Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, November 20
Ogden
7:00 p.m.
Weber State University
20-9,14-3Big Sky
2
vs
3
#2 Northern Colorado
24-6,13-3Big Sky
1
2
3
4
5
F
Northern Colo.
30
21
14
25
15
3
Weber St.
28
25
25
22
8
2
Wildcats Lose a Heartbreaker in Five Sets
11/20/2021 10:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
In front of crowd well above the listed capacity for Swenson Gym and in perhaps the most heartbreaking fashion, Weber State Volleyball's historic run in Swenson Gym came to an end in five sets against Northern Colorado on Saturday night, as the Bears won by a score of 3-2 (30-28, 21-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-8).
Setting the tone for the match, the first set was a tightly contested one that ended up as a deuce set. Coming down to crunch time, Northern Colorado was leading things 22-20 when Weber State started to turn the tables. The Wildcats strung a few points together to make 24-24, and would eventually have set points at 25-24, 26-25, 27-26, and 28-27, but the Bears scored a trio of points to steal the first set 30-28.
After digging a 0-1 hole to start the match, the Wildcats fought back hard in the second. The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the set and Weber State was out of system. The WSU defense was the source of most of its early points, but things changed quickly. An enormous block from Sam Schiess and Emma Mangum made the score 5-5, and the Wildcats worked hard to keep a narrow lead throughout the set before pulling away in the latter phases for a 25-21 set victory.
In what seemed to be a crucial third set, the Wildcats performed up to the standards that the team is truly capable of. With six kills from Rylin Adams and four from Dani Nay, the Wildcat offense was firing on all cylinders, and WSU breezed to a 25-14 third set and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
The 'Cats dug another big hole early in the fourth set that they couldn't find a way out of. UNC ended up getting leads as large as six points at 16-10 and 17-11, and the Wildcats started chipping away from there. Cutting into the lead and getting all the way to 24-22, the 'Cats just couldn't find a way to break through and win the set, and UNC tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-22 set win.
The Bears came out on fire in the fifth set and simply wouldn't be denied. With a 3-0 lead in the fifth in their pocket, it wouldn't get much closer from there. After an Adams ace to make the score 8-6, UNC simply put the pedal to the metal and wouldn't stop, going on a 7-2 run to close the match and win the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The Wildcats were led by Adams who had a career-high 27 kills on the night, followed by Schiess who scored on 14 swings. Ashlyn Power was tremendous in the match and had a season-high 56 assists. Adding those assists to her career total, Power now has 5,518 assists in her historic career, which makes her the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in the rally scoring era.
A historic, unbelievable stretch of volleyball came to an end as the Wildcats' 27-match home winning streak was snapped, and Adams', Schiess', and Power's Big Sky Conference careers came to a tormenting end.
This loss hurts.
Wildcat fans, however, can rest easy knowing that the program is in good hands. The 'Cats have seen the longest period of sustained success in program history, had multiple All-Americans, won three trophies in two seasons, and have plenty of promising, exciting players that are hungry for more success.
The future of WSU volleyball is radiantly bright, and Wildcat Nation has a lot to look forward to.
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Setting the tone for the match, the first set was a tightly contested one that ended up as a deuce set. Coming down to crunch time, Northern Colorado was leading things 22-20 when Weber State started to turn the tables. The Wildcats strung a few points together to make 24-24, and would eventually have set points at 25-24, 26-25, 27-26, and 28-27, but the Bears scored a trio of points to steal the first set 30-28.
After digging a 0-1 hole to start the match, the Wildcats fought back hard in the second. The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the set and Weber State was out of system. The WSU defense was the source of most of its early points, but things changed quickly. An enormous block from Sam Schiess and Emma Mangum made the score 5-5, and the Wildcats worked hard to keep a narrow lead throughout the set before pulling away in the latter phases for a 25-21 set victory.
In what seemed to be a crucial third set, the Wildcats performed up to the standards that the team is truly capable of. With six kills from Rylin Adams and four from Dani Nay, the Wildcat offense was firing on all cylinders, and WSU breezed to a 25-14 third set and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
The 'Cats dug another big hole early in the fourth set that they couldn't find a way out of. UNC ended up getting leads as large as six points at 16-10 and 17-11, and the Wildcats started chipping away from there. Cutting into the lead and getting all the way to 24-22, the 'Cats just couldn't find a way to break through and win the set, and UNC tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-22 set win.
The Bears came out on fire in the fifth set and simply wouldn't be denied. With a 3-0 lead in the fifth in their pocket, it wouldn't get much closer from there. After an Adams ace to make the score 8-6, UNC simply put the pedal to the metal and wouldn't stop, going on a 7-2 run to close the match and win the Big Sky Conference tournament.
The Wildcats were led by Adams who had a career-high 27 kills on the night, followed by Schiess who scored on 14 swings. Ashlyn Power was tremendous in the match and had a season-high 56 assists. Adding those assists to her career total, Power now has 5,518 assists in her historic career, which makes her the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in the rally scoring era.
A historic, unbelievable stretch of volleyball came to an end as the Wildcats' 27-match home winning streak was snapped, and Adams', Schiess', and Power's Big Sky Conference careers came to a tormenting end.
This loss hurts.
Wildcat fans, however, can rest easy knowing that the program is in good hands. The 'Cats have seen the longest period of sustained success in program history, had multiple All-Americans, won three trophies in two seasons, and have plenty of promising, exciting players that are hungry for more success.
The future of WSU volleyball is radiantly bright, and Wildcat Nation has a lot to look forward to.
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Team Stats
UNC
Weber
Kills
77
63
Errors
34
17
Attempts
226
198
Hitting %
.190
.232
Points
88
85
Assists
74
61
Aces
6
6
Blocks
5
16
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
27
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
13
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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