Buffs Block Out No.21 Washington

BOULDER – Sunday afternoon the Smith duo posted a pair of 20-point performances to vault the University of Colorado women's volleyball team to the upset of No.21-ranked Washington in Boulder.

It took four sets to do so, but CU found the upset after a dominant opening set (25-12, 25-21, 21-25, 25,22). This is the second top-25 victory for the Buffs this season, who improve to 13-10 overall with a 5-7 record in conference play. Washington falls to 13-9 with the same record in the Pac-12 as Colorado.

Alexa Smith and Anyse Smith combined to dismantle the Huskies with 35 combined kills, hitting greater than .350 with 10 combined blocks. Alexa led the team with 19 kills, posting her second-straight 20-point performance. She hit .356 and posted a pair of blocks. Anyse had the second-highest kill count in the match with 16 kills, hitting .367 and putting down a career-high eight blocks.

The Buffs blocking was the key to victory. CU tied its season-high with 16 blocks, led by senior Naghede Abu who had 10 block assists. Emily DeMure added four block assists with Danielle Price posting three.

Justine Spann had a defensive day with 20 digs and a pair of solo blocks. Spann accounted for a third of the team's digs. Libero Rachel Whipple added a dozen digs.

The Buffs defense was stifling all afternoon, holding Washington to a negative hitting percentage in the first set, just the second time this season CU has held an opponent negative. The 25 percent sideout that the Huskies posted in the first is the worst a CU opponent has recorded all season long. Colorado also held Washington to a .150 or worse hitting percentage in all the sets except the third.

Colorado opened with one of its best first two sets this season. In the first set CU recorded no service errors and only three hitting errors with a .333 hitting percentage. CU didn't record a service error until set-point in the second set.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SET 1: Things got underway with a quick 3-1 Washington lead as the teams settled in. The Buffs tied it up again at three all, carrying the tie to eight all before CU capped a five-point run for an 11-8 lead and a Washington tie. Colorado continued to charge to a 19-12, forcing Washington to call its second timeout of the set. Alexa Smith was dominate early with six kills and a .500 hitting percentage. The Buffs were walking away with the first set before it was even close to over at 23-12. CU was hitting .333 while Washington was at -.029 hitting.

SET 2: Both teams came out swinging to a five all tie after the Buffs took the first set with ease. The Huskies worked out to a 9-6 lead, but CU quickly tied it back up at 10 all. Washington took back the lead to 13-11, but a three-point Buffs swing gave the lead back to the home squad. CU hit the 20-point mark at 20-16, carrying with the lead a .296 team hitting percentage through the match. The Huskies closed it to 20-19, but a key sideout but CU in a new rotation with Anyse Smith who came in with six kills and four blocks to point. CU's block stayed strong and forced a Washington timeout at 23-20.

SET 3: CU came out strong again with a 7-5 lead early. The lead held to a 10-8 score before Head coach Jesse Mahoney decided to call timeout. Out of the break the Huskies challenged to a 12-12 tie and took the lead a rally later at 13-12. Washington pushed to a 16-13 lead before coach called timeout again. The Huskies were hitting .500 in the set with 13 kills already. The Buffs challenged with a 3-1 run to bring the score to 21-19 and scare Washington into a timeout. A huge challenge turned a potential 22-19 lead to a 21-20, giving CU a chance for the sweep. The Huskies put down the next three points to force set-point, earning it at 25-21.

SET 4: Washington jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead. The Buffs battle back and took the lead at 6-5, but a three-point Washington run led to a CU timeout at 8-6. CU tied it back up at 10 all after a lineup error gave Washington a three-point lead. The tie continued through to a 17-15 CU lead after a Brynna DeLuzio kill. A trio of Washington points flipped the lead back to the Huskies at 19-18, forcing CU into a timeout. Colorado rolled to a 21-19 lead, forcing Washington into a timeout to halt the CU three-point run. Back-and-forth things continued with a 22 all tie late into the set. A kill from Anyse Smith made it 23-22 and forced Washington into their final timeout. CU earned match-point at 24-22, end the match on back-to-back blocks

QUOTABLES:

Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the overall analysis of the game
"It was a great win. First of all, Washington is a good team. To be able to play at the level that we did in four sets was really good to see. We only really had one bad spell in the third set. Besides that, I'd say that we were really consistent offensively. Defensively, I was happy with the defense against their left side hitters. We've worked on that a lot since the last time we played them. I thought that was really effective. We had a lot of really long rallies that we finished with a kill or a block. It was really fun to watch them play and now we've got to build on it because we're on the road next week."

On the importance of blocks in the match
"When we talk about the defensive side, we talk about serve blocking. I think we served particularly well. We got them out of system and that makes it easier for Naghede (Abu) and Dani (Price) to make a good read on where the ball is going to go. Our right-fronts did a really nice job of setting the block. They were all in the right spots. We had 16 total blocks and a lot of them came at pivotal moments in the match. That was really good to see."

Alexa Smith
On the comeback in the fourth set
"I think that we realized we lost our focus at the end of the third set. We still were not all the way there, but once we came together and finally did all of our jobs it made it a lot easier."

On this match versus the previous matchup against Washington
"It was an 'out-of-system' game, we worked on that a lot in practice. We did a really good job of defending against their outside hitters. That's what gave us the advantage.'"

Anyse Smith
On the comeback in the fourth set
"We just always make sure that we encourage each other, no matter what. We tell each other, "next ball" so we can refocus. We all did our jobs really well today."

On this match versus the previous matchup against Washington
"We came out hungry today. It showed that we wanted to win on the court. We all played together as a team and I really had fun."

UP NEXT:
The Buffs have a quick turnaround after a weekend of playing. Colorado hits the road for a Wednesday matchup at California, then close out the week Friday at No.2 Stanford. Friday's match is the 1,000^th match in CU history.

PAC-12 RECAP:

ALEXA SMITH PAC-12 INTERVIEW:

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Emily DeMure

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Emily DeMure

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple

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Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Emily DeMure

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple