No. 15 Colorado Sweeps North Florida

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Behind a great all-around team effort, the No. 15 University of Colorado Buffaloes swept North Florida (25-23, 25-17, 25-18) on Friday night in the third match of the Rumble in the Rockies at the University of Wyoming.

CU improved to 2-0 after defeating Oral Roberts earlier in the day, while UNF is now 0-2 after falling to Wyoming.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs hit an outstanding .326 with Brynna DeLuzio handing out 31 assists. Justine Spann had a career match with 14 kills and hit .481 with just one error on 27 attacks. Alexa Smith was second on the squad with 12 kills, while Danielle Price had another solid performance with nine kills and seven blocks, in addition to hitting .500 with two errors on 14 swings.

Four other Buffs recorded kills in the win. Lauren Dorrell tallied five, while DeLuzio and Anyse Smith each had two. Lillie Klemmer added the other kill for CU.

Colorado's passers also had a great night. Spann and Alexa Smith led the team with nine digs, while Rachel Whipple and DeLuzio each had eight.

"We are happy with the win, but still adjusting to having so many new faces on the floor; we are still finding our rhythm with each other," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Our offense is running smoothly but we've got work to do on the defensive end. Justine and Dani were exceptionally efficient tonight, which was good to see. Wyoming will be a very stiff test tomorrow."

The UNF Ospreys did not have an athlete reach double-digits in kills. Their team leader was Taryn Griffey, who recorded nine kills while hitting .421. Solimar Cestero was second on the team with seven kills. Colorado held UNF to a .155 hitting efficiency.

SET 1: UNF got out to a 13-10 start, forcing the Buffs to take an early timeout. Out of that break, CU recorded three straight points with kills from Spann and Price and then a UNF attack error to even it out at 13-13. It would be very close the rest of the way with 10 more ties in the frame. With the score tied 23-23, Spann hammered a kill, which made the Ospreys take a timeout. After that, Spann finished the set with another kill to give CU a 25-23 victory.

SET 2: The Ospreys took a 3-1 lead in the first set, but the Buffs answered back with a 4-0 run to go up 5-3. The two sides would play another close set with UNF evening the game at 11-11. The Ospreys took the lead on the following point, but a kill from Dorrell and a UNF attack error put the Buffs back in the lead (13-12). CU went up by three (16-13) a short time later, which made UNF take a timeout. Out of the break, CU used a 3-0 to take a 19-13 advantage before UNF sided-out. After that, the Buffs answered with another three straight points to cause UNF to use its last timeout (22-14). Colorado was able to close the frame out easily, which included back-to-back kills from Anyse Smith to finish the set (25-17).

SET 3: The Buffs jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third game and was up 14-9 when the Ospreys used a timeout. After the break, UNF was able to cut CU's lead to three (16-13), but a kill from Alexa Smith put the Buffs back up by four. The Ospreys were not letting the Buffs out of their sights, getting within two at 18-16. But again the Buffs pulled ahead, this time with three straight points, for a 21-16 advantage. UNF took a timeout and was able to side-out on the next play, but CU went on to finish the set, and the match, 25-18.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs out-hit their opponent for the second straight match, topping UNF .326-.155. CU had 45 kills, compared to 35 for the Ospreys, and also had the edge in blocks (8.0-6.0) and digs (43-31).

NOTES: This was the first meeting between the two teams…For the second straight season, CU is 2-0 after the first two matches.

ABU: Senior Naghede Abu has missed the first two matches this season due to injury. She is expected back in a few weeks.

NEXT UP: The Buffs face Wyoming at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 25. Links to live stats and a free live stream are available at GoWyo.com.

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Team Stats

Justine Spann

Alexa Smith

Danielle Price

Lauren Dorrell

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Lauren Dorrell

Lillie Klemmer

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Lauren Dorrell

Lillie Klemmer

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple