Friday, October 19
Tucson, AZ
8:00 PM
Colorado
11-9, 3-6Pac-12
0
at
3
Arizona
15-6, 4-5Pac-12
1
2
3
F
Colorado
21
23
22
0
Arizona
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
COLO
ARIZ
Kills
37
42
Errors
21
24
Attempts
110
119
Hitting %
.145
.151
Points
45.0
53.0
Assists
36
32
Aces
2
2
Blocks
6.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballPhoto by: Tim Benko, Benko Photographics
Buffs Passing Woes Lead to Arizona Sweep
October 19, 2018 | Volleyball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Passing struggles put the University of Colorado women's volleyball team out of sorts Friday evening, allowing No.25 Arizona to jump on the struggling Buffaloes and put them down in a sweep (25-21, 25-23, 25-22).
The passing game let the Buffs down throughout the match, showing in Arizona's 10 unassisted kills, most of which coming from overpassed balls. That along with numerous net violations and a strong Arizona block allowed the Wildcats to sweep the Buffs despite hitting 24 errors and posting their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season.
Despite the passing woes senior Alexa Smith put the Buffs into contention in sets with her 13 kills. Smith took the majority of the team's swings with 45, hitting .133 in the process. She was joined by Naghede Abu and Justine Spann with seven kills apiece. Abu led the team in efficiency with a .312 hitting percentage.
Setter Brynna DeLuzio led the team in assists once again with 15, while finishing second on the team with eight digs. Jenna Ewert added in 13 assists and six digs.
On the defensive end Abu put down four block assists to account for a third of the Buff's six total blocks. Rachel Whipple led the team with 11 digs while being the target for the Wildcats. Whipple was served to 28 times, a dozen more than any other CU player. Alexa Smith added in three block assists.
The Buffs held the conference's leading attacker Kendra Dahlke to just a .114 hitting percentage with 13 kills. The outside had a negative hitting percentage through two sets, but an errorless third set with six kills put her back into the positive.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: Buffs jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, feeding the ball to Alexa Smith early with all six of the team's first swings. The Buffs continued to sideout perfectly until a 7-6 score. Arizona ran off a 9-1 run to take a 12-8 lead before CU could recover and sideout. The Wildcats made it to the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. The Buffs hitting struggles stemmed straight from the passing struggles with a .000 hitting percentage and only a 21 percent passing percentage. Down as much as seven, the Buffs rallied off four-straight points to force Arizona in to a timeout at 21-18. The Wildcats reached set-point at 24-20, taking the first set at 25-21. CU struggled hitting just .057. The passing game also led to six unassisted kills for Arizona on overpasses.
SET 2: The teams started out even at 4-4 to open the second set. Arizona slowly began to creep out with a 10-6 lead, forcing Colorado into a timeout. The Wildcats block was on in full force with four blocks already in the set. CU rallied to tie it back up at 16 all after being down and going on a 7-1 run. The Buffs took the lead at 18-17, but Arizona ran back to a 22-19 lead and a CU timeout. Arizona hit set-point at 24-21, finishing out the set 25-23. Alexa Smith led the way with nine kills.
SET 3: Similar to the second set, the teams jumped out to a 4-4 tie early in the set. The team's continued to trade points through 8-8. The back-and-forth tie made it nearly to the media timeout with Arizona leading 15-13. The Wildcats began to push away, highlighted at 20-15 when CU called timeout after an attack error and miscommunication on defense. Arizona pushed to match-point at 24-20, closing it out at 25-22.
QUOTABLES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
"A disappointing match to start this road swing. It starts with serving and passing and we struggled to do both tonight. We actually kept Arizona to some low numbers attacking but couldn't sideout at a high enough rate to take advantage. We have to rebound quickly and prepare for a very good Arizona State team and a must-win match."
UP NEXT: Colorado looks to shake off the loss quickly as it heads to Tempe, Arizona, for a matchup with Arizona State Sunday at 3 p.m. The Sun Devils were swept by Utah at home in their last match.
The passing game let the Buffs down throughout the match, showing in Arizona's 10 unassisted kills, most of which coming from overpassed balls. That along with numerous net violations and a strong Arizona block allowed the Wildcats to sweep the Buffs despite hitting 24 errors and posting their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season.
Despite the passing woes senior Alexa Smith put the Buffs into contention in sets with her 13 kills. Smith took the majority of the team's swings with 45, hitting .133 in the process. She was joined by Naghede Abu and Justine Spann with seven kills apiece. Abu led the team in efficiency with a .312 hitting percentage.
Setter Brynna DeLuzio led the team in assists once again with 15, while finishing second on the team with eight digs. Jenna Ewert added in 13 assists and six digs.
On the defensive end Abu put down four block assists to account for a third of the Buff's six total blocks. Rachel Whipple led the team with 11 digs while being the target for the Wildcats. Whipple was served to 28 times, a dozen more than any other CU player. Alexa Smith added in three block assists.
The Buffs held the conference's leading attacker Kendra Dahlke to just a .114 hitting percentage with 13 kills. The outside had a negative hitting percentage through two sets, but an errorless third set with six kills put her back into the positive.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: Buffs jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, feeding the ball to Alexa Smith early with all six of the team's first swings. The Buffs continued to sideout perfectly until a 7-6 score. Arizona ran off a 9-1 run to take a 12-8 lead before CU could recover and sideout. The Wildcats made it to the media timeout with a 15-12 lead. The Buffs hitting struggles stemmed straight from the passing struggles with a .000 hitting percentage and only a 21 percent passing percentage. Down as much as seven, the Buffs rallied off four-straight points to force Arizona in to a timeout at 21-18. The Wildcats reached set-point at 24-20, taking the first set at 25-21. CU struggled hitting just .057. The passing game also led to six unassisted kills for Arizona on overpasses.
SET 2: The teams started out even at 4-4 to open the second set. Arizona slowly began to creep out with a 10-6 lead, forcing Colorado into a timeout. The Wildcats block was on in full force with four blocks already in the set. CU rallied to tie it back up at 16 all after being down and going on a 7-1 run. The Buffs took the lead at 18-17, but Arizona ran back to a 22-19 lead and a CU timeout. Arizona hit set-point at 24-21, finishing out the set 25-23. Alexa Smith led the way with nine kills.
SET 3: Similar to the second set, the teams jumped out to a 4-4 tie early in the set. The team's continued to trade points through 8-8. The back-and-forth tie made it nearly to the media timeout with Arizona leading 15-13. The Wildcats began to push away, highlighted at 20-15 when CU called timeout after an attack error and miscommunication on defense. Arizona pushed to match-point at 24-20, closing it out at 25-22.
QUOTABLES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
"A disappointing match to start this road swing. It starts with serving and passing and we struggled to do both tonight. We actually kept Arizona to some low numbers attacking but couldn't sideout at a high enough rate to take advantage. We have to rebound quickly and prepare for a very good Arizona State team and a must-win match."
UP NEXT: Colorado looks to shake off the loss quickly as it heads to Tempe, Arizona, for a matchup with Arizona State Sunday at 3 p.m. The Sun Devils were swept by Utah at home in their last match.
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