NORTHERN COLORADO 3, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 2 (25-18, 18-25, 26-24, 14-25, 15-10)

STATESBORO, Ga. - Northern Colorado advanced to the Great 8 of the 2024 NIVC after defeating Georgia Southern on its home court in the Super 16 in five sets.

The Bears jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first set and never looked back. Georgia Southern managed to trim the lead to 13-12 midway through the first set and again at 16-15, but Northern Colorado responded by taking seven of the next nine points to comfortably win the first set. 

In the second set, it was Georgia Southern's turn to respond. The Eagles trailed early on but utilized a 7-2 run to create some breathing room in route to a 25-18 set victory. The third set was the set of the match with neither team able to create separation by more than three points. Georgia Southern hit .382 while Northern Colorado hit .385 in the back-and-forth set. Trailing 21-18 late in the set, the Bears went on an 8-3 run to close out the set and take a 2-1 advantage over the Eagles.

Georgia Southern once again responded in the fourth set with a dominant 25-14 set victory to force a winner-takes-all fifth set. That momentum carried over into the fifth set with the Eagles taking an early 4-1 lead in the set and seemingly taking control of the match, but the Bears would not be denied. UNC quickly scored the next three points to tie the game, and then utilized a 4-0 run with the set tied at 8-8 to take a 12-8 lead and control of the match.

Four Bears reached double figures in kills, led by Gabi Placide, who had 19 kills and eight digs. Maddie Davies (13), Brynn Reines (12), and Isabel Bennett (11) also reached double digits in kills. Setting the table for UNC was Syd Cole, who was seemingly everywhere with seven kills and a team-high 21 digs to go along with her 50 assists. As a team, UNC hit .273 and racked up 70 kills compared to Georgia Southern's 60.

Paige Powers and Jillian Gray led the way for the Eagles with 17 and 15 kills, respectively. As a team, Georgia Southern hit .281 in the match and had 11 service aces, including five from Kirsten Barrett.

Northern Colorado will now take on Arkansas State in the Great 8 of the 2024 NIVC.

​DEPAUL 3, OMAHA 2 (20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13)
 
CHICAGO, IL – DePaul had enough in the tank to win an essential fourth set and press on in Set 5, moving from a 12-12 tie in the final stanza to top Omaha on a kill from Jill Pressly and two errors by the Mavericks.
 
With this victory in the Super 16, the Blue Demons (21-13) will host Bowling Green (23-9) next week in the Great 8 round – that match is set for 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 9.
 
Pressly had 26 kills and 10 digs, Aly Kindelberger closed with 21 kills and Luisa Juncu added 12 kills. Amanda Saeger came through with 54 assists and 10 digs, Rachel Krasowski had 23 digs and Abby Cahill had 11 digs.
 
The Mavericks (17-13) saw Shayla McCormick finish with 12 kills; Kali Jurgensmeier, McKenna Ruch and Amanda Hardt each had 11 kills. Ivy Leuck had 26 assists, Julia Owens came through with 21 assists and 10 digs, and Kenedy Schaecher added 10 digs.

​WYOMING 3, UTAH VALLEY 2 (25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12)
 
LARAMIE, WY – Six-foot-2 setter Kasia Partyka lifted Wyoming in Set 5 crunch time, coming through with a kill and block in the waning moments as the Cowgirls got past Utah Valley on Friday in Super 16 action at the 2024 NIVC.
 
Wyoming (17-12) will face Arizona or Pacific in the Great 8 round next week.
 
The Cowgirls took a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and built it out to 11-4 on a kill from Paige Lauterwasser, but the Wolverines used an ace from Sami Blackett and kills from Bella Wooden and Avery Shewell to cut the lead down to 12-11. That’s when Partyka revived the offense with her heroics, with the match secured on a final kill from Sarah Holcomb.
 
Needing a win in Set 4 to extend the match, Wyoming got kills from Holcomb and Emma Winter to push ahead 23-21; the Cowgirls secured the set on another kill from Winter and a hitting error by Utah Valley.  
 
Winter finished with 15 kills and 15 digs, Holcomb had 14 kills and Lauterwasser wrapped up her night with 14 kills and 11 digs. Partyka had 54 assists and Sierra Grizzle closed with 12 digs.
 
The Wolverines (21-11) saw Blackett end up with 22 kills and 12 digs; Avery Shewell had 21 kills, giving her 1,019 for her career. Eliza Hakes added 11 kills, Evalyn Chism came through with 52 assists and Lani Matavao had 18 digs.

​UCONN 3, EAST CAROLINA 1 (11-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-18)
 
GREENVILLE, NC – UConn recovered nicely after getting swamped in Set 1 by East Carolina, as the Huskies polished off the next three sets to advance to the Great 8 of the 2024 NIVC.
 
East Carolina (19-10) used a 7-0 scoring run to finish off Set 1. The Huskies (26-7) knotted the match in Set 2, capped by kill from Hanna Tylska, and they used a 5-0 run to tidy up Set 3.
 
