Northern Colorado Bears women’s volleyball team secured a place in the Big Sky tournament semifinals after defeating Montana State in a five-set match at Bank of Colorado Arena on Monday night. The Bears, seeded third, overcame the sixth-seeded Bobcats and will next face Sacramento State, the tournament’s second seed.
The match began with Northern Colorado showing early strength through blocks by Zoe Gibbs and Isabel Bennett. Despite this start, Montana State took control to win the first set 25–18. In the second set, Northern Colorado regained momentum, building an early lead and maintaining it after a timeout called by Montana State. The Bears closed out the set 25–17.
Brynn Reines led the offense for Northern Colorado with seven kills through two sets, while Alaya Tessena contributed six. The third set saw both teams trading points until strong defensive play from Bella LePore and timely kills from Bella Van Lannen and Zoe Gibbs helped secure a 25–23 win for UNC.
Montana State pushed back in the fourth set, eventually winning 25–23 to force a deciding fifth frame. In that final set, Northern Colorado built an early advantage and held off a late surge from Montana State to close out the match 15–13.
Reines finished as top scorer for UNC with 17 kills and a .244 hitting percentage. Tessena added 12 kills; Gibbs had 10 kills while hitting .474. LePore led defensively with 22 digs. Nerea Alvarez Jorge recorded a double-double with 44 assists and 14 digs.
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Northern Colorado advances to play Sacramento State in Tuesday’s semifinal round at 7 p.m. MT.
The Big Sky Volleyball Championship is being held November 24-26 in Greeley, Colorado. Other quarterfinal results included Weber State defeating Montana in three sets; Idaho State upsetting top-seeded Northern Arizona; and Sacramento State overcoming Portland State in five sets.
