Friday, November 1
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
9-12,1-10Pac-12
3
vs
2
Arizona
12-11,2-9Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Arizona
21
18
25
25
11
2
Colorado
25
25
23
22
15
3
Photo by: Tony Harman
Alcantara’s Career-Night Ends CU’s Slide
November 01, 2019 | Volleyball
Buffs Survive Five-Set Thriller With Arizona
BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team picked up its first win in conference play Friday evening in a five-set, 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11) thriller against Arizona in Boulder.
Colorado (9-12, 1-10 Pac-12) had a quartet of freshmen lead to the win over the Wildcats (12-11, 2-9 Pac-12), led by Elissa Alcantara's career-high 22 kills with an outstanding .425 hitting percentage. She led all players with 23.5 points and even added to a pair of blocks and dished out an assist.
Joining Alcantara was Sterling Parker who hit .364 for 16 kills. The quartet was completed as both Alcantara and Parker subbed out with Jill Schneggenburger and Katie Lougeay, respectfully, to give CU a 1-2 freshmen punch in the front row offensively and stout defense in the back row. Both Lougeay and Schneggenburger had 10 digs in the match and Schneggenburger added a pair of aces.
Colorado was also led by Meegan Hart who had 14 kills and a .393 hitting percentage along with six blocks. All of the offense was generated by Jenna Ewert who was an assist shy of tying her career-high, totaling 61 total assists in a double-double performance with 11 digs along with five blocks.
The Buffaloes passing game was on point tonight led by senior libero Rachel Whipple's 24 digs. She and Hart also added a pair of aces. Colorado put together a complete match with solid passing leading to wonderful decisions by Ewert and capitalized by strong hitting from the freshmen duo of Parker and Alcantara.
Colorado dominated the match and had a chance for the sweep but committed 12 errors in the third set to hit .000 as a team. Despite this, they only lost the set by a pair of points. Outside of that set, CU had some strong hitting numbers led by the second-set performance of .452 and finished off with a third set of .364 while holding Arizona to just .080.
Arizona was led by Paige Whipple's 22 kills, but middle Devyn Cross was the biggest threat with a double-double 13 kills and 10 blocks.
With the win under their belt, Colorado heads into the second half of the weekend with a Sunday 1 p.m. rematch with Arizona State. CU will look to build off the win and bring momentum as they head on the road for two-consecutive weekends before finishing out the season with four-straight home matches. The Buffs are still in the postseason hunt with a top-70 RPI ranking and are just three-matches under .500.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado opened the match with a five-point run that forced the Wildcats' first timeout. Out of the break, Arizona put themselves on the board with two points as the Buffs led 6-2. Arizona challenged the previous call and was awarded the point making the score 5-3. The Wildcats put together a 3-0 scoring run that tied the set at six all. The Buffs lead with a .400 hitting percentage with Ewart totaling nine assists as the Wildcats trail with a .364 hitting percentage. After an Ewert block, Arizona called their second timeout of the set as Colorado led 16-12. After the break, the UA went on a 4-0 scoring run that forced CU's first timeout. Out of the break, the Wildcats' Whipple tied the score at 17-17 with a kill that was challenged and lost by Colorado. Hart led Colorado with five kills and a .400 hitting percentage in addition to Ewert's 11 assists thus far. Arizona went on another 3-0 run which tied up the score at 21-21 and prompted Colorado's second timeout. After the break, the Buffs scored three straight which set up set-point and was won on the next point and extended their run to four.
Arizona opened the second set with back-to-back points, then the Buffs went on a four-point run that gave them a 4-2 lead. After Colorado put together another 3-0 run giving them a 9-5 lead, Arizona called their first timeout of the set. Back into action, the Wildcats went on a 3-1 run but continued to trail the Buffs 10-8. CU put together another scoring run of three and a .429 hitting percentage that forced Arizona's second timeout. Parker led the Buffs with 8 kills and an .800 hitting percentage thus far while Whipple led the Wildcats with seven kills and a .294 hitting percentage. Colorado developed a 6-0 run while hitting .545 to Arizona's .207. The Buffaloes reached set-point after an Alcantara kill and won the set three points later. Alcantara led CU with 10 kills and a .600 hitting percentage while Ewert had 27 assists. Whipple topped the Wildcats with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage as Patterson collected 20 assists at the end of the second set.
