Colorado University Athletics
Friday, October 12
Boulder, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado
vs
Oregon
Photo by: Tim Benko, Benko Photographics
Buffs Progress to be Tested Against Oregon Schools
October 10, 2018 | Volleyball
BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's volleyball team has shown strides in progress this season, which will be tested this weekend at home with matchups against No.14 Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. and against Oregon State Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Buffs strides were on display this past weekend when the team, short-handed a hitter, hit a season-high .358 against No.2 Stanford. The set-score doesn't show the true story, as CU fell by just seven points in three sets against one of the best teams in the nation. The hitting percentage was the best against the Cardinals this season, while the 53 kills were the third-most Stanford faced and the 17.66 kills per set was four kills per set more than any other opponent had been able to score on Stanford.
The Buffs are led by the duo of six-rotation hitters on both the offensive and defensive ends. Alexa Smith leads the team with 236 kills and 179 digs, while teammate Justine Spann has 199 kills and 162 digs, good for second on the team in both categories.
The other major duo for the Buffs come at the setter position. Brynna DeLuzio and Jenna Ewert have combined for 684 assists, with DeLuzio leading with 385. The duo posted 14 assists per set against Stanford and 14.5 against Washington State the weekend before, two of the best defensive teams in the conference.
On the defensive front, Smith and Spann have anchored the backrow in passing, which was on-point against Stanford and directly led to the success in the attack. Up front redshirt freshman Danielle Price leads the team with 67 blocks. Right behind her statistically is Lauren Dorrell with 51 blocks and Naghede Abu with 41. Both Price and Abu are averaging more than 1.1 blocks per set this season.
Friday night's match with serve as the Buffs Beat Cancer Pink Game. Fans wearing pink can get general admission tickets for $5, and the first 500 fans will receive a pink shirt. Sunday's event will be Kids Run the Match day, as kids in the Chips Kids Club and other kids can be a part of running the match. The first 200 fans will also receive free ice cream for the Buffs' Sundays on Sunday.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS: Oregon comes to town as the 14th-ranked team in the nation. The Ducks have an interesting schedule with huge keys match victories and some interesting losses. Oregon started 0-2 after losing to No.3 Texas and No.2 Nebraska, then defeated then-No.1-ranked Minnesota in the Pac-12 vs. BIG TEN Challenge in Stanford. In the same tournament they fell to fifth-ranked Penn State in a sweep. In conference play the Ducks defeated No. 22 Washington State in five, then fell to No. 24 Arizona in five at home the next week. That same weekend Oregon fell to unranked Arizona State in a sweep. In this past weekend the Ducks resurged with sweeps on the road against No.17 UCLA and No.12 USC.
Oregon is one of the most offensively explosive team in the nation. The team is ranked fourth in the nation in assists per set and fifth in kills per set with nearly 15 kills per set. The Ducks are also second in the conference in digs per set with more than 17 digs per set. The team is led by Ronika Stone and Taylor Borup as of late. Both have been named a conference player of the week, with Borup earning it last weekend after posting 23 kills with a hitting percentage greater than .310 and a pair of double-doubles against UCLA and USC. Stone leads the team with 180 kills and is hitting .350 this season in the middle. Freshman Lindsey Vander Weidi is second on the team with 177 kills. Vander Weidi was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week the first weekend of conference play with 36 kills and 47 digs. Senior setter August Raskie leads the team with 701 assists. On the defensive end, Stone leads the team with 77 total blocks. Freshman Brooke Nuneviller has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week twice this season and leads the team with 268 digs.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: Oregon State began the season with three-straight five-set matches, including a victory against No.21 Iowa State in Iowa. The Beavers only lost to Ole Miss in five and Kansas State in four, both on the road before the conference season began. The Beavers also defeated No.23 San Diego in five sets in San Diego before finishing against Seattle before Oregon came to town. The Beavers are winless in conference, including four-straight sweeps. The match prior to that saw Oregon State take No.13 Washington to five-sets at home.
Maddie Goings leads the Beavers with 228 kills, while Amy Underdown is second on the team with 210. Up front, Maddy Gravley has 77 blocks to lead the team, while Lindsey Schell has 65. Grace Massey was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week to open the season, while Maddie Sheehan was named the Freshman of the Week the final weekend of non-conference play. Massey leads the team and the nation with 318 digs. Sheehan leads the team with 543 assists.
