Round 1 (Dec. 6) - Northern Colorado vs. Appalachian State

​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.