Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
New Mexico State
Colorado Upsets New Mexico State To Advance In NCAA Tourney
November 30, 2006 | Volleyball
“I thought we played a real good match,” Colorado Head Coach Pi'i Aiu said. “We had a pretty good scout in place for this team. We talked to a lot of teams that they played this year and we were ready for most things they did. I think we had an answer for almost everything we did. Our kids did an excellent job executing our game plan and just playing with heart and intensity all night. Game three we were down maybe seven or eight points and I think whenever we called timeouts and you looked into our players faces, everyone was confident still. We've been in that position before against some real good teams in our conference and we've been able to pull it out, and they did it again tonight. They just played with heart and we played real well with our backs to the wall.
“I'm real proud of what they've done. We congratulate
The win was also the 200th victory for CU in the CECC. It was also the third win for the Buffs against a ranked opponent this season. CU had previously defeated top-ranked
“You look at our NCAA record at home and on the road and it tells you everything you need to know,” Aiu said. “We are 6-0 right now in history at the NCAA tournament at home. Playing at home is a huge advantage for anyone.”
“I think this is the first year we can really say that we've had a home court advantage,” Austin Zimmerman said. “The fans have been awesome all year.”
Ashley Nu'u dished out 44 assists as she led CU to a .287 hitting percentage. Nu'u also added seven kills on 11 errorless swings to hit a team-high .636. Lauren Schaefer hit .429 with eight kills and Zimmerman added 11 kills while hitting .391. In total, CU recorded 58 kills, 14 more than the Aggies.
On defense, Kristen Karlik picked up a match-high 15 digs. Gibson added eight and Sutherland recorded seven. Schaefer put up four blocks (one solo and three assists) as did Nu'u (two solos and two assists). Zimmerman added three assists. CU outblocked the Aggies 11.0 blocks to 9.0.
The second game, Zimmerman proved a spark for the Buffs, recording six kills on nine errorless attacks to hit .667. Sutherland added four and Schaefer tallied three. Karlik recorded seven digs.
CU had to go the distance against the Aggies in the third game, but won in extra points, 34-32. Part of that was due to Amber Nu'u. Nu'u entered the game and served an ace to bring the Buffs to 27-28. She also added three digs as CU fought back from a six point deficit at 10-16.
“Amber always gives us a spark when she comes in,” Aiu said. “She's been practicing really, really well both at the outside and as a defensive player. She made us look really good tonight as coaches, she came in and did some really nice things- you like when players do that for you.”
“I think we were coming from a seven point deficit and I knew we could come back and win the third game,” Ashley Nu'u said. “I think it just took that little extra effort for us to get going and play as relentless as we did. The last eight points, we as a team played very relentless.”
In earlier action, No. 6 Washington (26-4) defeated
“I think we're ready to play them,” Ashley Nu'u said. “They are really consistent, they don't make a lot of errors and I think their setter really rallies them up. I think we can come in ready to give them a game and hopefully advance to the round of 16.”
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