Saturday, August 27
Portland, Ore.
10:30 AM
Colorado
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Portland State
2-0
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F
Colorado
26
25
25
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Portland State
28
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Stephanie Shadley picks up a dig for her first career double-double against Portland State on Saturday
Photo by: Larry Lawson
Buffs Record Five-Set Block Record, Lose Heartbreaker At Portland State
August 27, 2016 | Volleyball
PORTLAND, Ore. — Despite posting a Colorado record 44 block assists in a five-set match, the CU volleyball team lost a heartbreaking match on Saturday afternoon, falling 26-28, 25-18, 25-17, 19-25, 14-16 to host Portland State.
The Buffs put up 44 block assists in the match, two more than the previous record (42) which was set in 2007 against Iowa State. Sophomore Naghede Abu recorded a career high 15 blocks, all assists, tying Lisa Soulliere's CU record from 1989. Just one night removed from setting a career high eight blocks, junior Joslyn Hayes reset her best performance, posting 11 block assists in the effort.
SATURDAY'S STORYLINE: CU went up 15-11 in the first set, forcing the Vikings to take their first timeout. Colorado kept the pressure on, increasing the advantage to 23-19. PSU took its second timeout at that point, and rallied back to even the score at 23-23. The Buffs had three set points, but were unable to convert. The Vikings went ahead 27-26 and finished the set with a kill (28-26).
The second set was all Buffs. After dropping the first two points, CU put together a commanding 7-0 run. The Buffs continued to attack and had an 11-3 lead when the Vikings were forced to take a timeout. Colorado didn't let up, increasing the lead to 10 (20-10), before PSU put together a 5-0 run, making CU take a timeout of its own (20-15). After the break, PSU recorded an attack error and a kill from Abu put the Buffs back up by seven (22-15). Colorado was able to finish the set easily 25-18.
Colorado led 15-10 in the third set when PSU called a timeout. The Vikings took the first point after the break with a kill, but the Buffs answered back with a 4-0 run to increase the lead to 19-11. The Vikings chipped away at CU's lead, getting within five (22-17), but the Buffs put a stop to the comeback attempt, to finish the set 25-17. Sophomore Alexa Smith had two of those final three points for the Buffs, recording a pair of kills, including the set winner. CU did not commit a single attack error in the set, hammering 14 kills on 29 attacks for a .483 hitting efficiency.
The fourth set saw the Vikings taking a 10-5 lead to start, forcing CU to use a timeout. The Buffs chipped away at PSU's lead, but needed another timeout at 18-12. After the break, the Buffs put together a 4-0 run to get within a pair (18-16), but that was the closest they would get in the set as the Vikings finished the game 25-19.
The Buffs recorded a 3-0 run to give them an 8-6 lead midway through the fifth and final set. PSU evened it up at 8-8 and it would be a tight finish with six more ties before the Vikings closed the game, and the match 16-14.
STANDOUTS: Several Buffs had career performances in the match. Junior Stephanie Shadley tallied 18 kills, besting her performance of 15 from Friday night. She also recorded her first career double-double by adding 11 digs. Senior Kiara McKibben handed out 54 assists, beating her career high from 2014 at San Francisco by one. Smith earned her first double-double at CU with 14 kills and 15 digs. Abu got in on the career achievements, hammering a career high 13 kills.
Senior Katelyn Cuff led the Buffs with a .500 hitting percentage with nine kills and two errors on 14 attacks. Defensively senior Cierra Simpson recorded a season best 17 digs.
TEAM STATISTICS: For the second straight match, CU out-hit its opponent, this time .311-.234. The Buffs recorded 68 kills and 18 errors on 161 attacks, while PSU had 75 kills and 32 errors on 184 swings. Colorado had the big lead in blocks, posting 22.0 to the Vikings' 8.5. PSU had one more dig in the match than CU (67-66).
NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 1-1 on the season and at the tournament, while PSU is 2-0. The series between the CU and PSU is now tied 1-1.
NEXT UP: CU will wrap up the tournament on Saturday night against Long Beach State at 7 p.m. MT. Live stats are available at GoViks.com.
QUOTABLE: Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"This was a disappointing loss for us, but Portland State played very well. We had opportunities in the first and fifth set to win the match and played our way out of them."
