Colorado University Athletics
Friday, September 7
Boulder, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado
vs
Georgia
Photo by: Jamie Mitchell
Colorado to Host Buffs Invitational
September 04, 2018 | Volleyball
BOULDER, Colo. — The University of Colorado volleyball team comes home for the first time in the 2018 season to host the 2018 Buffs Invitational. A school from four of the five Power-5 conferences will be in the tournament, with the University of Georgia, University of North Carolina and University of Oklahoma attending. Matches begin Friday at 3 p.m. in the CU Events Center with Oklahoma taking on North Carolina. Colorado will be taking on Georgia Friday evening at 6 p.m., then conclude action in a double-header Saturday against North Carolina at noon and Oklahoma at 7 p.m. All CU matches will be streaming live on Pac-12 Plus.
The women are ranked 24th in the nation with a 3-2 record following last weekend in the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge. Colorado fell to No. 11-ranked Illinois in three sets, then returned to defeat Iowa in four sets. Senior Alexa Smith and junior Justine Spann were both named to the All-Tournament team after Smith had a season-high 23 kills against Iowa and Spann had a career-high 25 digs in the same match. Both women recorded their first double-double of the season in that match.
Offensively, Smith (3.74) and Spann (3.37) lead the team with more than three kills per set. Spann has a team-high .305 hitting percentage and is second on the team in digs with 53. Smith is third on the team in digs with 41. The Buffs have been splitting time early at setter with sophomore Brynna DeLuzio leading the offense with 137 assists. Freshman Jenna Ewert has 47 assists in her early career.
On the defensive side, redshirt freshman Danielle Price has anchored the front wall with 27 total blocks, good for fourth in the Pac-12. Lillie Klemmer is second on the team with 21 blocks, while sophomore Lauren Dorrell has 15. Junior libero Rachel Whipple leads the back row with 62 digs this season.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Georgia comes into this contest unbeaten at 6-0 and receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. The team is coming off of an impressive weekend in California at the UC Irvine/Adidas Invitational where they swept all three opponents faced in Texas Tech, UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield. Georgia has only dropped three sets this season, two coming in the home opener against Coastal Carolina. The other set loss came from Illinois State. Georgia has a respectable .268 hitting percentage this season and have lived on its serving and serve receive. The Bulldogs have 44 aces but have served up 67 errors, while the team has only allowed an ace per set. Sophomore outside T'ara Ceasar paves the way with 4.7 kills/set and a .310 hitting percentage. Junior Meghan Donovan is the lone setter in the system with 235 assists this season, just more than 11 per set. The duties on defense are split up, with Kendall Glover leading with 97 digs, while three Bulldogs have 11 or more blocks this season.
SCOUTING THE TARHEELS: North Carolina comes into the tournament 2-3, with two of its losses coming from top-10 opponents in the Big Ten vs. ACC Challenge. The Tarheel victories have come by way of sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore and University of North Carolina Greensboro. The team most recently loss to Michigan State in four sets. North Carolina will be looking to ride its defense, which averages more than two blocks per set. Offensively, freshman Destiny Cox and senior Skylar Wine are the tandem to contend with, combining for 113 kills this season. On the defensive end, junior Mia Fradenburg leads the team with 68 digs, while sophomore middle Katharine Esterley has 18 blocks up front.
SCOUTING THE SOONERS: This will be the 57th meeting between the two teams, tying Nebraska for the most-seen opponent in Colorado's history. The Sooners are 4-2 this season with losses to No. 14 Pittsburgh and Virginia Commonwealth University, both in four sets. The team has swept three of its four victories, with wins against Xavier, DePaul and Seton Hall. Alyssa Enneking leads the team with 100 kills, more than 4.7 per set. The team is a solid serving team with 34 aces compared to letting up just 17. Keyton Kinley leads the defense with 104 digs, while Brianna Kadiku and Paige Anderson each have more than 20 blocks with Anderson leading the way with 24.
WHAT'S NEXT: Colorado remains home next weekend as the team hosts the Colorado Classic. The tournament will begin in Fort Collins as Colorado State takes on Indiana State, then the rest will finish up in Boulder with a match against Portland State Friday at, September 14, at 7 p.m. for Colorado. CU takes on Indiana State the following day at 10 a.m., then closes out the tournament with a rival matchup against Colorado State at 8 p.m. Saturday evening to close out the non-conference section of the schedule.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single match tickets start at just $8 for general admission and $10 for reserved seating. Season tickets start at $40 for general admission and are $55 for reserved seating, Kids 12 and under are free this season. Fans can purchase tickets online at CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.
