Sunday, September 30
Pullman, WA
1:00 PM
Colorado
9-6 (1-3Pac-12)
1
at
3
Washington State
11-3 (2-2Pac-12)
1
2
3
4
F
COLO
25
30
19
24
1
Washington State
21
32
25
26
3
Photo by: Mark Waldron
Buffs Strong Attack Not Enough Against Cougars
September 30, 2018 | Volleyball
PULLMAN, Wash. — The University of Colorado women's volleyball team found itself in a back-and-forth offensive battle with Washington State Sunday afternoon in Pullman, Washington, eventually falling to the Cougars in four sets (25-21, 30-32, 19-25, 24-26).
The match was an offensive juggernaut with both teams hitting greater than .260 and having four attackers in double-digit digs. The teams kept countering with runs after runs, as both combined for 34 ties and 16 lead changes. In the end the Cougars came back to win both the second and fourth sets that went into extra points, sealing the victory despite the Buffs hitting .308 as a team.
Anyse Smith was a force to be reckoned with in the first set and a half of the match. At one point the rightside hitter had taken nine swings, converting seven into kills without a single error. She finished the match tied for a team-high 15 kills while hitting .310. She was joined by Justine Spann with 15 kills, with Spann only committing four attack errors for a .314 hitting percentage.
Also for the Buffs on the offensive end, Naghede Abu had some key plays in the middle, leading the team with a match-high .450 hitting percentage with 10 kills and only a single error. Alexa Smith was a consistent force with a .278 hitting percentage with 13 kills.
The setter duo of Jenna Ewert and Brynna DeLuzio split evenly with 29 assists each. The mark was a career-high for Ewert, while DeLuzio put up a double-double with 11 digs.
On the defensive end of the battle, the Buffs did well to slow down the Washington State attack with a dozen team blocks. Danielle Price led the wall with six block assists, while Lauren Dorrell added in five and Naghede Abu four. In the back row Gabby Carta-Samuels had a dozen digs to lead the team, while Rachel Whipple added 10 digs.
Washington State's Taylor Mims was shut down in the first set by Colorado with only a single kill and a -.400 hitting percentage. Mims turned it around in the second set, posting 11 of the team's 20 kills in the set. She finished with a match-high 23 kills and a .250 attack percentage, taking more than 50 swings.
POST-MATCH QUOTES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On Justine Spann and Lauren Dorrell stepping up and hitting efficiently
"I think offensively we did enough to win the match. We hit over .300 in the match. We had a lot of kills spread out across a lot of players. I thought Justine did a really nice job, she was matched up against their setter early and was able to score well. Lauren had some key swings down the stretch in a couple of those sets. Offensively we did enough to win it.
If the second set going that long effected the players in the following sets
"That is hard to say. Both teams were out of subs and we had two set points and couldn't close it out. You think maybe winning that set changes the complexion of that match either way. We struggled in the third set and fell behind at that point."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: The Cougars started out well with a 5-2 lead. It took a while but the Buffs tied it back up at 13 all, taking the first lead of the set at 15-14. The Buffs did not have an attack error through its first 17 attempts, hitting .444 as a team. The Buffs took their just large lead with a 19-17 lead, forcing the first timeout from Washington State. Colorado extended that lead to 23-20, hitting .429 as a team and forcing another WSU timeout. The Buffs closed out the set 25-21, led by Jenna Ewert with nine assists, four of which to Anyse Smith. The Buffs finished the set with a .385 attacking percentage and just a pair of attack errors.
SET 2: The Cougars came out with an answer, earning a 8-4 lead. One answer that couldn't be solved was Anyse Smith. The redshirt freshman had seven kills on nine swings before she committed her first attacking error. Washington State held its four-point lead to 12-8, with the Buffs cutting into it multiple times before letting it back. WSU finally pushed the lead to five at 16-11, forcing a Colorado timeout. Miscommunication on a play led to the largest lead of 18-11. The Buffs scored three straight points after winning a challenge and an ace from Ewert, leading to a 20-18 WSU lead and timeout. Following the timeout the Buffs cut it to one, but after allowing a point went on a three-point run to take the lead at 22-21. The run was sparked by Anyse Smith, who had a kill and a solo block. Followign a length timeout the Cougars got a pair of points to retake the lead, but Justine Spann cut the run to tie it at 23 each. Naghede Abu put down the first set-point to tie up the set at 24 apiece. WSU secured the next point for the second set-point, forcing a Colorado timeout. Out of the timeout Abu extended the set again with a kill. At 27-26 coach was looking for the three-peat on challenges, but was unsuccessful. Alexa Smith kept the run going with three-straight set-point ending kills, pushing the set to 28 all. One play later she took the lead at 29-28. The Cougars finally took the win at 32-30.
