2008 Woodie Awards
Bears volley a victory against Bengals
Jakob Rodgers
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Sports
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The Unive-rsity of Northern Colorado volleyball team had two players with career days Saturday night against Idaho State.
Led by sophomores Allison Raguse and Kenzie Shreeve, the UNC defeated ISU 3-1 (30-23, 30-26, 26-30, 30-21) at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion. According to Bears coach Lyndsey Benson, Raguse's strong play was vital to the team's win.
"You know, she was one we knew has to be having a great night for us to win matches and she's starting to come along," Benson said.
Raguse took a giant step forward Saturday night as she registered a personal best 23 kills and a career high attack percentage of .676. She also led the team with 27.5 points and, along with junior Lauren Carter, led the team with two service aces.
"I think I was just being on a roll," Raguse said. "I was like 'OK, I just got a kill and let's go get another one and if I get blocked, then I'll just get around it.'"
Shreeve also registered a career high in kills, leading the team with 25 while hitting .439. She finished second on the team with 26.5 points.
"Yeah, it was sweet," Raguse said. "If I wasn't getting a kill, Kenzie was."
Their efforts came at the right time for UNC, as the team snapped a six game losing streak, with four of those losses coming to conference opponents.
"You know, this was a must win match for us," Benson said.
The Bears, now 5-14 overall and 3-4 in the Big Sky Conference, got off to a fast start, winning the first two games as Idaho State (3-14, 0-6) was held to an attack percentage of .000. The Bears never trailed in the first game.
Gaining an early lead has been vital for the Bears, as they are 0-9 when trailing after the first game.
"It was definitely important because in the past we've let other teams go on runs and we're always the team playing from behind," Shreeve said. "It was really good for us that we were the team ahead this time."
Idaho State struck back in the third game, but UNC closed out the match behind a team hitting percentage of .418.
Junior Lauren Carter led the team with 34 assists and 18 digs, while freshman Lindsey McDaniel finished second on the team with 31 assists.
"We definitely got a lot of experience tonight and saw some good things from our freshmen," Benson said.
The Bears will look to continue their success tomorrow as they travel to Laramie, Wyo., for a non-conference game against Wyoming before returning home to resume conference play against Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
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