Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Missouri
Webster Reaches Milestone In Loss to Mizzou
October 03, 2007 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado fought back after dropping the first two games and forced a fifth game against the Missouri Tigers, but it wasn't enough as CU dropped the match on Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The games scores were 20-30, 19-30, 30-26, 30-28, 9-15.
“We are not hitting aggressive in fifth games where other teams pick it up and that it just something that we have to learn,” head coach Pi'i Aiu said. “The good thing is that we are competing hard and we are getting into the fifth games. We have to learn how to play in fifth games and to be aggressive to score more points.”
Callie Webster led the Buff's defense with a career-high 33 digs. It was the first time since 1995 that a Buffalo has recorded more than 30 digs in a match and it has only happened seven other times in school history. The CU record for digs in a five-game match is 34, which was set by Rachel Wacholder against Georgia Tech on Sept. 3, 1995. It ties the fifth highest total in CU history, which also belongs to Wacholder (at Iowa State, Oct. 14, 1995).
This was the Buffs' seventh five-game match of the season in its 14th match. Colorado fell to 5-9 overall and 0-6 in the Big 12. The 0-6 record is the worse start for CU in Big 12 history and is the second time CU has started a conference season 0-6. The Buffs were 0-6 to start the Big Eight in 1986 and 87.
Buth led CU with 19 kills and hit .333. Emilee Sisco tied her career-high with 16 and Mallori Gibson added 14. Colorado hit .158 in the match. The Buffs hit 75 kills on 221 attacks. They also recorded 40 errors. Missouri also hit 75 kills but hit .249 on 205 swings with 24 kills.
The Tigers recorded 24.0 team blocks compared to 10.0 for the Buffs. Schylur Edelman led CU with five block assists.
Colorado hit just .043 after the first two games with 26 kills on 93 attacks with 22 errors. Mizzou accounted for 14 of those errors with a tough block. The Tigers hit .229 with 30 kills on 83 swings with just 11 errors.
The Buffs had a better showing coming off the intermission, taking a 6-3 lead in the third game. Colorado never trailed in the frame and didn't let the Tigers tie the score after 6-6. CU took at four-point lead at 29-25. MU fought off one match point, but CU closed it with a kill from Buth. The Buffs hit much better with 20 kills on 45 swings and just five errors (.333) and held the Tigers to .250 (18k-6e-48att).
The fourth game saw the Buffs taking the early lead at 8-5, but MU got back in it and retook the lead. The Tigers got out to a 15-11 advantage when CU strung together a 6-0, retaking the lead (17-15). Mizzou tied it up at 27 but Schaefer wasn't going to let the Tigers get back in it and hammered a kills. CU closed out the game with a 3-1 run.
CU started out the fifth game strong but let the Tigers got out to a 7-4 lead. MU went on a 6-2 run before the Buffs strung together three straight points, but it was too late and MU finished the game 15-9.
“It probably didn't help that we came out really down in the first two games,” Buth said. ”We just dug ourselves a hole and I think if we could have at least won one of those games; it could have been a different outcome. But I feel that we fought hard and we could have easily thrown in our bags, but we decided to fight hard and show what pride we have at CU. I congratulate my team on doing that, but we need to come up with some sort of way to win these matches.”
Colorado will take on top-ranked Nebraska on Saturday, Oct. 6 at the Coors Events Center. The first serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CU was the only team to defeat the Huskers in the 2006 season and it happened at the CECC.
“It was a big match last year and I know our kids are excited for it,” Aiu said. “If you can't get excited for Nebraska, then you shouldn't be playing this sport.”
NU is 13-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12 entering the match. Fans who wear gold will receive $1 admission to the match in CU's effort to 'Get the Red Out.' For full details, go to CUBuffs.com.
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