SET 3: Following the long second set the WSU got out to a quick 6-2 start. The Cougars continued to pick gaps in the Buff defense, earning a 10-5 lead. The Buffs scored four-straight points to tie the set up at 11. The Buffs put together runs of three, four and three points before Washington State had enough and called timeout trailing 14-12. The break worked, as the Cougars ran off four-straight points to take a 16-14 lead. Washington State reached 20 points first with a three point lead. WSU hit set-point 24-19, finishing it off the next rally. The Buffs continued to hit well at .290, but passing was the problem as numerous balls were sent into the net and out of system.
SET 4: Passing struggles continued for the Buffs and the duo of Smiths continued to hit the ball well. Anyse Smith put down her 12th kill in a 6-4 set, while Alexa Smith was hitting .385 with only a single attack error on 11 kills. The Buffs went on a four-point run to take the lead at 7-6. Following the WSU sideout the Buffs rallied off another run of three points to take a 10-7 lead and force the first Washington State timeout. The Cougars came within one at 13-12 before Naghede Abu put down a clutch kill to end the run. WSU got within one numerous times on the way to trailing 19-18. The Cougars tied up the set on the next point and returned with another score to take the lead. The Buffs came back to a 21-20 lead, but surrendered the tie at 21 all. The Cougars put together a pair of points after 22 all to take it to match point and force a CU timeout. The Buffs put together a pair of points to tie it again, but allowed a pair of points after to drop the match.
UP NEXT: The Buffs are home next weekend with matchups against Cal and No.2-ranked Stanford. The California match is set for 8 p.m. in the CU Events Center, with the Stanford match tabbed for Sunday at noon.
The match was an offensive juggernaut with both teams hitting greater than .260 and having four attackers in double-digit digs. The teams kept countering with runs after runs, as both combined for 34 ties and 16 lead changes. In the end the Cougars came back to win both the second and fourth sets that went into extra points, sealing the victory despite the Buffs hitting .308 as a team.
Anyse Smith was a force to be reckoned with in the first set and a half of the match. At one point the rightside hitter had taken nine swings, converting seven into kills without a single error. She finished the match tied for a team-high 15 kills while hitting .310. She was joined by Justine Spann with 15 kills, with Spann only committing four attack errors for a .314 hitting percentage.
Also for the Buffs on the offensive end, Naghede Abu had some key plays in the middle, leading the team with a match-high .450 hitting percentage with 10 kills and only a single error. Alexa Smith was a consistent force with a .278 hitting percentage with 13 kills.
The setter duo of Jenna Ewert and Brynna DeLuzio split evenly with 29 assists each. The mark was a career-high for Ewert, while DeLuzio put up a double-double with 11 digs.
On the defensive end of the battle, the Buffs did well to slow down the Washington State attack with a dozen team blocks. Danielle Price led the wall with six block assists, while Lauren Dorrell added in five and Naghede Abu four. In the back row Gabby Carta-Samuels had a dozen digs to lead the team, while Rachel Whipple added 10 digs.
Washington State's Taylor Mims was shut down in the first set by Colorado with only a single kill and a -.400 hitting percentage. Mims turned it around in the second set, posting 11 of the team's 20 kills in the set. She finished with a match-high 23 kills and a .250 attack percentage, taking more than 50 swings.
POST-MATCH QUOTES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On Justine Spann and Lauren Dorrell stepping up and hitting efficiently
"I think offensively we did enough to win the match. We hit over .300 in the match. We had a lot of kills spread out across a lot of players. I thought Justine did a really nice job, she was matched up against their setter early and was able to score well. Lauren had some key swings down the stretch in a couple of those sets. Offensively we did enough to win it.
