Buffs Shock Huskers...Again

Wednesday, October 29

Boulder, Colo.

6:30 p.m.

Colorado

Nebraska

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

October 29, 2008 | Volleyball

By: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

BOULDER – Lightning has struck twice in the last three years at the Coors Events Center as the University of Colorado volleyball team defeated No. 2 and previously undefeated Nebraska 3-1 on Wednesday night.

The Buffs won the match 25-19, 27-25, 18-25, 25-16. The win comes almost two years from the last time the Buffs upset the Huskers on Nov. 11, 2006, but that time in five sets (19-30, 30-28, 15-30, 30-27, 15-12). Nebraska was 23-0 overall and 15-0 heading into that match.

“Maybe it's because I am older, but this year we definitely deserved to win,” senior Alex Buth said. “We played a consistent game and took advantage of them being off theirs. Two years ago we were both neck and neck and both playing well. Two years ago it was way more climatic. This year we were almost expecting to win, especially after coming out in the first two games and showing so much heart. It's just incredible and an awesome feeling. It's a great win for our senior year.”

With the win, CU improved to 12-9 overall and moved to .500 in the Big 12 with a 6-6 record. The Buffs are now tied for fifth in the league standings with Baylor. The loss moves the Huskers to 20-1 overall, 11-1 in the conference.

“It was all about determination and heart,” senior Amber Sutherland said. “We showed in game two when we came back and fought (after being down 16-23). Most teams wouldn't have because when you are down it is easy to fold. When we give 100 percent, we can do anything.”

Although Colorado is 7-45 in the all-time series against the Huskers, two of those wins have been in the last three years and not many programs can say that. There are only two schools who can boast that fact and both are in the Big 12. Texas has beaten NU twice as well. Nebraska has recorded just eight losses in the last five years and three of those are postseason defeats (both to CU are regular-season losses).

“This was a definite flashback for the juniors and seniors,” Buth said. “They were undefeated and we beat them and it's an incredible feeling.”

Colorado head coach Pi'i Aiu is now 4-20 against the Huskers since being named head coach in 1997. Aiu is the CU's all-time winningest head coach with 198 wins.

“It is always special to beat a program like Nebraska,” Aiu said. “They are a great program; their tradition is excellent.”

Emilee Sisco led the Buffs with 17 kills while adding two aces, four blocks (one solo and three assists) and five digs. Sisco took a match-high 50 swings. No Buff other than Sisco attacked the ball more than 19 times. Sisco was a freshman in 2006 when the Buffs knocked off the top-ranked Huskers, but she played a key role in this victory.

“This is amazing,” Sisco said. “I was here two years ago, but I wasn't playing. It was amazing to be a bigger part of it and every team is a big deal to beat, but this was especially exciting.”

Nebraska recorded more kills than the Buffs with 55 (CU notched 45), but CU led in all of the other major categories. CU hit .188 (41k-21e-128att), had six aces, picked up 61 digs and put up 14.5 blocks to NU's .153 attack percentage (55k-30e-163att), four aces, 54 digs and 8.0 blocks.

“We definitely played as a team,” Buth said. “If you look at the statistics, everyone was so spread out. Kaitlyn (Burkett) did a great job spreading out the offense. We did an awesome job defensively and defense definitely wins games.”

Burkett handed out 33 assists as she directed the Buffs in the win. She added six kills and hit a team-high .500. She also added an ace, eight digs and six digs. Lauren Schaefer, who was back after missing the past three matches, added eight kills while hitting .471. She also put up five blocks. Schylur Edelman added six blocks and four kills.

Callie Webster and Buth each picked up 16 digs and Sutherland added another 12.

“I think our kids did a great job and I am so proud of them,” Aiu said. “I thought we played great defense and started to dictate what their hitters could do. We blocked well during the match and things just went our way.”

Colorado got out to a 12-10 lead in the first game but the Huskers fired back with the next four straight points. The Buffs then went on a tear as they took eight of the next nine points to go up 20-15. From there, it was an easy cruise to 25 for CU as they only allowed four more points for NU. The Buffs only hit .059 in the set, but they allowed Nebraska to make the mistakes. NU recorded eight attack errors as well as six serving errors.

Nebraska took an 18-12 lead in the second game and then went up 23-16 with just two points to go. Once again, the Buffs turned it on and took the next seven points to even the score. Burkett put the Buffs up 24-23, but NU answered back with a kill of their own. An NU service error put the Buffs up again, but the Huskers took the next point on a kill from Lindsey Licht. CU finally put two points together with a pair of kills from Sisco.

“We all believed before the match and that is what helped us,” Sisco said. “This is a team we can beat; we played well against them on the road. We just got stronger and stronger as the match went on.”

The Buffs came out slow in the third set and didn't get on the scoreboard until NU was up 7-0. Slowly CU started to turn it on and rallied back within four points at 15-19. The Buffs managed to hold off NU for two set points at 24-17 and 24-18, but the Huskers finished it off with a kill from Licht.

“We played consistent, even when we were down,” Buth explained.

CU had the momentum at the end of the third set and got out to a 5-1 start in the fourth set. The Buffs would never let go of the lead and the closest the Huskers got was 9-7. Once again, CU let the Huskers make the errors as they hit a match-high 10 errors in the set and recorded an attack percentage of .125. The Buffs, on the other hand, hit their match-best at .500 with 12 kills and just one error.

“We knew what Nebraska was and we focused on our play,” Sutherland said. “We really keyed on what they did and today we focused more on serving tough and playing tough defense. It was really just stepping up our defense tonight. It is rewarding to win a match like this.”

The Buffs have eight Big 12 matches left this season and this win will help in more ways than one.

“We have a lot more season to play, so we need to keep playing like this,” Aiu said. “We are going to use this win to fire our kids up for the rest of the season and energize the Buff fans.”

Nebraska wasn't the only ranked team to fall in the Big 12 on Wednesday. Oklahoma also upset No. 3 Texas in five sets in Austin.

The Buffs are off this Saturday but will be back in action next Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they face the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. The match is set for a 6 p.m. start.

Big 12 Standing (as of 10/29/08 at 9 p.m.):

Team Big 12 Overall

Nebraska 11-1 20-1

Texas 9-2 16-3

Kansas State 9-3 19-4

Iowa State 7-5 15-8

Baylor 6-6 14-8

Colorado 6-6 12-9

Texas A&M 5-7 10-12

Missouri 4-8 10-12

Oklahoma 4-8 9-12

Kansas 4-8 10-11