Volleyball Starts Season On Road At Portland State Tournament

BOULDER — The 2016 Colorado volleyball season official starts on Friday, August 26, as the Buffs travel to Portland, Oregon to play at the Portland State Tournament.

Colorado will face three teams in the first weekend of action, Aug. 26-27, starting on Friday against former Big 12 rival Texas Tech at 7:30 p.m. MT. On Saturday, the Buffs face off against the host, PSU, at 10:30 a.m., before taking on Long Beach State at 7 p.m.

Live stats for all three matches can be found at GoViks.com, while the match against PSU will be streamed for free.

CU returns four of its seven starters from the 2015 team that finished 19-13 overall and placed fifth in the Pac-12 Conference with an 11-9 mark. The Buffs have been tabbed to finish seventh this season in the Preseason Pac-12 Poll.

Junior Gabby Simpson was selected to the Preseason All-Pac-12 team and had been a starter for the Buffs the last two seasons. In 2015, Simpson was a Pac-12 honorable mention selection after averaging 3.41 kills per set, which ranked second on the team and was 10th in the Pac-12. In league only matches, Simpson recorded 3.53 kills per set, which was ninth in the conference. The other returning starters include: sophomore Naghede Abu (MB), junior Anna Pfefferle (MB) and senior Cierra Simpson (DS/L).

The Buffs have a strong reserve of returners as well, bringing back six athletes. They are sophomore Gabby Carta-Samuels (DS/L), senior Katelyn Cuff (MB), redshirt junior Joslyn Hayes (OH), senior Gwen Herring (DS/L), redshirt freshman Taylor Joachim (OPP) and junior Stephanie Shadley (OH).

In addition to the 10 returners, CU brought in eight newcomers, four transfers and four freshmen. Senior Kiara McKibben (S), sophomore Alexa Smith (OH) and junior Marie Zimmerman (S) have all played on Division I teams and will be vying for spots on the court this fall, while junior Frankie Shebby (OH) will sit out the 2016 season after transferring from Oregon.

The talent pool goes deep this year as all four freshmen, Lauren Dorrell (OH), Lillie Klemmer (MB), Justine Spann (OH) and Rachel Whipple (DS/L) will all be competing for spots on the court.

Texas Tech returns four starters from its team that finished the 2015 season with a 14-16 record. The Red Raiders will likely look to redshirt senior middle blocker Lauren Douglass who played in 95 of TTU's 98 sets in 2015 and averaged 2.95 kills per set while adding 0.94 blocks per set. TTU also brings back 12 letterwinners from last year's squad. CU and TTU have meet 30 times with the Buffs owning a 25-5 lead in the all-time series.

The Portland State Vikings recorded a 9-19 record in 2015 and return six starters, including the libero. Jenna Mullen, a sophomore outside hitter, led PSU last season with 3.08 kills per set, while another sophomore outside hitter, Eva Linden, recorded 2.85 kills and 1.99 digs. CU and PSU have only met once, with the Buffs taking that first match.

Long Beach State is receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll. The 49ers return four starters plus their libero from a team that finished 25-6 in 2015. Outside hitter Nele Barber will lead the charge for LBSU as she recorded 3.98 kills per set and 3.37 digs per set as a junior. LBSU owns a 3-0 lead in the all-time series against the Buffs.

Colorado will start its home portion of the season next weekend, Sept. 3-4, at the Coors Events Center with the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. The Buffs will host No. 9 Penn State, No. 14 Illinois and No. 11 Stanford, although CU will not face the Cardinal until Pac-12 Conference play.

COLORADO TICKET INFORMATION
Single match tickets for most contests start at just $5 for general admission and $8 for reserved seating. Tickets for the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge (Sept. 3-4), as well as the second day of the Omni Invitational (Sept. 17), will start at $8 for general admission and $12 for reserved seats. Kids 12 and under are still free.

Season tickets are also available and start at just $25 for general admission, while reserved seats are $40. Fans can purchase single match and season tickets online at CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.

And don't forget about the Women's Sports Pass. For just $125, the Women's sports pass gives you general admission seating for all volleyball, soccer and women's basketball home games.

Volleyball Starts Season On Road At Portland State Tournament

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Gabby Carta-Samuels

Katelyn Cuff

Lauren Dorrell

Joslyn Hayes

Gwen Herring

Taylor Joachim

Lillie Klemmer

Kiara McKibben

Anna Pfefferle

Stephanie Shadley

Frankie Shebby

Cierra Simpson

Gabby Simpson

Alexa Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple

Marie Zimmerman

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