Buffs Knock Off No. 17 Mizzou To Open Big 12 schedule

Wednesday, September 13

Boulder, Colo.

7 p.m.

Colorado

Missouri

Sutherland Named To Preseason All-Big 12 Team; Buffs Picked Fifth

Buffs Knock Off No. 17 Mizzou To Open Big 12 schedule

September 13, 2006 | Volleyball

By: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

BOULDER ? Amber Sutherland recorded a career-high 35 kills as the University of Colorado (5-3, 1-0 Big 12) defeated No. 17 Missouri (6-4, 0-1 Big 12) 30-24, 27-30, 30-24, 23-30, 15-9 at the Coors Events Center on Wednesday night in front of 904. Sutherland became the first Buff since Sarah Lodge in 1997 to record over 30 kills in a match.

“It's the best feeling in the world to get that last shot and be able to put the ball down and try to lead your team,” Sutherland said. “Our team did a great job. Ashley did a phenomenal job setting tonight, so it was big props to her. Having a little bit of a break and finally getting a little bit of rest (between matches) and slowing down, made our legs a little more fresh than they have been. I think we were all feeling a lot better and a lot stronger tonight.”

“We talked a lot how the real good teams seem to have a great player and I think that is going to be by committee and I think for tonight that player was Amber Sutherland,” Colorado Head Coach Pi'i Aiu said. “Somebody has to step up for us every night like that and Sutherland goes off with 35 kills tonight. You need somebody and the setter needs that security blanket; knowing that there is someone there who is going to score. Everyone held up their end of the deal and we had some kids with real nice numbers around her. Sutherland had a tremendous match.”

The win was the first win against a ranked opponent this season for the Buffs. The last ranked team CU beat was Missouri last season on Oct. 29, 2005 in Columbia. The Tigers were ranked eighth at the time.

Missouri was led by Jessica Vander Kooi. She recorded 22 kills and hit .304.

“She's a phenomenal player and the more you can keep the ball away from a kid like Vander Kooi, the better chance you have to win,” Aiu said. “She played a great match and we did enough great things around our great player to win it. “

The Buffs hit .303 in the match and held the Tigers to .197 attack percentage. Colorado recorded 86 kills, picked up 79 digs and 12 blocks. Sutherland hit .397 and added 14 digs in the win for her double-double. Mallori Gibson was the second highest on the team with 13. Lauren Schaefer attacked at .409 with 12 kills on 22 swings with three errors. Alex Buth, just like Sutherland, recorded 14 digs and she added four blocks.

Ashley Nu'u came just one assist shy of her career-high with 69. The Buffs dished out 80 assists total. Nu'u notched eight kills, five digs and seven blocks while hitting .467.

Kristen Karlik picked up a career-best 26 digs, becoming the first Buff to record over 25 digs since Sonja Russell in 2001. Karlik added three assists and a pair of aces.

The Buffs took a 5-0 lead to start the first game and extended it to 9-3 before the Tigers took a timeout. Colorado continued to hold the lead, but the Tigers narrowed the lead to one point at 18-17. CU went up by four at 24-20, forcing MU to use its last timeout. The Buffs went on to finish the game at 30-24 with a kill from Nu'u. CU hit .318 in the game with 21 kills, seven coming from Sutherland. The Buffs held Mizzou to a .075 attack percentage with just nine kills.

The second game started off with the Tigers taking a 5-3 lead. Colorado got back within one point at 11-12 and tied it up at 12 with a block from Nu'u and Bossow. The Buffs went up by one at 17-16 with a block from Schaefer and Gibson, but MU came back with two straight points to retake the lead. CU got the lead back at 20-18, forcing Mizzou to use a timeout. MU came out of the timeout with four straight points, but the Buffs battled back within one at 23-24. The Tigers finished off the game at 30-27.

Colorado started out strong in the third set, taking a 6-2 lead. The Tigers tied it up at 13 and took the lead at 14-13. CU rallied back after falling behind18-22 and tied the game at 23 with a block from Nu'u. The Buffs took the lead back with a kill from Sutherland and followed it up with an ace by Karlik to lead 24-22. CU took the next three points with kills from Sutherland, Nu'u and Zimmerman, scoring nine straight points in the comeback. The Buffs closed out the frame at 30-24 with another kill from Zimmerman, a MU hitting error and a block from Zimmerman and Buth. Colorado hit a scorching .444 in the frame.

The fourth game was close the whole way. The two teams rallied back and forth with the Tigers leading most of the way. Mizzou took the game at 30-23, forcing the fifth game.

After two straight points for Missouri, the Buffs got on the board in the fifth game with a kill from Schaefer after MU took the first two points. Sutherland tied it at two with a kill and Karlik added an ace, giving CU a 3-2 lead. CU took seven straight points to go up 7-2. The Buffs extended it to 8-3 and finished the game with a pair of kills from Sutherland.

“We came in knowing this is a really beatable ranked team and that we belong in this category and so we came in and focused on our side,” Nu'u said. “I thought we did a really good job with that tonight. The defense was incredible. I think we came out tonight determined to win.”

The Buffaloes will travel to Lubbock, Texas on Saturday, Sept. 16 to face Texas Tech. The match is set for a 6 p.m. Colorado enters the match on a four-match win streak.