BUFFS SPLIT IN VOLLEYBALL OPENER

Friday, August 29

Orono, Maine

2:30 p.m.

Colorado

Penn State

August 29, 2003 | Volleyball

By: CUBuffs.com

By Troy Andre
Assistant SID

ORONO, Maine? The University of Colorado volleyball team split a pair of matches, opening the 2003 season at the Maine University Sea-Sun Invitational in Orono, Maine. The Buffaloes swept Southeast Missouri State University (31-29, 30-16, 30-21) before falling to No. 11 Penn State 3-1 (30-26, 22-30, 27-30, 25-30) in the night cap.

CU stormed out of the gate against the Nittany Lions winning game one 30-26. The Buffs held five-point leads in both the second and third games of the match, but PSU was able to fight back each time behind Cara Smith's match-high 23 kills. Nicole Carr led the way for the Buffs with her second double-double of the day, recording 17 kills and 15 digs. Allie Griffin and Monique Gerlach each had 13 kills.

'We made a lot of errors due to youth,' CU head coach Pi'i Aiu said. 'We're doing good things right now, but at some point we need to learn to make the plays when it counts. We need to be able to do it against a good team in a tight match.'

The morning session was nearly the opposite of the Penn State match. CU survived a slow start against the Otahkians, needing extra points to take game one. Led by Carr and Gerlach, who each had 14 kills, the Buffs controlled games two and three en route to a comfortable victory. Maragda Satillana had eight kills and a team-high 15 digs. Carr added 11 digs to record the double-double.

CU started a pair of true freshmen in each of today's matches. Setter Ashley Nu'u and outside hitter Austin Zimmerman each had solid performances. Nu'u had 28 assists and four block assists against Southeast Missouri State. Zimmerman hit .455 against the Otahkians, netting six kills with just one error on 11 attempts. She also had 10 digs.

The Buffaloes will face the University of Rhode Island on Saturday, at 9 a.m. MDT, in Orono