Colorado Falls to No.2 Stanford

STANFORD – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team fell to No.2-ranked Stanford University Friday evening in Maples Pavilion by a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-14).

Colorado (8-9, 0-7 Pac-12) falls to below .500 with the loss for the first time since November of 2016 as the defending national champion Stanford (12-3, 6-1 Pac-12) fall into a two-way tie for first in the conference with No.15 Cal after they defeated No.18 Utah in five sets.

The Buffs showed up strong in the first set, taking the lead partway through. Eventually, Stanford edged away, but CU put down a pair of back-to-back set-points to bring the score to 24-22 before a controversial tip call came from the referee to end the set.

Colorado struggled to hit as a team outside of the first set where they hit .241. After a negative-hitting second set, CU finished the match with a .084 team hitting percentage while the Cardinal hit .348. Senior Justine Spann led the way for CU with eight kills but hit negative with a -.030 percentage. She also led the squad while tying the match-high with nine digs.

Sterling Parker led Colorado with six kills and a team-high .444 hitting percentage. She was joined by Danielle Price who had three kills on seven errorless swings. Meegan Hart added in four kills.

The young Buffs squad added another freshman to the playing lineup today with the season and career debut of Katie Lougeay. The freshman defensive specialist sat out the first half of the season due to injury but came out in her start and put down an ace and three digs. She would split a rotation with Elissa Alcantara while Parker who split a rotation with Savannah Perry who was second on the team with six digs.

The Cardinal were led by Audriana Fitzmorris' 10 kills and .316 hitting percentage. Three-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Kendall Kipp added nine kills as All-American Jenna Gray dished out 37 assists. The defense was the biggest contributor to the sweep as Stanford put down nine blocks led by Madeleine Gates' six blocks.

Colorado returns to action Sunday against No.15 Cal. The Golden Bears have lost four-straight to the Buffs but are 16-1 entering the match.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs started out with a pair of service errors as the teams got things started. Stanford jumped to a 5-3 lead early with a three-point run. There were a lot of one-and-done rallies as Stanford led 6-4 with the only dig of the match. The Buffs continued to hang in despite hitting -.143 at 8-7 as the Cardinal were hitting .000. An Alcantara kill notched things up at eight all, then the Buffs took their first lead at 10-9. The teams traded punches until the Cardinal went on a 3-0 run to reclaim the lead into the media timeout, 15-13. After the lead pushed out to 16-13, the Buffs put together a pair of points to close the gap to one. Colorado called its first timeout at 19-16. Colorado brought in Katie Lougeay for the first time this season while the team closed the gap to 21-19. Stanford closed in on set-point at 24-20, forcing Colorado into its final timeout of the set. A big kill from Parker gave CU life, followed up quickly by a Spann kill. The Cardinal closed it out a play later at 25-22 as Stanford led with a .278 hitting percentage compared to the Buffs' .241. Parker went three-for-three in the set in kills to swings. Both teams gave up four service errors, and the Buffs were hitting intelligently with only four attack errors but with three coming from Stanford blocks.

Lougeay came in to start the second set. Missing Jill Schneggenburger, the Buffs showed off their freshman talent with Savannah Perry sharing a rotation with Parker and Alcantara and Lougeay sharing a rotation. Back-to-back aces gave Stanford their largest lead at 8-4. Consecutive Cardinal blocks forced CU into a timeout while trailing 12-5 and hitting -.056 in the set. The block continued to be a problem for the Buffs as Stanford put down their seventh at 13-6. The Cardinal pushed to a 10-point lead at 16-6, forcing Colorado into their final timeout of the set. Stanford hit the 20-point mark with a 20-8 lead as the team was hitting .429 in the set. The Cardinal finished it off at 25-12 while hitting .345 and holding CU negative at -.030.

The third set started off with a tied match at two all, but Stanford pushed to a 6-3 lead while hitting .667 in the set. After a challenge that changed a Cardinal service error to an ace, CU found themselves trailing 12-4 after allowing an 8-1 run. The media timeout came with an eight-point lead for the No.2 team in the nation at 15-7. The teams went back-and-forth to a 19-13 Stanford lead. Colorado called its first timeout of the set as the Cardinal reached a 21-13 lead. Match-point came at 24-14, ending on a Stanford dump at 25-14. The Cardinal hit .348 in the set while the Buffs were held to a .084 hitting percentage.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney

On the Match and the First Set

I thought we played a good first set. Stanford is obviously a great team, really physical. They serve really well which I thought we handled well in the first set and were in-system and could diversify our offense a little bit. We played well but weren't good enough to win unfortunately and then in sets two and three our serve receive let down made us a little more predictable. That's the best blocking team we have seen this year and they definitely took advantage of us in that respect in sets two and three.

On Having Katie Lougeay Playing and Playing Four Freshmen

I'm excited to have Katie healthy again. I thought for her first time on the floor collegiately she did a lot of really good things, she will only get better. I am happy for her to get out there and play. Obviously we are a young team but all these freshmen and sophomores are getting lots of opportunities so we got to grow up here soon.

Next Event

Team Stats

Justine Spann

Sterling Parker

Meegan Hart

Danielle Price

Players Mentioned

Elissa Alcantara

Meegan Hart

Katie Lougeay

Sterling Parker

Savannah Perry

Danielle Price

Jill Schneggenburger

Justine Spann

Players Mentioned

Elissa Alcantara

Meegan Hart

Katie Lougeay

Sterling Parker

Savannah Perry

Danielle Price

Jill Schneggenburger

Justine Spann