Colorado University Athletics
Friday, November 2
Stanford, CA
8:00 PM
Colorado
14-11, 6-8Pac-12
2
at
3
Stanford
21-1, 13-0Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Colorado
19
21
29
29
9
2
Stanford
25
25
27
27
15
3
Team Stats
COLO
STAN
Kills
61
74
Errors
30
27
Attempts
163
168
Hitting %
.190
.280
Points
78.0
99.0
Assists
59
72
Aces
3
4
Blocks
14.0
21.0
Game Leaders
Kills
24
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballPhoto by: Cliff Grassmick
Buffs Nearly Pull off Miracle Upset
November 03, 2018 | Volleyball
STANFORD, Calif. – Friday evening the University of Colorado women's volleyball team took No.2-ranked Stanford to five-sets on the road, becoming just the second team to bring the powerhouse to five this season and first to do so as an unranked opponent in Stanford in more than two years.
Things did not look good for the Buffs after dropping the first two sets 25-19 and 25-21, but a resilient Colorado team battled to comeback in sets three and four by a score of 29-27. The Cardinal finished out the match with an 8-1 run with six-straight points to end the improbable comeback.
Stanford has only been pushed to five-sets one other time this season, a match on the road against BYU who took the No.1-ranking title from the Cardinal and have yet to relinquish it. This is also the first time in school history that CU has forced a fifth-set on the road against Stanford. With the loss Colorado falls to 14-11 with a 6-8 mark in conference play. Stanford remains unbeaten in the Pac-12 and are a win away from clinching the conference championship with five matches remaining.
Junior outside Justine Spann had a career-night while going head-to-head against the reigning AVCA Player of the Year in Kathryn Plummer. Spann led all players with a career-high 24 kills and posted a .304 hitting percentage. She had a kill more than Plummer who hit .232 in the match.
Also for the Buffs, Alexa Smith came on late with 12 kills in the third and fourth sets to lead CU to a fifth-set. After starting with just four kills in the first two sets, Smith had seven kills in the third and five in the fourth to finish with 17 overall.
Setter Jenna Ewert captured a double-double with a career-high 53 assists. She also tied Rachel Whipple for most digs on the team with 15.
The trio of Naghede Abu, Danielle Price and Anyse Smith all finished with six blocks to lead Colorado to 14 total blocks. Abu, Spann and Alexa Smith all had solo blocks, while Smith also added three block assists. Gabby Carta-Samuels added 10 digs to Whipple and Ewert's count, while outsides Spann and Smith each had eight.
Blocking was the largest difference in the match. Stanford, the national-leading team in blocks, tied its season-best with 21 total blocks against Colorado. Tami Alade finished with 15 total blocks and a match-high .727 hitting percentage with eight kills.
The Buffs' ability to sideout in the third and fourth proved to be the key to send it to five. After posting just a 43 percent mark in sideout in the first set, CU managed 66 in the second and sky rocketed that to 75 in the third. CU tallied 70 percent in the fourth on 27 tries, then fell back to 46 in the final set.
Like the first matchup, this was one of the closest matches CU faced all season. This is just the second time CU has forced a fifth set after starting down 0-2. The match featured 56 total ties and 22 lead changes. CU faced five match points.
QUICK RECAP:
SET 1: Buffs came out hot with a 5-2 lead after putting together a five-point run. The Cardinal brought the match back at seven all. Neither team earned more than a two-point lead through a 12-12 tie. Justine Spann had a great start, matching the defending National Player of the Year swing-for-swing with six kills on nine swings and a .667 hitting percentage, giving CU a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Spann carried the team with seven of the team's nine kills to a 21-18 Stanford lead where Coach Mahoney called timeout. The Cardinal carried out a five-point run until the Buffs were able to sideout at 23-19. Set-point came a play later, finishing the set on the next play.
SET 2: Things got underway in the second with a tie through five all. The tie continued through 10 all, then CU found a two-point lead at 13-11. Stanford retook a one-point lead at the media timeout, holding it through to a 21-18 lead. The Cardinal held that lead, taking the set at 25-21. Spann continued to charge with 22 errorless swings for 11 kills.
SET 3: In the third things started out in CU's favor with a three-point lead carrying to 10-7. The Cardinal battled back to tie it at 11 all, putting together a 6-1 run to a 13-11 lead. Stanford carried the lead to the media timeout up a pair. The teams battled through 20 all, but a pair of CU points and a 22-20 lead forced the Cardinal into a timeout. The Buffs earned the first set-point at 24-23, but Stanford ended that twice and retook the lead for match-point at 26-25. The Buffs survived a pair of match-points to bring the score to 27 all, then swung the momentum with a three-point run to finish of the set at 29-27. The Buffs nearly gave away the third set with three service errors, giving Stanford their 21st, 23rd and 24th points of the set.