And don't forget about the Women's Sports Pass. For just $125, the Women's sports pass gives you general admission seating for all volleyball, soccer and women's basketball home games.
The women are ranked 24th in the nation with a 3-2 record following last weekend in the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge. Colorado fell to No. 11-ranked Illinois in three sets, then returned to defeat Iowa in four sets. Senior Alexa Smith and junior Justine Spann were both named to the All-Tournament team after Smith had a season-high 23 kills against Iowa and Spann had a career-high 25 digs in the same match. Both women recorded their first double-double of the season in that match.
Offensively, Smith (3.74) and Spann (3.37) lead the team with more than three kills per set. Spann has a team-high .305 hitting percentage and is second on the team in digs with 53. Smith is third on the team in digs with 41. The Buffs have been splitting time early at setter with sophomore Brynna DeLuzio leading the offense with 137 assists. Freshman Jenna Ewert has 47 assists in her early career.
On the defensive side, redshirt freshman Danielle Price has anchored the front wall with 27 total blocks, good for fourth in the Pac-12. Lillie Klemmer is second on the team with 21 blocks, while sophomore Lauren Dorrell has 15. Junior libero Rachel Whipple leads the back row with 62 digs this season.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Georgia comes into this contest unbeaten at 6-0 and receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. The team is coming off of an impressive weekend in California at the UC Irvine/Adidas Invitational where they swept all three opponents faced in Texas Tech, UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield. Georgia has only dropped three sets this season, two coming in the home opener against Coastal Carolina. The other set loss came from Illinois State. Georgia has a respectable .268 hitting percentage this season and have lived on its serving and serve receive. The Bulldogs have 44 aces but have served up 67 errors, while the team has only allowed an ace per set. Sophomore outside T'ara Ceasar paves the way with 4.7 kills/set and a .310 hitting percentage. Junior Meghan Donovan is the lone setter in the system with 235 assists this season, just more than 11 per set. The duties on defense are split up, with Kendall Glover leading with 97 digs, while three Bulldogs have 11 or more blocks this season.
SCOUTING THE TARHEELS: North Carolina comes into the tournament 2-3, with two of its losses coming from top-10 opponents in the Big Ten vs. ACC Challenge. The Tarheel victories have come by way of sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore and University of North Carolina Greensboro. The team most recently loss to Michigan State in four sets. North Carolina will be looking to ride its defense, which averages more than two blocks per set. Offensively, freshman Destiny Cox and senior Skylar Wine are the tandem to contend with, combining for 113 kills this season. On the defensive end, junior Mia Fradenburg leads the team with 68 digs, while sophomore middle Katharine Esterley has 18 blocks up front.
SCOUTING THE SOONERS: This will be the 57th meeting between the two teams, tying Nebraska for the most-seen opponent in Colorado's history. The Sooners are 4-2 this season with losses to No. 14 Pittsburgh and Virginia Commonwealth University, both in four sets. The team has swept three of its four victories, with wins against Xavier, DePaul and Seton Hall. Alyssa Enneking leads the team with 100 kills, more than 4.7 per set. The team is a solid serving team with 34 aces compared to letting up just 17. Keyton Kinley leads the defense with 104 digs, while Brianna Kadiku and Paige Anderson each have more than 20 blocks with Anderson leading the way with 24.
WHAT'S NEXT: Colorado remains home next weekend as the team hosts the Colorado Classic. The tournament will begin in Fort Collins as Colorado State takes on Indiana State, then the rest will finish up in Boulder with a match against Portland State Friday at, September 14, at 7 p.m. for Colorado. CU takes on Indiana State the following day at 10 a.m., then closes out the tournament with a rival matchup against Colorado State at 8 p.m. Saturday evening to close out the non-conference section of the schedule.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single match tickets start at just $8 for general admission and $10 for reserved seating. Season tickets start at $40 for general admission and are $55 for reserved seating, Kids 12 and under are free this season. Fans can purchase tickets online at CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.
And don't forget about the Women's Sports Pass. For just $125, the Women's sports pass gives you general admission seating for all volleyball, soccer and women's basketball home games.
Players Mentioned
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