BOXSCORE: Northern Colorado-Weber State

OGDEN, Utah -- In terms of the big picture, Northern Colorado's volleyball team knew losing its nonconference match against Colorado State earlier this week really didn't mean anything.

It didn't, after all, deter one bit from the Bears' quest to win a Big Sky Conference title.

But, now, following a 3-1 conference road defeat to Weber State, Northern Colorado is reeling.

The Bears will try to right the ship at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, Saturday, Oct. 11, against Idaho State in Pocatello, Idaho.

Lyndsey Benson's team came out strong against Weber State on Friday, winning the first set 25-21, but the Wildcats responded big time and put the match away with three straight victories -- 25-16, 25-17, 25-16.

"We knew Weber State was going to be a very tough team, especially tough on their home court," Benson said. "They're very well-rounded, and they attacked us with their serving. And they blocked very well."

Some good news for Northern Colorado (10-5, 4-2 Big Sky Conference) in the loss came in the form of Lauren Carter further cementing herself as one of the best setters to ever wear the blue and gold. Her 34 assists Friday night gave her 1,613 assists for her career and moved her into seventh place on the Bears' all-time assists list.

"Lauren really has carved out a nice career for herself with the Bears," Benson said. "She's our senior leader out there, and it's nice to see her gain a place in our record books."

Northern Colorado entered Friday-night's match leading the Big Sky in hitting percentage (.246) and opponent-hitting percentage (.142).

But neither stat held up in the loss.

Junior Allison Raguse finished the night at .292 (10 hits, 3 errors, 24 attempts) and junior Taylor Smith came in at .278 (7-2-18) but no other Bear finished higher than junior Kenzie Shreeve's .111.

And the Wildcats (10-8, 2-3 BSC) hit .241 as a team.

"We had a hard time scoring against them, and they did a very good job of stopping our offense. We just couldn't get in a very good offensive flow."