Northern Colorado Bears women’s volleyball team concluded its regular season with a loss to Northern Arizona University on Friday night at Bank of Colorado Arena. The match, which also served as Senior Night for six departing players, ended in four sets with the Lumberjacks taking the victory.
The first set was closely contested, with both teams exchanging points and displaying strong defense. Northern Arizona gained an 18–14 lead, prompting a timeout from Northern Colorado. The Bears responded by tying the score after a short run but ultimately lost the set 25–27 despite recording 21 kills.
In the second set, Isabel Bennett and Zoe Gibbs contributed significant kills with assists from Nerea Alvarez Jorge, helping the Bears take a 17–13 advantage. However, Northern Arizona recovered to win the set 26–24.
Northern Colorado came back in the third set behind efforts from Brynn Reines and Alayna Tessena. The Bears maintained their lead throughout and won the set decisively at 25–16.
The fourth set saw more exchanges between teams before Northern Arizona pulled ahead. Bella Van Lannen made key plays for Northern Colorado, but it was not enough to overcome NAU’s front row attack. The Lumberjacks secured the final set and claimed victory in four sets.
This result marks Northern Colorado’s first home conference loss of the season.
With regular season play finished, Northern Colorado will prepare for postseason competition at the Big Sky Tournament Championship, which begins Monday, November 24 at Bank of Colorado Arena.
Fans can follow updates about Northern Colorado Bears women’s volleyball on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook under @UNC_BearsVB or /UNCBearsVB.