Both teams battled back-and-forth to be tied 3-3 early in the third set. Colorado put together a 5-1 scoring run that gave them an 8-5 lead that forced an Arizona timeout. Back into action, Colorado extended its run to six after consecutive Hart aces. The Buffaloes held Arizona to a -.100 hitting percentage while hitting .154 while Ewert had 31 assists thus far. CU went on an 8-1 run that gave them a 12-6 lead and a match hitting percentage of .321. The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run that put them within two of Colorado's lead 12-10. Arizona worked to tie it back up with a four-point run that forced CU's first timeout of the set. Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth which tied up the score 18-18 as Alcantara got her 13th kill on the night. Colorado had a 4-0 run that gave them the 22-19 lead while holding Arizona to a .107 hitting percentage. After Whipple's 14th kill on the night, Colorado called their second timeout. Out of the break, Arizona put up a three-point run which won them the set 25-23. Ewert got to 39 assists while Alcantara got her 16th kill of the night.
Into the fourth set, both teams battled to a 4-4 tie. Arizona took the lead 9-7 and went on a 4-0 run while hitting .231 and holding Colorado to a .071 hitting percentage. Back-to-back blocks from the Buffs gave them a 12-11 lead and forced Arizona to call their first timeout. Out of the break, Arizona took a 13-12 lead as Smoot got her ninth kill of the night. Both sides continued to battle to tie it up 15-15 as the Buffs were hitting .227 to Arizona's .179. CU was topped by Ewert's 47 assists and Alcantara's 19 kills that contributed to their three-point run which also gave them the 16-15 lead. Colorado and Arizona were still fighting for the advantage as both teams tied it up at 20-20 in the fourth set. The Wildcat's Whipple gathered her 19th kill of the night while hitting .283 and Patterson collected her 37th assist of the match. Arizona took a two-point lead after a Smoot kill which forced Colorado's first timeout of the set. Back into action, Spann collected her ninth kill which put CU one point behind Arizona's 22-21 lead. Colorado called their final timeout after a bad set from Spann giving UA the 23-21 lead. The Wildcats get to set-point after another Smoot kill and won the set two points later.
The Buffaloes opened the fifth set with a 5-1 run which forced Arizona to call their first timeout. The Wildcats challenged and won a tipped ball which gave them two points on the board behind Colorado's five. UA went on a 3-0 scoring run that put them within two of Colorado's 7-5 lead. The Buffs challenged and lost a tipped ball but led Arizona 9-6 while holding them to a -.125 hitting percentage. Colorado took a 12-9 lead several points later while Arizona was hitting .000. The Buffaloes arrived at match-point after a Hart kill and won on the next point. CU finished the set hitting .286 to Arizona's .080 while Ewert had 61 assists and Alcantara had 22 kills.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On The Match
Well, a little monkey off our back so I happy to get the win. I thought we started the match out really strong, we were serving and passing really well. We thought that they were going to short serve us a lot which they did but we handled that really well in the first two sets. They got away from it as the match went on because we were siding out at a really high level. That's a really good team that is really well coached. They have a couple of starters out with injuries, so they have done a really good job with what they have. They are really efficient and block especially well. I thought that we had a chance to get them in three but we lost a little bit of our composure. But I thought that we played a great fifth set and closed it out. Now we get to celebrate it for a couple of hours then get back to work.
On Dealing With The Losing Streak
Regardless of our record or the scoreboard, we show up every day and work hard. I have been especially proud of that, I don't think that anyone has tossed in the towel. You can see Justine Spann limping off the floor tonight, she is putting her body on the line. Daniel Price was also putting her body on the line. Rachel is asking for extra reps during the week. I mean we are trying to get better so really happy about that. We have a lot of young player that this is a new experience for. Most of them are used to winning a bunch so dealing with that and the growth process that we are going through is stressful. I think that they are doing a really good job growing through that process.