If the second set going that long effected the players in the following sets
"That is hard to say. Both teams were out of subs and we had two set points and couldn't close it out. You think maybe winning that set changes the complexion of that match either way. We struggled in the third set and fell behind at that point."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: The Cougars started out well with a 5-2 lead. It took a while but the Buffs tied it back up at 13 all, taking the first lead of the set at 15-14. The Buffs did not have an attack error through its first 17 attempts, hitting .444 as a team. The Buffs took their just large lead with a 19-17 lead, forcing the first timeout from Washington State. Colorado extended that lead to 23-20, hitting .429 as a team and forcing another WSU timeout. The Buffs closed out the set 25-21, led by Jenna Ewert with nine assists, four of which to Anyse Smith. The Buffs finished the set with a .385 attacking percentage and just a pair of attack errors.
SET 2: The Cougars came out with an answer, earning a 8-4 lead. One answer that couldn't be solved was Anyse Smith. The redshirt freshman had seven kills on nine swings before she committed her first attacking error. Washington State held its four-point lead to 12-8, with the Buffs cutting into it multiple times before letting it back. WSU finally pushed the lead to five at 16-11, forcing a Colorado timeout. Miscommunication on a play led to the largest lead of 18-11. The Buffs scored three straight points after winning a challenge and an ace from Ewert, leading to a 20-18 WSU lead and timeout. Following the timeout the Buffs cut it to one, but after allowing a point went on a three-point run to take the lead at 22-21. The run was sparked by Anyse Smith, who had a kill and a solo block. Followign a length timeout the Cougars got a pair of points to retake the lead, but Justine Spann cut the run to tie it at 23 each. Naghede Abu put down the first set-point to tie up the set at 24 apiece. WSU secured the next point for the second set-point, forcing a Colorado timeout. Out of the timeout Abu extended the set again with a kill. At 27-26 coach was looking for the three-peat on challenges, but was unsuccessful. Alexa Smith kept the run going with three-straight set-point ending kills, pushing the set to 28 all. One play later she took the lead at 29-28. The Cougars finally took the win at 32-30.
SET 3: Following the long second set the WSU got out to a quick 6-2 start. The Cougars continued to pick gaps in the Buff defense, earning a 10-5 lead. The Buffs scored four-straight points to tie the set up at 11. The Buffs put together runs of three, four and three points before Washington State had enough and called timeout trailing 14-12. The break worked, as the Cougars ran off four-straight points to take a 16-14 lead. Washington State reached 20 points first with a three point lead. WSU hit set-point 24-19, finishing it off the next rally. The Buffs continued to hit well at .290, but passing was the problem as numerous balls were sent into the net and out of system.
SET 4: Passing struggles continued for the Buffs and the duo of Smiths continued to hit the ball well. Anyse Smith put down her 12th kill in a 6-4 set, while Alexa Smith was hitting .385 with only a single attack error on 11 kills. The Buffs went on a four-point run to take the lead at 7-6. Following the WSU sideout the Buffs rallied off another run of three points to take a 10-7 lead and force the first Washington State timeout. The Cougars came within one at 13-12 before Naghede Abu put down a clutch kill to end the run. WSU got within one numerous times on the way to trailing 19-18. The Cougars tied up the set on the next point and returned with another score to take the lead. The Buffs came back to a 21-20 lead, but surrendered the tie at 21 all. The Cougars put together a pair of points after 22 all to take it to match point and force a CU timeout. The Buffs put together a pair of points to tie it again, but allowed a pair of points after to drop the match.
UP NEXT: The Buffs are home next weekend with matchups against Cal and No.2-ranked Stanford. The California match is set for 8 p.m. in the CU Events Center, with the Stanford match tabbed for Sunday at noon.
Team Stats
COLO
WSU
Kills
62
71
Errors
17
25
Attempts
146
171
Hitting %
.308
.269
Points
78.0
84.0
Assists
61
63
Aces
4
6
Blocks
12.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S/L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
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