SET 4: The second-ranked team in the nation jumped out to a 4-1 lead after dropping the third set twice. The Cardinal continued to put CU out of system and capitalizing on it with a 8-4 lead and a CU timeout. The Buffs close the gap, trailing 10-8. Justine Spann joined the 20-kill club, but Stanford continued to lead 17-15. The Buffs closed the gap even farther and looked to tie the match but a net violation was called on Alexa Smith. That play was challenged, but without an outcome the play needed to be replayed and gave Stanford another chance. The Cardinal jumped out to 19-16 before Coach Mahoney challenged for a block violation at 19-16, coming out unsuccessful. Out of the break CU scored a pair of points to bring it back within one again. The Buffs pushed out a four-point run to reclaim the lead at 20-19. The teams traded points, but a block gave CU a 22-21 lead. Colorado earned the first set-point at 24-23. A huge challenge and overturned gave Cardinal match-point at 26-25, but CU survived off an Alexa Smith kill. The Buffs rallied to close out the set 29-27.
SET 5: CU held the first lead, but a back-to-back set of blocks turned the tide to 3-2 Stanford. The teams traded back and forth leads and ties, with the Buffs reaching the eight-point switch first. The Cardinal took the lead out of the break and ran to a 12-9 margin before Colorado called timeout. Stanford was on a 5-1 run before CU called timeout. After back-to-back blocks the Buffs called a second timeout in a row, trailing 13-9 late in the fifth. A third block in a row forced match-point, with setter Jenna Gray closing it out on the next point.
QUOTABLES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the match
"It was a really well played match with a great atmosphere. Stanford is the best team in the country. Our kids definitely got up for it and I thought they played really hard. I thought for long stretches of that match we played some of our best volleyball of the season, which was really good to see. To have a chance to get to five and have a chance to close it out, I was really proud of how we played."
On Justine Spann's career night
"I wish Justine played against Stanford every night because she has great matches every time she plays them. She got on the ball really fast tonight, hitting high and hard. I thought Jenna gave her really nice tempo. J had a really nice match and came up big."
On Jenna Ewert's performance
"We have the luxury of having two really good setters. Right now Brynna is out, but I think Jenna is blossoming and she gets better every time she gets out there. She is a perfectionist. She wants to be the best setter she can be and she is pushing herself to do that. I thought she was fantastic tonight in all phases."
On what the match means to the team moving forward
"At the end we spoke about that (level of play and confidence). We talked about how this is a level we need to play at for the rest of the Pac-12 season and the remaining six matches. If we can do that good things will happen for us. We need to put some wins in the win column coming up here. Hopefully we see that we can play at a high level consistently and now we need to go out and do it."
UP NEXT: CU hosts a pair of must-win matches against Arizona State and Arizona this upcoming weekend. Sunday's match at noon is senior day and will be the last home match for Alexa Smith, Naghede Abu and Gabby Carta-Samuels.
SCENARIOS: Tonight's match will open many people's eyes to the potential that CU can play up to. With the season winding down, Colorado currently sits on the bubble for the NCAA tournament selection committee. Colorado has three teams that are currently ranked in the top-25 remaining on their schedule in Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. Next weekend will be the last chance CU can utilize home-court advantage before finishing the season with four matches in eight days on the road in Oregon and then to UCLA and Utah. The Buffs margin of error gets smaller as the season winds down, so virtually every match is a must-win.
Things did not look good for the Buffs after dropping the first two sets 25-19 and 25-21, but a resilient Colorado team battled to comeback in sets three and four by a score of 29-27. The Cardinal finished out the match with an 8-1 run with six-straight points to end the improbable comeback.
Stanford has only been pushed to five-sets one other time this season, a match on the road against BYU who took the No.1-ranking title from the Cardinal and have yet to relinquish it. This is also the first time in school history that CU has forced a fifth-set on the road against Stanford. With the loss Colorado falls to 14-11 with a 6-8 mark in conference play. Stanford remains unbeaten in the Pac-12 and are a win away from clinching the conference championship with five matches remaining.
Junior outside Justine Spann had a career-night while going head-to-head against the reigning AVCA Player of the Year in Kathryn Plummer. Spann led all players with a career-high 24 kills and posted a .304 hitting percentage. She had a kill more than Plummer who hit .232 in the match.
Also for the Buffs, Alexa Smith came on late with 12 kills in the third and fourth sets to lead CU to a fifth-set. After starting with just four kills in the first two sets, Smith had seven kills in the third and five in the fourth to finish with 17 overall.
Setter Jenna Ewert captured a double-double with a career-high 53 assists. She also tied Rachel Whipple for most digs on the team with 15.
The trio of Naghede Abu, Danielle Price and Anyse Smith all finished with six blocks to lead Colorado to 14 total blocks. Abu, Spann and Alexa Smith all had solo blocks, while Smith also added three block assists. Gabby Carta-Samuels added 10 digs to Whipple and Ewert's count, while outsides Spann and Smith each had eight.
Blocking was the largest difference in the match. Stanford, the national-leading team in blocks, tied its season-best with 21 total blocks against Colorado. Tami Alade finished with 15 total blocks and a match-high .727 hitting percentage with eight kills.
The Buffs' ability to sideout in the third and fourth proved to be the key to send it to five. After posting just a 43 percent mark in sideout in the first set, CU managed 66 in the second and sky rocketed that to 75 in the third. CU tallied 70 percent in the fourth on 27 tries, then fell back to 46 in the final set.
Like the first matchup, this was one of the closest matches CU faced all season. This is just the second time CU has forced a fifth set after starting down 0-2. The match featured 56 total ties and 22 lead changes. CU faced five match points.
QUICK RECAP:
SET 1: Buffs came out hot with a 5-2 lead after putting together a five-point run. The Cardinal brought the match back at seven all. Neither team earned more than a two-point lead through a 12-12 tie. Justine Spann had a great start, matching the defending National Player of the Year swing-for-swing with six kills on nine swings and a .667 hitting percentage, giving CU a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Spann carried the team with seven of the team's nine kills to a 21-18 Stanford lead where Coach Mahoney called timeout. The Cardinal carried out a five-point run until the Buffs were able to sideout at 23-19. Set-point came a play later, finishing the set on the next play.
SET 2: Things got underway in the second with a tie through five all. The tie continued through 10 all, then CU found a two-point lead at 13-11. Stanford retook a one-point lead at the media timeout, holding it through to a 21-18 lead. The Cardinal held that lead, taking the set at 25-21. Spann continued to charge with 22 errorless swings for 11 kills.
SET 3: In the third things started out in CU's favor with a three-point lead carrying to 10-7. The Cardinal battled back to tie it at 11 all, putting together a 6-1 run to a 13-11 lead. Stanford carried the lead to the media timeout up a pair. The teams battled through 20 all, but a pair of CU points and a 22-20 lead forced the Cardinal into a timeout. The Buffs earned the first set-point at 24-23, but Stanford ended that twice and retook the lead for match-point at 26-25. The Buffs survived a pair of match-points to bring the score to 27 all, then swung the momentum with a three-point run to finish of the set at 29-27. The Buffs nearly gave away the third set with three service errors, giving Stanford their 21st, 23rd and 24th points of the set.
SET 4: The second-ranked team in the nation jumped out to a 4-1 lead after dropping the third set twice. The Cardinal continued to put CU out of system and capitalizing on it with a 8-4 lead and a CU timeout. The Buffs close the gap, trailing 10-8. Justine Spann joined the 20-kill club, but Stanford continued to lead 17-15. The Buffs closed the gap even farther and looked to tie the match but a net violation was called on Alexa Smith. That play was challenged, but without an outcome the play needed to be replayed and gave Stanford another chance. The Cardinal jumped out to 19-16 before Coach Mahoney challenged for a block violation at 19-16, coming out unsuccessful. Out of the break CU scored a pair of points to bring it back within one again. The Buffs pushed out a four-point run to reclaim the lead at 20-19. The teams traded points, but a block gave CU a 22-21 lead. Colorado earned the first set-point at 24-23. A huge challenge and overturned gave Cardinal match-point at 26-25, but CU survived off an Alexa Smith kill. The Buffs rallied to close out the set 29-27.
SET 5: CU held the first lead, but a back-to-back set of blocks turned the tide to 3-2 Stanford. The teams traded back and forth leads and ties, with the Buffs reaching the eight-point switch first. The Cardinal took the lead out of the break and ran to a 12-9 margin before Colorado called timeout. Stanford was on a 5-1 run before CU called timeout. After back-to-back blocks the Buffs called a second timeout in a row, trailing 13-9 late in the fifth. A third block in a row forced match-point, with setter Jenna Gray closing it out on the next point.
QUOTABLES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the match
"It was a really well played match with a great atmosphere. Stanford is the best team in the country. Our kids definitely got up for it and I thought they played really hard. I thought for long stretches of that match we played some of our best volleyball of the season, which was really good to see. To have a chance to get to five and have a chance to close it out, I was really proud of how we played."
On Justine Spann's career night
"I wish Justine played against Stanford every night because she has great matches every time she plays them. She got on the ball really fast tonight, hitting high and hard. I thought Jenna gave her really nice tempo. J had a really nice match and came up big."
On Jenna Ewert's performance
"We have the luxury of having two really good setters. Right now Brynna is out, but I think Jenna is blossoming and she gets better every time she gets out there. She is a perfectionist. She wants to be the best setter she can be and she is pushing herself to do that. I thought she was fantastic tonight in all phases."
On what the match means to the team moving forward
"At the end we spoke about that (level of play and confidence). We talked about how this is a level we need to play at for the rest of the Pac-12 season and the remaining six matches. If we can do that good things will happen for us. We need to put some wins in the win column coming up here. Hopefully we see that we can play at a high level consistently and now we need to go out and do it."
UP NEXT: CU hosts a pair of must-win matches against Arizona State and Arizona this upcoming weekend. Sunday's match at noon is senior day and will be the last home match for Alexa Smith, Naghede Abu and Gabby Carta-Samuels.
SCENARIOS: Tonight's match will open many people's eyes to the potential that CU can play up to. With the season winding down, Colorado currently sits on the bubble for the NCAA tournament selection committee. Colorado has three teams that are currently ranked in the top-25 remaining on their schedule in Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. Next weekend will be the last chance CU can utilize home-court advantage before finishing the season with four matches in eight days on the road in Oregon and then to UCLA and Utah. The Buffs margin of error gets smaller as the season winds down, so virtually every match is a must-win.
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