Colorado
12-8 (4-4PAC-12)
Stanford
11-5 (5-3PAC-12)
Buffs Shock No. 6 Stanford For First Win Against The Cardinal
October 18, 2015 | Volleyball
BOULDER — The Coors Events Center magic was back on Sunday afternoon as the University of Colorado volleyball team shocked No. 6 Stanford to earn its first ever win over the Cardinal, ending a 14-match losing streak 3-1 (25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-21).
"I'm happy because this group of players is the group that was able to have this extraordinary win and to change what's been happening," head coach Liz Kritza said. "The last time we played Stanford here, it was a really high level match. We've been a team that can knock off anybody coming into our gym and we can play a certain number of sets with any team in the country. But this win is significant because it's actualizing what these girls put in to build this program. I could not be prouder of the effort."
Sophomore Gabby Simpson was on fire, hammering a career-high 25 kills while hitting .405 with just eight errors on 42 attacks. Senior Alexis Austin had 17 kills in the win.
"We've been trying to beat them for four years now," Austin said. "To finally get that win, it's great. And now we have to carry it on to all the other games."
"It feels great," senior Nicole Edelman said. "I remember freshman year getting swept in three pretty easily. I think it shows all of the dedication and hard work that we've put in. Alexis and I have been playing against most of those starters for a long time, because most of them are seniors. They're all great players, but it definitely feels good to get that win."
The Buffs and Cardinal matched-up very well. The match was tied 44 times and had 17 lead changes. Both team had 62 kills and 23 errors. The Buffs had 150 attacks to hit .260, while the Cardinal had 159 swings to hit .245. CU had 58 assists, 50 from Edelman, and Stanford had 57 assists.
SU had three players in double-digs kills. Hayley Hodson led the Cardinal with 22 kills, while Merete Lutz had 15 kills and Brittany Howard recorded 13 kills.
Defensively the two teams also matched up with both putting up 12.0 team blocks. Freshman Naghede Abu tied a match-best seven block assists, while Austin added six blocks, two solos and four assists. Sophomores Anna Pfefferle and Joslyn Hayes each tallied three block assists.
The biggest difference in the match came in the back row. The Buffs out-dug the Cardinal 60-44 with four players recording double-digit efforts. Junior Cierra Simpson picked up 16 digs, while Austin had 12 digs. Gabby Simpson and freshman Abbie D'Agosta each notched 10 digs.
"There has been a concerted effort in our gym with Ryal (Jagd), who's our assistant coach for defense, to press on these kids to adjust and make sure they understand that it's a mentality and an attitude," Kritza said. "They have to be aggressive, and it's happening. Digs are so important because they help to keep our opponents hitting percentage down. If we can win that battle of the hitting percentages, then we're going to like where we end up in the win/loss column."
The win puts the Buffs at .500 in Pac-12 play (4-4); they are now 12-8 overall. Stanford moved to 11-5 overall and is 5-3 in league action.
"I'm very proud of them, but we've got to get back to work," Kritza said. "The Pac-12 is the top conference in the country. We go in the road next weekend, and we need to make sure we continue this. We like this winning stuff. It's part of what has been instilled in the culture of our program. To sustain it, we have to keep going back to what helps, and that means hard work. Nobody will outwork us. Nobody will have more will or desire than this program."
The Cardinal led 13-10 in the first set before the Buffs came back to even it at 18-18. SU took the next two points, but CU answered with kills from Cuff and Austin to tie the frame again. The Buffs went ahead with a block by Abu and Gabby Simpson (21-20). Stanford got a kill from Hodson to even it again, but CU answered that with a block (Abu and Austin) and after a SU attack error, the Buffs had a 23-21 advantage, causing Stanford to use a timeout.
Again SU came back to tie the frame out of the break, but the Buffs shut it down, taking the next two points to win the set 25-23 with kills from Hayes and Gabby Simpson.
The second set was another good one. SU had a 15-12 lead before CU got back within a point with two straight points (15-14). The Buffs were within one again at 18-17 before the Cardinal went up 20-17, causing CU to take a timeout. Out of the break, CU recorded kills from Austin and Edelman forcing SU to take a timeout (20-19).
The two sides exchanged the next six points before the Buffs were able to record two consecutive (a pair of Gabby Simpson kills) to even the game at 23-23. Stanford took the next point off a kill from Hodson to get set point, but Gabby Simpson answered with a kill (24-24). A kill from Hayes gave CU its first set point of the game, but the Cardinal came back to even it up (25-25). Hayes came back with another huge kill and a block by Edelman and Pfefferle won the set for CU (27-25).
The third set was tied 19 times since neither team could get much of an advantage. Stanford took a 20-19 lead out of a CU timeout, but the Buffs came back to take the lead with a kill from Edelman and a block by Austin and Abu (21-20). The Cardinal rallied to take two straight points of their own, but Cuff answered with a kill to tie the set up yet again (22-22).
SU took two more points to get a 24-22 advantage. The Buffs fought off the first set point with a kill from Gabby Simpson, but Stanford took the set on the following point with a kill from Lutz (25-23).
The Buffs lead 8-4 in set four when the Cardinal used a timeout. SU was able to get within one point a short time later at 12-11, but Austin recorded a kill to give CU a two-point buffer. The Cardinal needed another timeout after the Buffs increased their lead to 16-12. CU had a five points lead at 18-13, but called timeout after SU tallied two straight.
The Cardinal took the first point out of that break (18-16) and then the two teams exchanged the following five points before CU took two straight for a 22-18 lead. SU wasn't ready to end the set and took another pair of points, causing the Buffs to use their last timeout of the set. The Buffs got kills from Austin and Gabby Simpson to get to set point (24-20). Stanford fought off the first set point, but Gabby Simpson finished the set and the match for the Buffs with her 25th kill of the afternoon.
The Buffs are on the road next weekend for a pair of matches in the desert. They will face No. 14 Arizona on Friday, Oct. 23, and on Saturday, Oct. 24, CU will take on No. 10 Arizona State.Â
