Hart Providing Spark for Buffs
October 17, 2019 | Volleyball
BOULDER — When the Colorado women's volleyball team's hot start this season included wins over Iowa and No. 5 Illinois, sophomore middle blocker Meegan Hart provided a major spark.
Hart hopes she and her teammates can recreate some of that early season success when they travel to Northern California this weekend for a pair of matches at Stanford (Friday) and Cal (Sunday).
Hart, a transfer from Iowa State, was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week after hitting nine kills and having 11 blocks in sweeps against the Big Ten opponents. Also, in a match against Oakland, she recorded 10 kills on 12 swings without an error to break the school record for both a four-set match individual and sophomore match hitting percentage record at .833.
Hart spent two seasons at Iowa State. She missed most of her freshman season due to injury and redshirted her sophomore season because of another injury. She attended high school at Rosary High School in Aurora, Ill., where she was a four-year letterwinner and was ranked as the No. 85 recruit in the country by PrepVolleyball.com. Hart also has had success off the court, earning Academic All-Conference honors all four years in high school and being named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the past three semesters while at Iowa State.
But now, she is finding Boulder and the Buffs a perfect fit for her college career. Asked about the move, Hart said, "Transition has been really easy and I give credit to my coaches and my teammates who have been very helpful. I love it here so much."
Colorado is still fighting for an NCAA tournament bid and currently sits at 63 in the NCAA Women's Volleyball RPI rankings. Sixty-four teams make the NCAA tournament, with 32 receiving automatic qualifications by being conference champions and 32 more selected at an at-large basis by the Division 1 Women's Volleyball Committee.
After the hot start, the Buffs have hit a rough stretch in Pac-12 play, currently sitting at 0-6 in conference matches and 8-8 overall.
Asked about what the Buffaloes need to do to make the NCAA tournament, Hart said, "Every win in conference is a good win because the conference is just so competitive, and from here on out going into every game aggressive and wanting it, that passion and drive is what we need right now."
The road ahead will not be easy for Colorado, as the Buffaloes will have to face five more teams that are currently ranked in the top 25.
NEXT UP: The Buffs travel to Northern California this weekend, where they will take on No. 2 Stanford on Friday and No. 15 California on Sunday.
