Smith Hits Rare Record in Sweep

BERKELEY, Calif. – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team put down a commanding sweep (25-23, 25-18, 25-23) on Halloween night in Berkley, California, Wednesday night with senior Alexa Smith tying the school record for errorless attacks in a match with 33.

The record performance was nearly ended as Smith had 32 flawless swings and swung into a block that ricocheted out of bounds and gave CU match-point. The Cal coach challenged the line-hoovering play, temporarily pausing the record with the possibility of an error on swing number 33. After confirmation from the down ref, Smith joined Rachel Wacholder and Kristin Engelking as the only Buffs to accomplish the feat, first done by Wacholder in 1996 and last done by Engelking on the last regular season match in 1999.

Smith's performance wasn't just a bunch of swings that didn't get blocked or go out of bounds, she also had her second-highest hitting percentage of the season with a .394 mark and 13 kills. This is the first time this season she has had consecutive hitting performances greater than .300, with the last time such an occasion occurred being the end of last season before entering the NCAA tournament.

"Anytime you can hit over .300 on the road in the Pac-12 you are doing a lot of things right," said Head Coach Jesse Mahoney. "To have Lex take over 30 swings without an error is pretty impressive. I felt like we were low error in general tonight, and so when you are not giving points away it makes it harder on the other team. Really efficient tonight, I thought our block was really good at times as well."

It was a night of efficient swinging for CU, led in part by extraordinary play from middles Naghede Abu and Danielle Price. While Smith was on her way to a record, both middles were on the verge of reaching another odd school record when through two sets they both had five kills on five swings. While the record for the most attacks with all kills is seven, both ended up just short with a dominating 13 kills on 18 swings with three errors. Price led the team with a .714 hitting percentage and six kills while also leading the defense with seven block assists.

"I thought Naghede and Dani had a really good night," said Mahoney. "I wish we had ball handled a little better to use them a little more, but when we called their number they were really good. Naghede is always facing a double-block and I thought she did really well with that, and it was good to see Dani take some really nice cuts tonight."

Also for the Buffs offensively, Anyse Smith was second on the team with nine kills and Abu finished right behind her with seven.

True freshman and Northern California native Jenna Ewert was a key to the success of the Buffs tonight, stuffing the stat lines more than trick-or-treat bags got stuffed with candy tonight. Ewert dished out 34 assists while posting up the net with nine errorless swings for six kills. She also was second on the team with five block assists, had nine digs and put down an ace.

"We have two greater setters, unfortunately one wasn't available tonight and I thought Jenna stepped up and distributed the ball well. She played really well at the net with six kills and five blocks. She's a dynamic kid that when she is in the front row gives us another look and we are really excited for her being back, not in her hometown but a Northern California kid, playing in front of family and friends."

One deceiving stat from the night was Cal's .248 team hitting percentage, because Colorado's defense was stout tonight with 10 blocks compared to just three from the Golden Bears. Price and Ewert led up front while Abu and Justine Spann each put down three blocks. In the back, Rachel Whipple and Alexa Smith cleaned up with 11 and 10 digs, respectfully. Both women marked six digs in the final set, securing just the second sweep outside of Boulder this season.

Another strong area for Colorado was serving. Freshman Zoe Neverdowski came in to serve for Abu, stepping up with three aces. This is just the fourth performance of the season with three or more aces.

"We always knew Zoe was going to be a player that was going to help us from the service line. When we have the subs to spare and she can come in she can definitely get the other team out of system. She had two errors, but with three aces we will take that ratio for sure."

With the win the Buffs improve to 14-10 overall with a 6-7 record in conference play. Cal returns to an even 12-12 overall and a 4-9 record in the Pac-12. Colorado will look to keep momentum moving with a pair of consecutive wins in conference as they head West across the San Francisco Bay to take on the No.2 team in the nation in Stanford Friday evening at 8 p.m. MT.

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Jenna Ewert

Zoe Neverdowski

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple