Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Kansas State
CU Drops Heartbreaker To No. 16 K-State
September 22, 2007 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado volleyball team lost another five-game heartbreaker to No. 16 Kansas State on Sat., Sept. 22, at the Coors Events Center 24-30, 30-24, 30-27, 27-30, 12-15. Alex Buth tied her career-high with 21 kills and hit .486 to lead the Buffs.
“Alex has been playing really well and she wants to be a leader on the team and that is a big part of it,” head coach Pi'i Aiu said. “She wants to help the team get to where we want to go. She had a great match against Baylor. We need her to affect the players around her to do a little more and that is part of being a leader.”
The loss marks the third straight for the Buffs as they fell to 5-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12. It was the fifth five-game loss for CU on the season.
“We tried so hard tonight,” Buth said. “We worked really hard. It's really disheartening because I think we have played our highest level the whole time and that is all you can ask for, but it's really frustrating because we really feel we deserve a win and tonight would have been a really good one. At least we are moving in the right direction.
“This is definitely a different feeling than Baylor because we all played really well and you can see positive improvement in our team and our attitudes. So I think we can only go up from here. It gives us a light and shows us that we can be this good and we can do it.”
Colorado recorded a season-high 18.0 blocks due largely to Schylur Edelman. Edelman recorded a career-best 12 block assists to become the first Buff since Austin Zimmerman on Dec. 1, 2006 to record 10 or more blocks in a match. Edelman leads the Buffs with 39 blocks on the year. Buth added seven block assists.
“We have really been focusing on blocking because that is one of our weaker areas,” Edelman said. “Teams were getting 20 blocks on us and we were only getting single-digits. So we have really been working on it in practice and making sure we were lined-up straight and not reaching and I think that really helped.
“We discussed that when our block is strong, it makes things easier for our defense to play around us. So we just tried to put up a good solid block and play straight up and let our defense play because we have a great defense.”
Lauren Schaefer was a bright spot as she returned to the Buffalo line-up after suffering an ankle injury against Texas Tech on Sept. 12. Schaefer recorded 12 kills and seven blocks (one solo and six assists).
Emilee Sisco also put down 12 kills. Kelsey Loop added nine and Edelman added eight. Kaitlyn Burkett handed out 58 of CU's 63 assists. She also added seven kills and hit .500.
The Buffaloes recorded 75 digs, 12 more than the Wildcats' 58. Callie Webster picked up a career-best 28 and added a kill. Buth earned another double-double with 12 digs while Ashley VenHorst added 11 digs.
“Our blocking numbers were a lot better tonight,” Aiu said. “I think we played a pretty complete match. Our players were enjoying themselves a little more tonight. They were swinging more freely and not playing as tight, except for about five points in game five.
“I'm always optimistic. I think that we are going to beat every team that we play and that is the truth. I always think we have a shot to win. I'd like to see them win. I think we got a little better this week.”
Colorado will hit the road for a pair of Big 12 matches. The Buffs will face Oklahoma on Wed., Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. in Norman, Okla. They will challenge No. 7 Texas on Fri., Sept. 28 at 5:30 p.m. in Austin.
