Buffs Power Past No. 13 Washington State, Hand Cougars First Home Loss This Season

Friday, October 14

Pullman, Wash.

8:00 PM

Colorado

11-6, 3-4

Washington State

15-4, 5-2

Colorado

Washington State

Buffs Power Past No. 13 Washington State, Hand Cougars First Home Loss This Season

October 14, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

PULLMAN, Wash. — The Colorado volleyball team knew they needed a huge win to get back into the Pac-12 Conference race, and that is exactly what the Buffs did as they handed No. 13 Washington State its first home loss of the season on Friday night, defeating the Cougars 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-13).

The win moved the Buffs to 11-6 overall this season, 3-4 in the Pac-12, while the Cougars dropped to 15-4, 5-2 in the conference.

WHAT HAPPENED: Junior Gabby Simpson lead the way for the Buffs with a match-best 17 kills, but she received a lot of help from another junior, Stephanie Shadley, and sophomore Alexa Smith, who each hammered an additional 13 kills as the Buffs upset the top team in the Pac-12 standings entering Friday's match.

CU's middle blockers also hit very well in the victory. Junior Anna Pfefferle recorded a .500 hitting efficiency with eight kills and one error on 14 attacks, while sophomore Naghede Abu hit .455 with six kills and one error on 11 swings. Simpson, along with senior Kiara McKibben guided the Buffs to an overall .222 hitting percentage. Simpson recorded 26 assists, while McKibben added 25.

There was also trio of Buffs who recorded double-digit digs in the match, helping to hold WSU to a .156 hitting percentage. Senior Cierra Simpson led the way with 12 digs, while Shadley and McKibben each recorded 11 digs. At the net, Pfefferle led CU with five blocks while Abu and Gabby Simpson each posted another four blocks for the Buffs.

SET 1: The Buffs recorded a 4-0 start to the first set, although WSU came back to take a 6-5 lead. The score was tied at 8-8 when CU recorded a 7-1 run to go up 15-9. The Buffs kept attacking and increased their lead to 18-11, forcing the Cougars to take a timeout. WSU was able to cut CU's lead to six a point later (18-12), but the Buffs went on to easily take the game 25-15.

SET 2: The second set was a close battle in the beginning. After the eighth tie of the set (12-12), the Cougars took three consecutive points, causing CU to use a timeout (15-12). WSU was able to increase the advantage to six (20-14), but the Buffs recorded a 5-1 run to bring the score within two at 21-19. The Buffs took a timeout on the following point after a WSU kill (22-19), but the break didn't slow down the Cougars as they finished the set off with three straight points (25-19).

SET 3: Midway through the third set, the Buffs used a 3-0 run to go up 13-11. WSU was able to even the score a short time later (14-14), but Colorado responded with a 6-1 run (20-15). The Cougars were able to take the next two points, but the Buffs answered with a pair of their own (22-17). CU went on to finish the set strong at 25-19.

SET 4: The Cougars pulled away from the Buffs midway through the fourth set, going up 13-8. WSU increased its lead to seven at 19-12, forcing CU to call a timeout. The Buffs started to rally, putting together a 3-0 run (20-15), but they ran out of time as the Cougars finished the set 25-19.

SET 5: CU recorded a 4-1 run to start the fifth set and were up 8-3 at the side change. The Buffs continued to attack, taking a 10-4 lead before WSU needed to take a break. The Cougars used a 4-1 run out of the timeout to cut CU's lead to 11-8, and this time, it was the Buffs who needed to take a timeout. CU kept the lead, but WSU was able to cut the advantage to a pair at 13-11, forcing the Buffs to use their final timeout of the set. CU had set point (14-11) after a kill from Gabby Simpson, but the Cougars fought off the first two set points before CU was able to win the set off a service error by WSU (15-13).

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .222 with 63 kills and 29 errors on 153 attacks, while Washington State hit .156 with 51 kills and 28 errors on 147 attacks. CU recorded 57 assists to WSU's 47. CU out-dug WSU 56-45, but the Cougars out-blocked the Buffs 18.0-9.0. WSU also had more aces than CU at 8-2.

NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 11-6, 3-4 in the Pac-12…The Buffs are 1-4 on the road this season… CU has played seven five-set matches this season and is 5-2 in those matches…CU leads the all-time series 9-2 between the two schools…This was the seventh AVCA ranked team the Buffs have faced this year… CU is 4-3 in those matches… The loss for WSU was the first on its home court this season.

NEXT UP: Colorado heads to Seattle, Wash. for a match against No. 7 Washington on Sunday, Oct. 16. That match will start at 4 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on CUBuffs.com.

QUOTABLE:
Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"Winning is always fun. Winning when you play well is even more enjoyable. We are more excited about this match as our first true road win. This was a really hostile environment against the top team in the Pac-12. I told the girls that it wasn't so much the win that I was proud of, but how we played and how we responded to all of the pressure tonight."