On Carrying This Momentum Into Pac-12 Play
We can play at a really high level, we have shown that in a couple of matches. We have top 25 wins on five with Cal on the road, we can do a lot of good things. We just have some lows that we have to find a way to get out of and that is what we are working on every day. This team is really good about match preparation and really good about knowing what they should be doing and why. When we do that, we can be really successful.
On The Freshmen
We have seven freshmen, four of them who play fairly consistently. Jill started out as a six rotation outside and did a great job early. She had to deal with some injuries and she is doing a really nice job in the back row for us. Alyssa, like we mentioned, had some monster matches, this match for over 20 kills and hitting four hundred or whatever it was, that is really hard to do. And then we have Katie who missed the first month and a half of the season with an injury. She is coming back and has given us a lot of stability in the passing lanes. Savannah has come off the bench to serve and has done a really good job there. Sterling should be in here as well, she had huge numbers. When she is good, we are really good. Our younger kids are going through the process and growing up; they are going to have some highs and lows but eventually we are going to have more highs.
Senior Rachel Whipple
On The Team's Passing Tonight
Passing I thought was really good, especially those first two sets. We practiced the short serves a lot in practice. I was just really proud of our team for not giving up tonight. We could've just folded and crumbled after they won the third set and when they won the fourth. I'm super proud of us for coming out in the fifth and everyone giving 100% effort. It was really fun.
On How Katie Lougeay Alleviates Pressure In The Back Row
Yeah, Katie and Savannah when she was back there. Especially with like setter dump for example. Knowing that I have another awesome defender with me just lets me take a deep breath. I trust all our defensive specialists and liberos. It's really nice having Katie back.
Freshman Elissa Alcantara
On What Was Working Tonight
I think that we had some really great passes and then Jenna was just moving the ball around, so I feel like we just had to execute really well.
On What It's Like Getting Accustomed To This Level Of Play
Yeah, it's a lot about getting used to it because I was just used to trying to fill in and do my job when I'm in. It's a lot of getting used to and I'm excited to have this opportunity.
Colorado (9-12, 1-10 Pac-12) had a quartet of freshmen lead to the win over the Wildcats (12-11, 2-9 Pac-12), led by Elissa Alcantara's career-high 22 kills with an outstanding .425 hitting percentage. She led all players with 23.5 points and even added to a pair of blocks and dished out an assist.
Joining Alcantara was Sterling Parker who hit .364 for 16 kills. The quartet was completed as both Alcantara and Parker subbed out with Jill Schneggenburger and Katie Lougeay, respectfully, to give CU a 1-2 freshmen punch in the front row offensively and stout defense in the back row. Both Lougeay and Schneggenburger had 10 digs in the match and Schneggenburger added a pair of aces.
Colorado was also led by Meegan Hart who had 14 kills and a .393 hitting percentage along with six blocks. All of the offense was generated by Jenna Ewert who was an assist shy of tying her career-high, totaling 61 total assists in a double-double performance with 11 digs along with five blocks.
The Buffaloes passing game was on point tonight led by senior libero Rachel Whipple's 24 digs. She and Hart also added a pair of aces. Colorado put together a complete match with solid passing leading to wonderful decisions by Ewert and capitalized by strong hitting from the freshmen duo of Parker and Alcantara.
Colorado dominated the match and had a chance for the sweep but committed 12 errors in the third set to hit .000 as a team. Despite this, they only lost the set by a pair of points. Outside of that set, CU had some strong hitting numbers led by the second-set performance of .452 and finished off with a third set of .364 while holding Arizona to just .080.
Arizona was led by Paige Whipple's 22 kills, but middle Devyn Cross was the biggest threat with a double-double 13 kills and 10 blocks.
