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Kansas
Penewell Propels Buffs Over Kansas
September 17, 2008 | Volleyball
BOULDER — Freshman Alex Penewell made her first career start and helped the University of Colorado volleyball team win its Big 12 opener over Kansas on Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffs won the match, their first five-set match since 2006, 25-18, 26-28, 15-25, 26-24 and 15-12. Last season the Buffs went 0-10 in five-set matches.
“I'm pleased with the win,” head coach Pi'i Aiu said. “It was good to get that game five. It is good for our team's confidence. Kansas was pushing us and I think that is perfect for us at this point in time.”
Penewell had played in three matches prior to this start and had recorded just seven kills and two blocks in five games. She led the Buffs in three categories with 14 kills, eight blocks and hitring .600.
“It was really fun,” Penewell said. “It's always fun to play with so many seniors on the court. I'm really happy with my performance, but I am even happier that I could help my team get a win tonight.”
Penewell earned her first start due to an old injury Lauren Schaefer was nursing on Wednesday night.
“She did a great job,” Aiu said. “To hit .600 in her first full match is great. I think she is going to be a player that we will use a lot. I would rather not use her against K-State; I'd rather Lauren Schaefer be back in the line-up. But if Lauren is not back, we will be okay.”
Penewell wasn't the only Alex who had a great night for the Buffs. Alex Buth was second on the team with 13 kills. Buth also recorded 15 digs for her third double-double of the season and the 19th of her career. Buth also posted seven blocks.
“We won our first Big 12 match, but our first five-game match as well,” Buth said. “That just proves that we have changed this year. I thought that this match could have gone either way. Thankfully tonight we won and we now we are 1-0. We're really thinking about the win right now and the fact that it was in the fifth game.”
Amber Sutherland added 12 kills and eight blocks in the victory. Sutherland is now 28 kills from 1,000 in her career and looks to be the 13th Buff to reach that milestone.
Emilee Sisco and Schylur Edelman each hammered nine kills. Edelman added five blocks and Sisco put up two.
Colorado hit .179 with 64 kills. Kaitlyn Burkett recorded a season-best with 50 on the night. She also added five kills, nine digs and three blocks.
“I'm really happy for our team,” Buth said. “We all worked together. If you look at all the stats, everyone is pretty even and that just shows that we are a team. Everyone was stepping up at the right time.”
The Buffs got out to a strong start in the first set with a 3-0 lead and would never trail in the frame. CU recorded 14 kills in the set and hit .591 with just one error on 22 attacks. KU on the other hand had 13 kills but recorded eight errors on 30 swings (.167). Buth led the way for the Buffs with 6 kills and hit .667.
CU took control of the second game but the Jayhawks tied it up at 19 and didn't let the Buffs close out the game. KU fought off three set points before recording the win at 28-26. Sutherland led the Buffs with five kills. She also hit .444 (5k-1e-10att). CU didn't fair as well as it recorded a .085 percentage (13k-9e-47att).
The Buffs fell behind early in the third set and was never able to get back in the game. The Jayhawks used a 5-1 run in the middle of the set to go up 19-11 and closed the game on a 6-4 run. CU hit .000 with 10 kills and 10 errors (41 attacks) while KU hit a match-high .414 (13k-1e-29att).
The fourth set didn't start off well for the Buffs as KU took off to an 11-7 lead. CU chipped away at the lead and tied the score at 15 and even took a 21-18 lead after a 6-3 run. The Jayhawks retook the lead at 24-23, but the Buffs held them off and scored the next three points to win the set and force a deciding game.
Colorado fell behind 7-4 in the fifth game but took the next four points to go up 8-7 on the side switch. KU was going to make the Buffs work for the win and took four of the next five points. CU put together four straight points after that and finished the set on a 2-1 run at 15-12.
“I think we were both good and bad tonight,” Aiu said. “We were good for long periods of time and bad for a fairly even amount of time. We have to learn to be consistent and I think there is a little bit of a hangover from what happened to this team last year and hopefully this is a good pill to take.”
The win puts the Buffs at 7-3 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. The total surpasses CU's win total from 2007 (6-22). Kansas fell to 6-4 (0-1 Big 12). The Buffs are 12-11 all-time in conference openers with the victory.
CU will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 20 when they take on the No. 18 Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan. The match is set for 6 p.m.
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