The Queen of All Blocks

BOULDER – When Colorado takes the court tomorrow against South Carolina the Gamecocks will have wide eyes looking across the net to see the 6-foot, 4-inch tall All-Pac-12 Naghede Abu bearing down on them ready to stuff their dreams and pick apart their defense.

The senior from Riverside, Calif., is the most dominant middle blocker in the history of Colorado Volleyball. This is no longer a thought but a fact after Abu marked her first block against UCLA last Wednesday. With a second block to give CU its 14^th point of the third set she stood alone as the school record holder in career total blocks, passing Meghan Barkman's record that dated back to November 30, 2002 when she finished her career with her final six of her 565 total blocks.

"It feels great," said Abu when asked about the record. "That record was set a while ago. It means a really great deal to me to be able to leave a legacy at CU. For me that's pretty important."

Abu's legacy began four years ago when she came to CU and made an instant impact with a freshman record 142 blocks. Four seasons later she has led the team in blocks every year while posting the three of the top-four blocking seasons in the rally scoring era. Her 153 blocks as a sophomore and junior are the fourth-most blocks ever, including the most by a junior.

Abu was on pace for 600 career blocks, making her 566^th block more of a concern of when not if as her senior season approached. After the fall scrimmage though things changed when Abu suffered a knee injury that needed surgery.

The senior's vacant presence in the middle of the net was apparent from the first weekend when CU fell to Wyoming. It became more apparent in the home opener against Georgia when the Buffs hit .283 as a team but were out-blocked nine to two.

"It was always kind of scary," said Abu about the injury and missing time. "I wasn't sure until a week before I actually started playing if I was going to be able to play this season or end up redshirting. For me it was always kind of scary and uncertain because I wanted to be out there and not watch from the sideline. At the same time I think getting to watch my team play taught me a lot. Even though I wasn't out there I was able to learn from watching the play so it wasn't always bad. It definitely helped me grow as a player. Watching is like 80 percent of the game while executing is the other 20."

Another week passed and the senior's recovery was going better than expected. She finally made it back into the lineup against Portland State and Indiana State, both matches that CU posted low blocking numbers as she got back into her groove. The next night in-state rivals Colorado State lined up against her and she showed everyone in the state why she was the block queen, posting 10 total blocks while leading the team to a season-high 16 blocks, a team mark that stood until the third-to-last match.

With the delayed opening to her season and the conference season beginning Abu was still close enough to the record to hit it … barely. She needed to average 11 blocks per weekend, or 5.5 blocks per match, to hit the mark of 565 in the final match of the season. Weeks went by that lowered that average, but after nine total blocks in matches in the Bay Area and eight against the Arizona schools at home she was back to uncertain territory.

Was it going to happen? What if the team doesn't make the tournament and she barely misses it? Will she need another tournament match to break it? These were all questions that were out there that got answered in the second and fourth sets at Oregon State.

After posting four blocks at Oregon the senior needed something to happen. In the first set against the Beavers Abu marked one block, but then in the second she turned back three blocks in the first five points. Abu would go on to post six blocks in the set. Much like the second set, Abu posted three more blocks in the first five points of the fourth set. She finished that set with seven blocks, already tying her own school record she set and shared with Lisa Soulliere her sophomore season with 15 with a whole set to go.

Abu would finish that match with 17 blocks, two more than the previous school record. For comparison of that performance, there have been a dozen matches in CU's 34 years of volleyball with 12 or more blocks in a match. More importantly for Abu though, she was a single block away from tying Barkman with two matches remaining. She was back to asking the question of when instead of if.

"I was very proud," Abu said after the match. "I was mostly proud of my teammates because most of those were assists, so they did a very good job setting it up for me. Being able to execute, that was the most blocks we have had in a match all season, so I was more proud of our team than I was for myself."

So what makes Abu such a force at the net? That may not be something as simple to answer as most would think. Is it her wingspan, height, vertical, intelligence, or all of the above? While the answer may not be clear the only thing certain is her hard work and dedication to working hard and progressing.

When asked on who she would attribute her success to she had this to say. "It's a mixture between Jesse volleyball wise and my mom would be the mental part. Jesse taught me a lot about volleyball, I know that is expected as a coach but he was always willing to stay after practice and watch film as needed and always willing to help me out. Even when I was struggling he knew exactly what to say to help me through the volleyball aspect of it. Off the court, everybody has mental struggles and I would like to credit that part to my mom. She was always there to talk me through any self-doubt or when I wasn't feeling 100 percent."

It has been a certainty that Abu was a great blocker, but now she can also be known as the most efficient hitter in Colorado history. Abu has a .387 hitting percentage this season, the highest attack percentage for a season of any hitter in school history (Hall of Fame setter Kelly Campbell has the school record at .406). Abu is now alone at the top of the career hitting percentage record with a career mark of .332. She began the season third at .314, which is more impressive you consider she was 10^th on the list after her sophomore season at .293.

"I didn't even know I was there, that's incredible," said Abu when told about the mark. "It means a great deal to leave a legacy, especially as a senior. It feels good that I was here (succeeding), not just was here (playing), so that's pretty cool. It goes back to our setters; Jenna, Brynna, Emily, being able to set me hittable balls and always willing to work with me to give me what I need. Also our team for passing well because none of this would be possible without them passing the ball in the first place."

Abu will be a key to Colorado's success this weekend in Minnesota in the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks are planning for her and so will anyone else that sees CU in the future. After this season the Buffaloes will have a large 6-4 void that may take another 16 years to fill as the Queen rests on top of the record books.

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

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