Colorado University Athletics
Friday, October 11
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
vs
USC
Photo by: Tony Harman
Buffaloes Host Los Angeles Schools for Pac-12 Home Opener
October 08, 2019 | Volleyball
BOULDER – Colorado women's volleyball will finally open Pac-12 conference play at home this weekend against USC and UCLA after going on the road for the first two conference weekends.
The Buffs (8-6, 0-4 Pac-12) are seeking their first conference win against Southern Cal (8-6, 2-2 Pac-12) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the team's Dig Pink Match. They will also take on UCLA (11-4, 3-1 Pac-12) Sunday on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
CU is on a four-match skid, tied for the second-longest under Head Coach Jesse Mahoney. Despite this, the team is 54th in the first NCAA RPI ranking, the same ranking that the team had to finish last season when it was selected for the NCAA Tournament.
Hitting has been the biggest problem in conference play with the Buffs hitting less than .200 in every Pac-12 match thus far. Colorado has weighed heavily on senior outside Justine Spann who has a team-high 192 kills this season, averaging four per set while hitting .230.
Outside of Spann, the freshmen duo of Sterling Parker and Jill Schneggenburger have filled in a majority of the offense, led by Parker's 108 kills. Middle Meegan Hart is coming off a career-high 13 kills against Arizona State where she had 19 points with a pair of aces and four points from blocks. She has 78 kills this season.
Defensively, Colorado continues to block well with a season-best 16 against the Sun Devils last Friday. CU is averaging just under 2.6 blocks per set as a team, led by Hart's 57. She is joined by Parker with 52, but the Buffs will hope to have Danielle Price's 44 blocks back this weekend after she sat out against Arizona. Rachel Whipple has averaged 5.17 digs per set in her past five outings, including back-to-back 20 dig performances at Oregon State and Arizona State. She will be a large focus on the passing game as the team looks to alleviate setter Jenna Ewert who is second on the team with 129 digs.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
The Buffaloes have only won a single match against the Trojans but took the squad to five-sets in their lone matchup last season. USC is coming off a five-set home loss to No.24 Washington State as well as a four-set home win against former No.8 Washington. They went four sets with Arizona at home in a win and lost to UCLA in five to open conference play. Southern Cal is hitting .252 as a team with 2.6 blocks per set and nearly 13 digs per set.
USC has a spread out attack mixed with upperclassmen and freshmen. Senior outside Khalia Lanier leads the squad with 163 kills but has only played in 40 sets this season after missing some time. She is joined by junior outside Brooke Botkin with 144 kills. Freshman Emilia Weske has 121 kills and is hitting .302, followed by freshman Kalen Owes with 114 kills. Senior middle Jasmine Gross has 110 kills and a team-high .421 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Raquel Lazaro is dishing out more than 10 assists per set and also leads the team with 149 digs this season. Senior libero Jenna Adams has 139 digs, while Gross is commanding the front row with 77 blocks, joined by Lazaro's 55.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
UCLA started off the season with two losses to now No.1 Baylor and No.3 Nebraska. They also were swept by UC-Santa Barbara, a team the Buffs beat at home in four. After defeating the Trojans at home, UCLA swept ASU and Washington State but fell to Washington in four close sets that were separated by a total of eight points in the three set losses.
Mac May leads the way with 191 kills and also has a team-high 15 aces. Savvy Simo has 138 kills to join the battle, and Devon Chang has 209 assists to lead the Bruins who have three players with more than 125 assists. Kelli Barry is the backrow leader with 163 digs, followed by Simo and May with 131 and 129, respectfully. Emily Ryan leads the defense with 41 blocks along with Jenny Mosser's 32.
The Bruins are averaging 16 digs per set and 2.1 blocks per set while hitting .242. Their numbers are very close to their opponents who have combined for a .215 hitting percentage, 15 digs and 2.3 blocks per set.
The Buffs (8-6, 0-4 Pac-12) are seeking their first conference win against Southern Cal (8-6, 2-2 Pac-12) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the team's Dig Pink Match. They will also take on UCLA (11-4, 3-1 Pac-12) Sunday on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
CU is on a four-match skid, tied for the second-longest under Head Coach Jesse Mahoney. Despite this, the team is 54th in the first NCAA RPI ranking, the same ranking that the team had to finish last season when it was selected for the NCAA Tournament.
Hitting has been the biggest problem in conference play with the Buffs hitting less than .200 in every Pac-12 match thus far. Colorado has weighed heavily on senior outside Justine Spann who has a team-high 192 kills this season, averaging four per set while hitting .230.
Outside of Spann, the freshmen duo of Sterling Parker and Jill Schneggenburger have filled in a majority of the offense, led by Parker's 108 kills. Middle Meegan Hart is coming off a career-high 13 kills against Arizona State where she had 19 points with a pair of aces and four points from blocks. She has 78 kills this season.
Defensively, Colorado continues to block well with a season-best 16 against the Sun Devils last Friday. CU is averaging just under 2.6 blocks per set as a team, led by Hart's 57. She is joined by Parker with 52, but the Buffs will hope to have Danielle Price's 44 blocks back this weekend after she sat out against Arizona. Rachel Whipple has averaged 5.17 digs per set in her past five outings, including back-to-back 20 dig performances at Oregon State and Arizona State. She will be a large focus on the passing game as the team looks to alleviate setter Jenna Ewert who is second on the team with 129 digs.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
The Buffaloes have only won a single match against the Trojans but took the squad to five-sets in their lone matchup last season. USC is coming off a five-set home loss to No.24 Washington State as well as a four-set home win against former No.8 Washington. They went four sets with Arizona at home in a win and lost to UCLA in five to open conference play. Southern Cal is hitting .252 as a team with 2.6 blocks per set and nearly 13 digs per set.
USC has a spread out attack mixed with upperclassmen and freshmen. Senior outside Khalia Lanier leads the squad with 163 kills but has only played in 40 sets this season after missing some time. She is joined by junior outside Brooke Botkin with 144 kills. Freshman Emilia Weske has 121 kills and is hitting .302, followed by freshman Kalen Owes with 114 kills. Senior middle Jasmine Gross has 110 kills and a team-high .421 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Raquel Lazaro is dishing out more than 10 assists per set and also leads the team with 149 digs this season. Senior libero Jenna Adams has 139 digs, while Gross is commanding the front row with 77 blocks, joined by Lazaro's 55.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
UCLA started off the season with two losses to now No.1 Baylor and No.3 Nebraska. They also were swept by UC-Santa Barbara, a team the Buffs beat at home in four. After defeating the Trojans at home, UCLA swept ASU and Washington State but fell to Washington in four close sets that were separated by a total of eight points in the three set losses.
Mac May leads the way with 191 kills and also has a team-high 15 aces. Savvy Simo has 138 kills to join the battle, and Devon Chang has 209 assists to lead the Bruins who have three players with more than 125 assists. Kelli Barry is the backrow leader with 163 digs, followed by Simo and May with 131 and 129, respectfully. Emily Ryan leads the defense with 41 blocks along with Jenny Mosser's 32.
The Bruins are averaging 16 digs per set and 2.1 blocks per set while hitting .242. Their numbers are very close to their opponents who have combined for a .215 hitting percentage, 15 digs and 2.3 blocks per set.
Players Mentioned
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