In Set 4, UConn took a 14-12 lead after a 4-0 run and pulled ahead 18-14 on two kills from Anna Herman. Tylska closed with 18 kills, Taylor Pannell added 12 kills and Herman finished with 10 kills.
 
Doga Kutlu had 47 assists and 12 digs, McKenna Brand added 16 digs and Brenna Wyman closed with 12 digs.
 
The Pirates saw Fran McBride finish with 17 kills, and Aulie Huff had 10 kills. Payton Evenstad had 21 assists, Taryn Gilreath came through with 20 assists, Ellie Pate had nine kills and 18 digs and Kenzie Beckham closed with 10 digs.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 0 (28-26, 25-13, 25-13)
 
STATESBORO, GA – Georgia Southern wrapped up a sweep of Southeast Missouri on Friday with an 11-0 Set 3 scoring run, fueled by the serves of Kirsten Barrett, allowing the Eagles to advance through Round 1 of the 2024 NIVC.
 
Georgia Southern (22-6) will face Northern Colorado on Saturday in the Super 16 round.
 
Reagan Barth came up with two kills to secure a hard-fought win in Set 1 for Georgia Southern; in Set 2, the Eagles hit .400, pushing ahead with leads of 12-4 and then 17-7 on back-to-back kills from Barth.
 
Barth closed with 13 kills 11 digs and Barrett had 36 assists. Jillian Gray came through with 11 kills and 13 digs, and Ashlyn Lovett added 18 digs.
 
The Redhawks (19-14) hit just .080 on the night – Lucy Arndt had nine kills. Megan Holder finished with 11 assists, Kennedey Johnson had 10 assists and Nina Schuberth added 16 digs.

​NORTHERN COLORADO 3, APPALACHIAN STATE 1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-22)
 
STATESBORO, GA – Northern Colorado hit .322 overall and bounced back strong after dropping the first set, moving past Appalachian State on Friday in a Round 1 match of the 2024 NIVC.
 
The Bears (26-7) will face either Georgia Southern or Southeast Missouri State in the Super 16 round.
 
In Set 1, the Mountaineers (18-10) took an early 12-7 lead; the Bears got within 17-14 but App State hit .379 overall and was never seriously threatened late, getting the final kill by Elise Marchal.
 
Set 2 saw App State claim an 18-15 lead. UNC responded to move ahead 22-20 which forced the Mountaineers to call timeout. It went back and forth the rest of the way but UNC secured the set on a kill from Syd Cole. In Set 3, UNC took charge early with leads of 10-5 and 16-9, the last burst fueled by kills from Brynn Reines, Isabel Bennett and Gabi Placide.
 
Set 4 saw UNC come back from a 16-13 deficit to take a 19-17 lead before another timeout by the Mountaineers. It was tied at 22-all before an ace from Cole and a block from Placide and Maddie Davies ended the match.
 
Bennett had a career-best 21 kills for Northern Colorado. Placide had 16 kills, Davies added 11 kills and Cole finished with 51 assists. Sam Steele came through with 16 digs and Bella Lepore added 10 digs.
 
For the Mountaineers, Maya Winterhoff had 13 kills, Lulu Ambrose chipped in with 12 kills and Marchal had 11 kills. Addison Heidemann wrapped it up with 39 assists and 10 digs, Kenady Roper had 17 digs, Taylor McNear had 12 digs and Caroline Farthing finished with 11 digs.

​WYOMING 3, IDAHO STATE 1 (25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21)
 
LARAMIE, WY – Wyoming used a balanced attack on offense and held Idaho State to just .157 hitting as the Cowgirls topped the Bengals in a Round 1 match at the 2024 NIVC.
 
Wyoming (16-12) will face Utah Valley on Friday on the Super 16 round.
 
Emma Winter closed with 12 kills for the Cowgirls; Sarah Holcomb and Claire Wagstaff each had 11 kills and Paige Lauterwasser added 10 kills. Kasia Partyka came through with 45 assists and nine digs, and Sierra Grizzle finished with 15 digs.
 
The Bengals (21-10) saw Sadie Bluth post 12 kills. Aliyah Sopo’aga had 31 assists, Asiah Sopo’aga had 17 digs and Jamie Streit added 13 digs.

​DEPAUL 3, TOLEDO 0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-16)
 
CHICAGO, IL – DePaul authored a sweep of Toledo on Thursday at the 2024 NIVC, with Jill Pressly leading the way on offense with 21 kills.  
 
The Blue Demons (20-13) will face Omaha on Friday in the Super 16 round.
 
Pressly had 10 kills in the first set. In Set 2, with the score 26-all, a service error by Toledo and a kill from Katelynn Oxley gave DePaul the win in a hard-fought set.
 
For the Blue Demons, Rachel Krasowski had 19 digs, Amanda Saeger finished with 38 assists and 11 digs, and Abby Cahill added 10 digs.
 
For the Rockets (17-15), Taylor Alt had 12 kills. Macy Hatkevich finished with 31 assists and 12 digs.