"Offensively we continue to be efficient when we are in system, but defensively we have struggled if the ball gets by our block. We are blocking at a high level though with Naghede and Joslyn especially."
The Buffs put up 44 block assists in the match, two more than the previous record (42) which was set in 2007 against Iowa State. Sophomore Naghede Abu recorded a career high 15 blocks, all assists, tying Lisa Soulliere's CU record from 1989. Just one night removed from setting a career high eight blocks, junior Joslyn Hayes reset her best performance, posting 11 block assists in the effort.
SATURDAY'S STORYLINE: CU went up 15-11 in the first set, forcing the Vikings to take their first timeout. Colorado kept the pressure on, increasing the advantage to 23-19. PSU took its second timeout at that point, and rallied back to even the score at 23-23. The Buffs had three set points, but were unable to convert. The Vikings went ahead 27-26 and finished the set with a kill (28-26).
The second set was all Buffs. After dropping the first two points, CU put together a commanding 7-0 run. The Buffs continued to attack and had an 11-3 lead when the Vikings were forced to take a timeout. Colorado didn't let up, increasing the lead to 10 (20-10), before PSU put together a 5-0 run, making CU take a timeout of its own (20-15). After the break, PSU recorded an attack error and a kill from Abu put the Buffs back up by seven (22-15). Colorado was able to finish the set easily 25-18.
Colorado led 15-10 in the third set when PSU called a timeout. The Vikings took the first point after the break with a kill, but the Buffs answered back with a 4-0 run to increase the lead to 19-11. The Vikings chipped away at CU's lead, getting within five (22-17), but the Buffs put a stop to the comeback attempt, to finish the set 25-17. Sophomore Alexa Smith had two of those final three points for the Buffs, recording a pair of kills, including the set winner. CU did not commit a single attack error in the set, hammering 14 kills on 29 attacks for a .483 hitting efficiency.
The fourth set saw the Vikings taking a 10-5 lead to start, forcing CU to use a timeout. The Buffs chipped away at PSU's lead, but needed another timeout at 18-12. After the break, the Buffs put together a 4-0 run to get within a pair (18-16), but that was the closest they would get in the set as the Vikings finished the game 25-19.
The Buffs recorded a 3-0 run to give them an 8-6 lead midway through the fifth and final set. PSU evened it up at 8-8 and it would be a tight finish with six more ties before the Vikings closed the game, and the match 16-14.
STANDOUTS: Several Buffs had career performances in the match. Junior Stephanie Shadley tallied 18 kills, besting her performance of 15 from Friday night. She also recorded her first career double-double by adding 11 digs. Senior Kiara McKibben handed out 54 assists, beating her career high from 2014 at San Francisco by one. Smith earned her first double-double at CU with 14 kills and 15 digs. Abu got in on the career achievements, hammering a career high 13 kills.
Senior Katelyn Cuff led the Buffs with a .500 hitting percentage with nine kills and two errors on 14 attacks. Defensively senior Cierra Simpson recorded a season best 17 digs.
TEAM STATISTICS: For the second straight match, CU out-hit its opponent, this time .311-.234. The Buffs recorded 68 kills and 18 errors on 161 attacks, while PSU had 75 kills and 32 errors on 184 swings. Colorado had the big lead in blocks, posting 22.0 to the Vikings' 8.5. PSU had one more dig in the match than CU (67-66).
NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 1-1 on the season and at the tournament, while PSU is 2-0. The series between the CU and PSU is now tied 1-1.
NEXT UP: CU will wrap up the tournament on Saturday night against Long Beach State at 7 p.m. MT. Live stats are available at GoViks.com.
QUOTABLE: Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"This was a disappointing loss for us, but Portland State played very well. We had opportunities in the first and fifth set to win the match and played our way out of them."
"Offensively we continue to be efficient when we are in system, but defensively we have struggled if the ball gets by our block. We are blocking at a high level though with Naghede and Joslyn especially."
Team Stats
COLO
PSU
Kills
68
75
Errors
18
32
Attempts
161
184
Hitting %
.311
.234
Points
94.0
89.5
Assists
63
74
Aces
4
6
Blocks
22.0
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills
18
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
15
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
11
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
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/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
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