Buffs Open 2017 Season With A victory Against Northwestern St.

NORMAN, Okla. — The 2017 season got off to a good start for the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday afternoon with a 3-1 win against Northwestern State on the first day of play at the NIKE Invitational at the University of Oklahoma.

Junior Alexa Smith shined for the Buffs, recording 18 kills and hitting .280. Frankie Shebby, a redshirt junior, had an excellent debut for CU with 13 kills and a .281 hitting efficiency. She also recorded a double-double with a team-best 11 digs while posting five block assists. One more junior, Naghede Abu, was a force at the net, recording 10 total blocks, one solo and nine assists.

Another Buff made her collegiate debut on Friday, freshman Brynna Deluzio, and it was just as nice as she handed out 43 assists and added nine digs and a pair of aces while leading CU to a .310 hitting percentage.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs started the match strong, winning the first set 25-14, before losing a close second set 26-28. Colorado rallied back to take the next two frames, 25-17, 25-15, to start the season.

SET 1: The Buffs got out to a fast start in the first set after senior Joslyn Hayes recorded the first point of the season. CU continued to attack and went up 9-4, causing the Lady Demons to take their first timeout. NSU rallied back within two points at 14-12, but the Buffs took a quick timeout and then four of the next five points for an 18-13 advantage, causing the Lady Demons to take their final timeout of the set. The break did not slow CU down as the Buffs went on to finish the set 25-14.

SET 2: The second frame was a lot closer. CU had a four-point advantage at 10-6, but NSU got within a point at 14-13. The Buffs tried to pull away, but the Lady Demons kept chipping away and soon the game was tied 18-18. NSU took the lead on the following point, but CU wasn't going give up and evened the score at 20-20. An error by NSU put CU back up 21-20. A few points later, the Buffs had set point (24-22) after a kill from Smith, but the Lady Demons took the following three points to get to set point. CU fought off the first two set points for NSU, but was not able to hold off the lady Demons as they finished the frame 28-26.

SET 3: The Buffs took an early 5-3 lead, but NSU evened the score at 10-10. The set was tied again at 12-12 before the Buffs went on a 4-0 run, forcing NSU to use a timeout. NSU took the next two points, but again the Buffs pulled ahead, this time taking a five-point lead and causing the Lady Demons to use their final timeout of the set. CU was able to use a 5-2 run to end the set 25-17.

SET 4: Colorado pulled away to a 12-6 advantage, forcing the Lady Demons to take a timeout. NSU took the first two points out of the break, but the Buffs rallied back with four of the next five to go up 16-9. NSU took its second timeout at that point, but the Buffs were too much and finished the set 25-15.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs dominated in the stats. CU hit .310 with 53 kills and 13 errors on 129 attacks and held the Lady Demons to a .103 efficiency with 48 kills and 33 errors on 145 swings. The Buffs record 51 assists to NSU's 46 and also had the advantage in blocks (15.5-3.0). Both teams served up four aces.

OTHER INDIVIDUAL STATS: Hayes had a nice performance with eight kills and five blocks, while hitting .368. Senior Anna Pfefferle hit a match-high .700 with seven kills on 10 error-less swings. Berta was second on the team with 10 digs.

NOTEABLE: Transfers Frankie Shebby and Branen Berta both earned their first starts for the Buffs along with freshman Brynna Deluzio. Redshirt freshman Emily DeMure also saw her first action as a Buff…Colorado is now 2-0 against the Lady Demons…CU is 21-11 in season openers.

NEXT UP: The Buffs will be back in action on Saturday, August 26, for the second day of the NIKE Invitational in Norman. CU will begin the day with a 9 a.m. MT match-up against Seton Hall and will cap off the tournament at 6 p.m. MT against tournament host Oklahoma.

QUOTABLE:
Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"We are excited to get this first win of the season. Except for the hiccup towards the end of the second set, I was pleased with our level of play. Brynna ran an efficient offense in her first collegiate start and it was great to have Frankie Shebby finally get a chance to see the floor in a Buff uniform as well. Tomorrows matches will be tougher tests."

Buffs Open 2017 Season With A victory Against Northwestern St.

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Team Stats

Alexa Smith

Frankie Shebby

Joslyn Hayes

Anna Pfefferle

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Emily DeMure

Joslyn Hayes

Anna Pfefferle

Frankie Shebby

Alexa Smith

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Emily DeMure

Joslyn Hayes

Anna Pfefferle

Frankie Shebby

Alexa Smith