Nu?u Career Milestone Helps Buffs Past Kansas

Wednesday, November 8

Lawrence, Kan.

6 p.m.

Colorado

Kansas

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

November 08, 2006 | Volleyball

By: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

LAWRENCE, Kansas ? Ashley Nu'u recorded 45 assists and moved into fourth on CU's career assists chart with 3,969 as Colorado blanked Kansas 30-25, 30-28, 32-30 on Wednesday night at Horejsi Athletics Center in Lawrence, Kansas. Nu'u passed Elizabeth Gower, who handed out 3,933 assists from 1999-2002.

The Buffs improved to 14-9 overall and 10-6 in the Big 12 with the victory. This is also the second consecutive year CU has won at Kansas.

Amber Sutherland led CU with 13 kills and hit .238. Mallori Gibson added 12 kills and hit .200. Lauren Schaefer and Alex Buth each recorded 11. The Buffs hit .241 in the match. Nu'u had the best hitting percentage at .556. She recorded six kills with one error on nine attacks.

Overall, CU recorded 58 kills compared to KU's 41. The Buffs held the Jayhawks to a .189 hitting percentage.

CU served up seven aces in the match. Gibson tied a career-high with four. Lara Bossow added a pair and Buth recorded the other.

Colorado picked up 57 digs; while KU recorded just 41. Kristen Karlik led the Buffs with 16. Sutherland recorded her 11^th double-double of the year with 12. Buth added nine and Nu'u picked up seven.

The Buffs put up 8.0 blocks, just one less than Kansas. Schaefer, Buth and Bossow each put up one solo. Schaefer added four assists, while Buth and Gibson each added two assists.

Colorado used a 5-0 run in the first game to take a 14-9 lead. The Buffs extended their lead to 10 points at 26-16, but KU used a 7-0 run to get back in the game. A kill by Schaefer stopped the KU run. The Buffs eventually closed the game 30-25 with a kill from Sutherland. Karlik had seven digs in the game.

The Buffs got out to a 12-7 lead in the second set, but the Jayhawks used an 8-3 run to even the score at 15. KU took the lead at 18-17 for its first of the match. CU took the lead back at 19-18 and pulled back out to a four-point lead at 25-21. KU tied it up at 26, but the Buffs finished the game with a 4-2 run. Buth led CU with six kills in the game and hit .857 while adding five digs.

CU pulled out to a 7-2 advantage in the third frame. The Buffs pulled out to a 16-10 lead, but the Jayhawks pulled together a 7-0 run to take the lead. KU used a 9-5 run to take a lead at 26-21. The Buffs fought back to tie it up at 28, using a 6-0 run which included back-to-back kills by Gibson. Colorado finished the game 32-30 with a kill from Sutherland. CU hit a match-high .327 in the game with 23 kills on 49 attacks with seven errors.

Colorado is back in action at the Coors Events Center on Saturday, Nov. 11, to host the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers at 7 p.m.

--COLORADO VOLLEYBALL--