP NEXT
Northern Colorado moves on to the tournament semifinals and will face No. 2 seed Sacramento State tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT.

GAME INFORMATION
2025 Big Sky Volleyball Championship
Nov. 24-26 | Greeley, Colorado
Monday, Nov. 24 – Quarterfinals
Match 1: #4 Weber State 3, #5 Montana, 0 // Box Score
Match 2: #8 Idaho State 3, #1 Northern Arizona 2 // Box Score
Match 3: #2 Sacramento State, 3 vs. #7 Portland State, 2 // Box Score
Match 4: #3 Northern Colorado, 3 vs. #6 Montana State, 2 // Box Score

Tuesday, Nov. 25 – Semifinals
Match 5: #4 Weber State vs. #8 Idaho State // 4:00 p.m. MT // Live Stats
Match 6: #2 Sacramento State vs. #3 Northern Colorado // 7:00 p.m. MT // Live Stats

Wednesday, Nov. 26 – Championship
Match 7: Winner of Match 6 vs. Winner of Match 7 // 7:00 p.m. MT // Live Stats

FOLLOW THE BEARS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Bear action online and on social media. Follow the Bears on X (formerly Twitter) (@UNC_BearsVB), Instagram (@UNC_BearsVB), and Facebook (/UNCBearsVB)