The Buffs strides were on display this past weekend when the team, short-handed a hitter, hit a season-high .358 against No.2 Stanford. The set-score doesn't show the true story, as CU fell by just seven points in three sets against one of the best teams in the nation. The hitting percentage was the best against the Cardinals this season, while the 53 kills were the third-most Stanford faced and the 17.66 kills per set was four kills per set more than any other opponent had been able to score on Stanford.
The Buffs are led by the duo of six-rotation hitters on both the offensive and defensive ends. Alexa Smith leads the team with 236 kills and 179 digs, while teammate Justine Spann has 199 kills and 162 digs, good for second on the team in both categories.
The other major duo for the Buffs come at the setter position. Brynna DeLuzio and Jenna Ewert have combined for 684 assists, with DeLuzio leading with 385. The duo posted 14 assists per set against Stanford and 14.5 against Washington State the weekend before, two of the best defensive teams in the conference.
On the defensive front, Smith and Spann have anchored the backrow in passing, which was on-point against Stanford and directly led to the success in the attack. Up front redshirt freshman Danielle Price leads the team with 67 blocks. Right behind her statistically is Lauren Dorrell with 51 blocks and Naghede Abu with 41. Both Price and Abu are averaging more than 1.1 blocks per set this season.
Friday night's match with serve as the Buffs Beat Cancer Pink Game. Fans wearing pink can get general admission tickets for $5, and the first 500 fans will receive a pink shirt. Sunday's event will be Kids Run the Match day, as kids in the Chips Kids Club and other kids can be a part of running the match. The first 200 fans will also receive free ice cream for the Buffs' Sundays on Sunday.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS: Oregon comes to town as the 14th-ranked team in the nation. The Ducks have an interesting schedule with huge keys match victories and some interesting losses. Oregon started 0-2 after losing to No.3 Texas and No.2 Nebraska, then defeated then-No.1-ranked Minnesota in the Pac-12 vs. BIG TEN Challenge in Stanford. In the same tournament they fell to fifth-ranked Penn State in a sweep. In conference play the Ducks defeated No. 22 Washington State in five, then fell to No. 24 Arizona in five at home the next week. That same weekend Oregon fell to unranked Arizona State in a sweep. In this past weekend the Ducks resurged with sweeps on the road against No.17 UCLA and No.12 USC.
Oregon is one of the most offensively explosive team in the nation. The team is ranked fourth in the nation in assists per set and fifth in kills per set with nearly 15 kills per set. The Ducks are also second in the conference in digs per set with more than 17 digs per set. The team is led by Ronika Stone and Taylor Borup as of late. Both have been named a conference player of the week, with Borup earning it last weekend after posting 23 kills with a hitting percentage greater than .310 and a pair of double-doubles against UCLA and USC. Stone leads the team with 180 kills and is hitting .350 this season in the middle. Freshman Lindsey Vander Weidi is second on the team with 177 kills. Vander Weidi was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week the first weekend of conference play with 36 kills and 47 digs. Senior setter August Raskie leads the team with 701 assists. On the defensive end, Stone leads the team with 77 total blocks. Freshman Brooke Nuneviller has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week twice this season and leads the team with 268 digs.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: Oregon State began the season with three-straight five-set matches, including a victory against No.21 Iowa State in Iowa. The Beavers only lost to Ole Miss in five and Kansas State in four, both on the road before the conference season began. The Beavers also defeated No.23 San Diego in five sets in San Diego before finishing against Seattle before Oregon came to town. The Beavers are winless in conference, including four-straight sweeps. The match prior to that saw Oregon State take No.13 Washington to five-sets at home.
Maddie Goings leads the Beavers with 228 kills, while Amy Underdown is second on the team with 210. Up front, Maddy Gravley has 77 blocks to lead the team, while Lindsey Schell has 65. Grace Massey was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week to open the season, while Maddie Sheehan was named the Freshman of the Week the final weekend of non-conference play. Massey leads the team and the nation with 318 digs. Sheehan leads the team with 543 assists.
Players Mentioned
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