Colorado University Athletics
Naghede Abu and Brynna DeLuzio earned Pac-12 Player of the Week Honors
Abu And DeLuzio Earn Pac-12 Honors; Buffs Jump Back Into Poll
October 02, 2017 | Volleyball
BOULDER — Junior middle blocker Naghede Abu and freshman setter Brynna DeLuzio were both honored by the Pac-12 Conference on Monday afternoon; Abu was named the defensive player of the week, while DeLuzio was selected the freshman of the week. In addition, the 12-3 Buffs jumped back into the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll at 25th.
Abu and DeLuzio both helped the Buffs record a pair of wins last weekend at the Coors Events Center, starting last Friday, with a 3-2 victory over Oregon State. Less than 24 hours later on Saturday night, the Buffs upset then-No. 12 Oregon, 3-1.
DeLuzio averaged 11.22 assists per set, guiding the Buffs to a .222 attack percentage and 13.00 kills per set. She added 2.56 digs per set, which was second on the team last weekend, and led the Buffs with five aces (0.56 per set). Four of those aces came in the win over Oregon State, where she also tied a career-high with 55 assists. DeLuzio added 10 digs, three kills and one block against the Beavers. The following night against the Ducks, she recorded 46 assists, 13 digs, two kills, one ace and one block. The Buffs hit .269 in the match with 57 kills for their second win over a ranked team this season.
With this honor, DeLuzio is the first Buff to ever record the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor twice as she also picked up the award on Sept. 18.
Abu led the Buffs with 13 blocks last weekend, averaging 1.44 per set. She also performed well offensively, adding 2.56 kills per set while hitting a team-best .435. Abu tallied 12 kills and hit .579 with just one error on 19 attacks against Oregon State and added four blocks, one solo and three assists. The following night against Oregon, she posted nine blocks, one solo and eight assists, in addition to 11 kills. Abu hit .333 with two errors on 27 swings.
This is the third overall conference player of the week honor for Abu. She was the freshman of the week on Oct. 19, 2015 and was the defensive player of the week on Sept. 5, 2016.
After the 2-0 weekend, the Buffaloes jumped back into the poll at 25th with 121 points, just 11 from 24th place (Wichita State). Florida is the top-ranked team this week at 11-0, while Stanford (11-2) is currently second. Penn State (13-1), Nebraska (11-3) and Texas (11-2) round out the top five.
The Pac-12 Conference is well represented in the AVCA poll. Besides Stanford and CU, there are five other teams listed. Washington (13-2) is ninth, UCLA (9-4) is 13th, USC (12-3) is 15th, Oregon (9-3) sits at 16th and Utah (12-3) is ranked 17th.
The NCAA RPI also came out Monday and had the Buffs at 20th overall.
CU continues Pac-12 play on the road this weekend. The Buffs will first head to Pullman, Wash., to take on Washington State on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. MT. Then they will head to Seattle to square off against No. 9 Washington on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. MT. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Network.
AVCA Division I Coaches Poll
Week #6, Oct. 1
Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points Record Prev. Week
1 Florida (60) 1596 11-0 1
2 Stanford (2) 1476 11-2 2
3 Penn State (2) 1469 13-1 3
4 Nebraska 1385 11-3 8
5 Texas 1378 11-2 5
6 Minnesota 1271 13-2 3
7 Wisconsin 1165 11-2 7
8 BYU 1128 15-1 9
9 Washington 1042 13-2 6
10 Kentucky 1024 12-2 10
11 Kansas 940 14-2 11
12 Creighton 791 11-4 14
13 UCLA 778 9-4 13
14 Michigan State 724 11-2 16
15 Southern California 700 12-3 20
16 Oregon 688 9-3 12
17 Utah 595 12-3 15
18 Purdue 527 13-2 19
19 San Diego 509 10-4 17
20 Iowa State 433 11-2 18
21 Northern Iowa 284 14-4 22
22 Michigan 229 12-4 23
23 Colorado State 188 14-2 24
24 Wichita State 132 12-3 25
25 Colorado 121 12-3 NR
Abu and DeLuzio both helped the Buffs record a pair of wins last weekend at the Coors Events Center, starting last Friday, with a 3-2 victory over Oregon State. Less than 24 hours later on Saturday night, the Buffs upset then-No. 12 Oregon, 3-1.
DeLuzio averaged 11.22 assists per set, guiding the Buffs to a .222 attack percentage and 13.00 kills per set. She added 2.56 digs per set, which was second on the team last weekend, and led the Buffs with five aces (0.56 per set). Four of those aces came in the win over Oregon State, where she also tied a career-high with 55 assists. DeLuzio added 10 digs, three kills and one block against the Beavers. The following night against the Ducks, she recorded 46 assists, 13 digs, two kills, one ace and one block. The Buffs hit .269 in the match with 57 kills for their second win over a ranked team this season.
With this honor, DeLuzio is the first Buff to ever record the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor twice as she also picked up the award on Sept. 18.
Abu led the Buffs with 13 blocks last weekend, averaging 1.44 per set. She also performed well offensively, adding 2.56 kills per set while hitting a team-best .435. Abu tallied 12 kills and hit .579 with just one error on 19 attacks against Oregon State and added four blocks, one solo and three assists. The following night against Oregon, she posted nine blocks, one solo and eight assists, in addition to 11 kills. Abu hit .333 with two errors on 27 swings.
This is the third overall conference player of the week honor for Abu. She was the freshman of the week on Oct. 19, 2015 and was the defensive player of the week on Sept. 5, 2016.
After the 2-0 weekend, the Buffaloes jumped back into the poll at 25th with 121 points, just 11 from 24th place (Wichita State). Florida is the top-ranked team this week at 11-0, while Stanford (11-2) is currently second. Penn State (13-1), Nebraska (11-3) and Texas (11-2) round out the top five.
The Pac-12 Conference is well represented in the AVCA poll. Besides Stanford and CU, there are five other teams listed. Washington (13-2) is ninth, UCLA (9-4) is 13th, USC (12-3) is 15th, Oregon (9-3) sits at 16th and Utah (12-3) is ranked 17th.
The NCAA RPI also came out Monday and had the Buffs at 20th overall.
CU continues Pac-12 play on the road this weekend. The Buffs will first head to Pullman, Wash., to take on Washington State on Friday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. MT. Then they will head to Seattle to square off against No. 9 Washington on Sunday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. MT. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Network.
AVCA Division I Coaches Poll
Week #6, Oct. 1
Rank School (First-Place Votes) Total Points Record Prev. Week
1 Florida (60) 1596 11-0 1
2 Stanford (2) 1476 11-2 2
3 Penn State (2) 1469 13-1 3
4 Nebraska 1385 11-3 8
5 Texas 1378 11-2 5
6 Minnesota 1271 13-2 3
7 Wisconsin 1165 11-2 7
8 BYU 1128 15-1 9
9 Washington 1042 13-2 6
10 Kentucky 1024 12-2 10
11 Kansas 940 14-2 11
12 Creighton 791 11-4 14
13 UCLA 778 9-4 13
14 Michigan State 724 11-2 16
15 Southern California 700 12-3 20
16 Oregon 688 9-3 12
17 Utah 595 12-3 15
18 Purdue 527 13-2 19
19 San Diego 509 10-4 17
20 Iowa State 433 11-2 18
21 Northern Iowa 284 14-4 22
22 Michigan 229 12-4 23
23 Colorado State 188 14-2 24
24 Wichita State 132 12-3 25
25 Colorado 121 12-3 NR
Players Mentioned
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