The University of Northern Colorado volleyball team will face the best opponent of the season in the NCAA Tournament later this week, but Bears coach Lyndsey Oates said she likes the match-up against Creighton.
UNC and the nationally ranked Bluejays meet about 6 p.m. Thursday in a first-round match at Creighton’s D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.
“They’re really consistent,” Oates said. “They’re not going to give you very many points. So I would say that’s what separates them from some of the other teams (UNC has played). They’re going to make you earn every point you get.”
The NCAA Tournament field was announced Sunday evening. First-round matches will be played Thursday-Friday at campus sites. Utah and sixth-seeded University of Northern Iowa will also be in Omaha. Utah and UNI play their first-round match at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. UNC and Creighton will start 30 minutes after the end of Utah and UNI.
The winners of the first-round matches meet Friday evening for the right to advance to regional-level play Dec. 11-14.
University of Northern volleyball player Zoe Gibbs (7) hits the ball over the net during the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship against Idaho State on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 at the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. UNC beat Idaho State in three sets to win the conference tournament title, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)UNC, 17-15 and unseeded, qualified for the tournament by winning the Big Sky Conference Tournament last week and the conference’s automatic bid. UNC swept Idaho State in three sets in the final after beating Montana State in five sets in a quarterfinal and defeating Sacramento State in five sets in the semifinals.
Oates said while Creighton has a lot of size, the Bears have speed offensively. The size vs. speed is an appealing element of the match.
“I think our middles can get in space and make their middles move,” Oates said. “Their middles are good blockers if they don’t have to move a whole lot, but we want to try to make them work pin to pin.”
University of Northern Colorado volleyball coach Lyndsey Oates talks to her players during the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship match Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 against Idaho State at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)UNC is hosting a watch party for fans Thursday at Wing Shack, 3502 W. 10th St. in Greeley. The match will be also be available live on ESPN+.
Creighton (25-5) is ranked a season-best 11th in an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll released Monday. The Bluejays, on a 20-match winning streak, are a third seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament and host the first two rounds Thursday and Friday.
The Bluejays are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive year. They swept Xavier in three sets to win the Big East Conference Tournament title Nov. 23. The tournament championship was Creighton’s 11th overall and sixth in a row. The Bluejays were 16-0 in the Big East during the regular season and have won 12 straight conference regular-season titles.
UNC played four teams this year in the NCAA Tournament: No. 22 Brigham Young University, No. 24 Colorado and unranked Cal Poly and Kansas State. The Bears lost all four matches, including three — to BYU, Cal Poly and Kansas State — during a tough nonconference stretch in September.
UNC and Creighton have two common opponents this year: Colorado State and UC Santa Barbara.
Creighton defeated CSU 3-2 in an exhibition match in mid-August. The Bluejays defeated UC Santa Barbara 3-2 in early September. University of Northern Colorado volleyball players lined up before the Bears' nonconference match against Colorado State on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. UNC beat CSU in five sets, which was the Bears' second 3-2 win in its first three matches to open the season. (Courtesy/UNC Athletics, Lexie Martin)
UNC beat Colorado State 3-2 in its third match of the regular season Sept. 2. UC Santa Barbara beat the Bears 3-1 at its classic Sept. 13. UNC also lost to Kansas State in Santa Barbara.
UNC is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament under Oates, now in her 21st season. This is UNC’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The most recent appearance was in 2022. The Bears have not won a match in the Division I tournament, which remains a goal for the program.
UNC and Creighton met in an exhibition match in 2023 about a week before the regular season. Senior middle blocker Isabel Bennett said Creighton beat UNC in four sets in the exhibition.
University of Northern Colorado volleyball players Bella LePore (16), Isabel Bennett (5), Nerea Alvarez-Jorge (3) and GA McCarter (4) all fall to the ground to celebrate a point against Montana State in a Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinal match Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025 at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Bennett and current teammates Brynn Reines, Bella Van Lannen, Zoe Gibbs and Mia Liddiard were on the team two years ago when the Bears faced Creighton in the exhibition. The five women also were on the NCAA Tournament team in 2022.
Reines, the MVP of the Big Sky Conference Tournament last week, was the only player among the five to play in the NCAA Tournament three years ago.
“It’s kind of cool to go back there again,” Bennett said of playing Creighton. “We’re obviously a completely different team, a whole new lineup from two years ago. Of course, they’re a new team. A couple familiar faces. We’re excited to see them on the other side of the court again.”
Northern Colorado Bears' Isabel Bennett (5) spikes the ball against Montana State University during the Big Sky Conference volleyball tournament at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer) One of the familiar faces the Bears will see is senior outside hitter Ava Martin. In her fourth year with the Bluejays, Martin was unanimously voted the Big East player of the year. She was the most outstanding player of the Big East tournament and was named the AVCA National Player of the Week. Creighton’s Annalea Maeder was the conference’s setter of the year following the regular season. Maeder and right-side hitter/middle blocker Jaya Johnson joined Martin on the Big East all-tournament team.Martin and middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt were selected in the Major League Volleyball draft in late November. Martin was picked second overall by the Atlanta Vibe. Reinhardt was selected eighth overall by the Omaha Supernovas.
“We have to stop their outsides (outside hitters),” UNC setter Nerea Alvarez-Jorge said of the Bluejays. “Have a really balanced defense. From that, that’s going to help our offense clear their path. We’re going to have to be very disciplined with our defense.”
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