Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
3-3
Sam Houston State
4-4
No. 23 Buffs Sweep Sam Houston State
September 11, 2015 | Volleyball
HOUSTON — University of Colorado sophomore Gabby Simpson tied a career-high 14 kills to lead the Buffs in a sweep of Sam Houston State University (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) on Friday afternoon in the first match of the Rice Adidas Invitational.
The win snaps a two-match losing streak for the Buffs and moves them to a 3-3 overall record. SHSU is now 4-4 on the year.
“Getting wins on the road are an important part of this team's development and today was a good showing,” head coach Liz Kritza said. “The overall play was good and the execution of our serve receive offense was much improved from our last outing.”
Simpson also led the Buffs with a .393 hitting efficiency, her best of the season, with just three errors on 28 attacks. She had a solid all-around match with three aces, another season-high, seven digs and four block assists.
“Gabby Simpson came to play and had a very strong showing today. Her confident play was a key to this victory,” Kritza said.
Senior Alexis Austin also had a good match for the Buffs, adding 12 kills in the win. She hit .241 with five errors on 29 swings. Sophomore Anna Pfefferle hit .375 for CU with seven kills and just one error on 16 attacks.
Senior Nicole Edelman directed the Buffs to a .275 hitting percentage as she handed out 34 of CU's 38 assists. The Buffs recorded 42 kills in the win with just 14 errors on 102 swings.
CU's defense was dominate, holding the Bearkats to a .022 hitting percentage. The Buffs didn't allow SHSU above .000 in the second or third sets (-.032 and -.077, respectively). The Bearkats mustered just 24 kills with 22 errors on 92 attacks.
The Buffs recorded 41 digs and 10.0 team blocks. Sophomore Stephanie Shadley led CU with nine digs, junior Cierra Simpson recorded eight digs, while Austin added five digs. Pfefferle posted a match-best six block assists and junior Katelyn Cuff notched five block assists. Freshman Naghede Abu added four block assists.
“Our blocking game showed improvement tonight, led by Anna Pfefferle and Katelyn Cuff,” Kritza said. “The overall team effort provided stability and allowed us to continue developing more facets of this team, as the season is still young.”
Colorado had the lead for the majority of the first set. It was tied at 15-15 when SHSU committed a pair of errors to give CU a 17-15 lead, forcing the Bearkats to take a timeout to try to regroup. SHSU came back to even the frame at 19-19, but Austin put the Buffs back ahead on the next point with her fifth kill of the set. Gabby Simpson added her fourth kill of the game on the following point to give CU a two-point advantage again (21-19), which made SHSU take its final timeout of the set. The Bearkats took the first point out of the break to get back within one, but the Buffs answered with a 3-0 run to go up 24-20 and finished the set 25-21.
The second set was also a close one until the Buffs recorded a 4-0 run, which included three consecutive blocks, to go up 12-7. After an SHSU timeout, the Bearkats tallied two straight points (12-9), but recorded an error on the following point to give the ball back to the Buffs. After trading the next few points, CU went on another 4-0 run to take an 18-11 lead. The Buffs kept on attacking, pulling away to a 10-point lead at 22-12. CU was able to wrap up the set 25-16.
The Buffs had a 14-9 advantage in the third set, causing the Bearkats to take a break. SHSU sided-out on the following point, but Cuff answered with a kill (15-10). The Buffs added to their score, going up 18-11 with a 4-1 run that included three kills from Cuff, Austin and freshman Aidan Lea. SHSU tried to chip away at CU's lead, but the Buffs held strong down the homestretch to finish the set, and the match, 25-18.
“While we are pleased to pick up the win, there is a lot of room to improve, which we must continue to do in order to meet our season goals,” Kritza said.
The Rice Adidas Invitational continues on Saturday. The Buffs face Louisiana-Lafayette at 11:30 a.m. MT and then at 6 p.m. MT, CU wraps up action against Rice.
