No. 16 Oregon Holds Off Buffs

Thursday, November 10

Eugene, Ore.

8:00 PM

Colorado

13-12, 5-10Pac-12

Oregon

18-7, 11-5Pac-12

Colorado

Oregon

Naghede Abu goes for a kill against No. 16 Oregon

Photo by: Gary Breedlove

November 10, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

EUGENE, Ore. — Colorado sophomore Alexa Smith recorded 15 kills, but it was not enough to propel the Buffaloes past the No. 16 Oregon Ducks on Thursday night as CU lost another tough Pac-12 Conference match 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16) at Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon improved to 18-7 overall with an 11-5 mark in Pac-12 play, while Colorado is now 13-12 overall, 5-10 in the Pac-12.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs played three very good sets, but could not get anything going in the fourth set despite some great individual performances. Besides the 15 kills, Smith also added seven digs and a block. Sophomore Naghede Abu had a good all-around performance, recording nine kills and hitting .444 with just one error on 18 attacks. She also posted three block assists for 10.5 points in the effort.

Junior Joslyn Hayes had seven kills for the Buffs while hitting .263 with only two errors on 19 attacks. She too had a good evening at the net posting five block assists. Junior Anna Pfefferle was the top blocker for CU, putting up six with one solo and five assists, while adding five kills.

In the back row, senior Cierra Simpson recorded 21 digs to lead CU. This is the fifth time this season she has tallied 20 or more digs in a match.

SET 1: The first set was very close. Oregon got out to a 5-3 lead, but the Buffs quickly came back to even the game up with the next two points off a pair of blocks. The two sides battled and again the Ducks went ahead, this time by three at 11-8. CU rallied back and evened the score a short time later at 15-15. The set was tied again at 16-16 when the Ducks took two straight points for an 18-16 advantage, causing the Buffs to take a timeout. The Buffs came back again to tie the frame up at 20-20, but that was the closest they were going to get as UO finished the game with a 5-1 run (25-21).

SET 2: CU was hot to start the second set, taking a 9-3 lead before the Ducks were forced to take their first timeout. The Buffs just kept going out of the break, recording four straight kills to increase the lead to 13-3, causing Oregon to take another timeout. The Buffs took the next two points off a pair of block assists by Pfefferle and Hayes (15-3) before the Ducks recorded a point off a kill. Oregon was able to cut CU's lead to eight (19-11), at which point it was CU that needed a timeout. UO got within four points late in the set (23-19), but the Buffs regrouped and closed the game 25-20.

SET 3: The Buffs had a 9-7 advantage to start the set, but the Ducks took the lead with a 4-0 run (11-9). Oregon continued to hold the lead and at 15-12, CU took its first timeout of the set. The Buffs responded by taking four of the next five points to even the score at 16-16. The next point was pivotal – it was called an Oregon attack error, but the Ducks challenged and it was reversed, giving them the 17-16 edge. A service error by the Ducks tied it back up (17-17) and the game would be tied again at 18-18 before UO finished the set with a 7-2 run (25-20).

SET 4: Oregon put together an 8-0 run to take an 11-3 lead to start the fourth set. The Buffs answered with three straight points, but the Ducks kept adding to their lead, increasing it to 21-9. UO wrapped up the set 25-16 after CU fought off three straight match points. The Buffs struggled in the set, recording eight hitting errors to hit -.026 in with just seven kills on 38 attacks.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .167 with 48 kills and 23 errors on 150 attacks, while Oregon hit .267 with 60 kills and 21 errors on 146 attacks. Oregon handed out 58 assists to CU's 46 and also had the edge in service aces (7-4). OU out-dug the Buffs 66-56 and posted 12.0 blocks to CU's 9.0.

NOTEABLE: Oregon leads the all-time series 12-3…The Buffs are 4-9 against ranked opponents this season…CU is also 1-8 on the road in 2016…The Buffs are 2-6 in four-set Pac-12 Conference matches; 3-6 overall in four-set matches.

NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Corvallis, Ore. to face Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 12. The match is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be streamed on Pac-12 Plus.

QUOTABLE:
Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"This was a tough loss tonight because our team played hard and we were competitive in each of the first three sets. We lost some discipline in set four and gave Oregon too many free points on our own errors. Bright spots for us tonight were Cierra Simpson, defensively and from the service line, as well as a great offensive night from Naghede Abu. Oregon State is now a must win for us Saturday."