No. 18 Buffs Face Tough Road Test at USD Invitational

BOULDER — The No. 18 Colorado volleyball team is set for another competitive weekend of non-conference action, this time heading to San Diego, Calif., this September 9-10, for a pair of matches at the San Diego Invitational.

This weekend offers a road test against a top-20 program for the Buffs. CU will have to face the tournament host, San Diego, which is ranked 15^th after compiling a 2-2 mark this year, and UC Irvine, which is 2-3 on the season.

USD started the season with an upset of then-No. 11 Stanford at Stanford. The Cardinal won the first two sets, but the Toreros rallied back to win the final three sets to take the match. SU was the first of three straight ranked opponents USD played to start the season; the Toreros also saw then-No. 3 Minnesota and then-No. 2 Wisconsin, falling to both, before earning a sweep of Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

UCI also had a good start to the season despite a 2-3 record. The Anteaters dropped a match to Santa Clara, which is now ranked 19^th, and a five-set heartbreaker to Marquette before sweeping then-No. 7 Southern California at Galen Center. UCI won its next contest against Northeastern before dropping a four set match to Washington State.

The Buffs broke into the AVCA Coaches Poll on Monday after defeating then-No. 13 Penn State and then-No. 17 Illinois at Coors Events Center last weekend, showing they are ready to battle with the best this year after starting 4-1.

As a team, the Buffs lead the Pac-12 with a .298 hitting percentage, which is 13^th overall in the NCAA. They are also fourth in the Pac-12, 33^rd in the nation, in blocks per set with 2.78.

Individually, the Buffs are led by Alexa Smith, who is averaging 3.43 kills per set. At the net, the Buffs have three players posting over 1.00 blocks per set. Sophomore Naghede Abu, the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, is averaging the 37^th best total in the country at 1.43 blocks per set, while junior Joslyn Hayes is second on the team with 1.26 blocks per set. Senior Katelyn Cuff is third with 1.23 blocks per set. Cierra Simpson, another senior, is recording 3.39 digs per set this season to lead the team in the back row.

After missing the first three matches due to injury, junior Gabby Simpson is back in the line-up. She and senior Kiara McKibben, have been running a very successful 6-2 offense, as seen in CU's hitting efficiency. Gabby Simpson is averaging 5.50 assists per set, but also adds 1.80 kills per set. McKibben, through five matches, is averaging 8.17 assists per set.

Live stats and a live stream for the USD Invitational will be provided at USDToreros.com for both matches.

No. 18 Buffs Face Tough Road Test at USD Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Katelyn Cuff

Joslyn Hayes

Kiara McKibben

Cierra Simpson

Gabby Simpson

Alexa Smith