With the win under their belt, Colorado heads into the second half of the weekend with a Sunday 1 p.m. rematch with Arizona State. CU will look to build off the win and bring momentum as they head on the road for two-consecutive weekends before finishing out the season with four-straight home matches. The Buffs are still in the postseason hunt with a top-70 RPI ranking and are just three-matches under .500.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado opened the match with a five-point run that forced the Wildcats' first timeout. Out of the break, Arizona put themselves on the board with two points as the Buffs led 6-2. Arizona challenged the previous call and was awarded the point making the score 5-3. The Wildcats put together a 3-0 scoring run that tied the set at six all. The Buffs lead with a .400 hitting percentage with Ewart totaling nine assists as the Wildcats trail with a .364 hitting percentage. After an Ewert block, Arizona called their second timeout of the set as Colorado led 16-12. After the break, the UA went on a 4-0 scoring run that forced CU's first timeout. Out of the break, the Wildcats' Whipple tied the score at 17-17 with a kill that was challenged and lost by Colorado. Hart led Colorado with five kills and a .400 hitting percentage in addition to Ewert's 11 assists thus far. Arizona went on another 3-0 run which tied up the score at 21-21 and prompted Colorado's second timeout. After the break, the Buffs scored three straight which set up set-point and was won on the next point and extended their run to four.
Arizona opened the second set with back-to-back points, then the Buffs went on a four-point run that gave them a 4-2 lead. After Colorado put together another 3-0 run giving them a 9-5 lead, Arizona called their first timeout of the set. Back into action, the Wildcats went on a 3-1 run but continued to trail the Buffs 10-8. CU put together another scoring run of three and a .429 hitting percentage that forced Arizona's second timeout. Parker led the Buffs with 8 kills and an .800 hitting percentage thus far while Whipple led the Wildcats with seven kills and a .294 hitting percentage. Colorado developed a 6-0 run while hitting .545 to Arizona's .207. The Buffaloes reached set-point after an Alcantara kill and won the set three points later. Alcantara led CU with 10 kills and a .600 hitting percentage while Ewert had 27 assists. Whipple topped the Wildcats with 11 kills and a .429 hitting percentage as Patterson collected 20 assists at the end of the second set.
Both teams battled back-and-forth to be tied 3-3 early in the third set. Colorado put together a 5-1 scoring run that gave them an 8-5 lead that forced an Arizona timeout. Back into action, Colorado extended its run to six after consecutive Hart aces. The Buffaloes held Arizona to a -.100 hitting percentage while hitting .154 while Ewert had 31 assists thus far. CU went on an 8-1 run that gave them a 12-6 lead and a match hitting percentage of .321. The Wildcats went on a 4-0 run that put them within two of Colorado's lead 12-10. Arizona worked to tie it back up with a four-point run that forced CU's first timeout of the set. Both teams continued to battle back-and-forth which tied up the score 18-18 as Alcantara got her 13th kill on the night. Colorado had a 4-0 run that gave them the 22-19 lead while holding Arizona to a .107 hitting percentage. After Whipple's 14th kill on the night, Colorado called their second timeout. Out of the break, Arizona put up a three-point run which won them the set 25-23. Ewert got to 39 assists while Alcantara got her 16th kill of the night.
Into the fourth set, both teams battled to a 4-4 tie. Arizona took the lead 9-7 and went on a 4-0 run while hitting .231 and holding Colorado to a .071 hitting percentage. Back-to-back blocks from the Buffs gave them a 12-11 lead and forced Arizona to call their first timeout. Out of the break, Arizona took a 13-12 lead as Smoot got her ninth kill of the night. Both sides continued to battle to tie it up 15-15 as the Buffs were hitting .227 to Arizona's .179. CU was topped by Ewert's 47 assists and Alcantara's 19 kills that contributed to their three-point run which also gave them the 16-15 lead. Colorado and Arizona were still fighting for the advantage as both teams tied it up at 20-20 in the fourth set. The Wildcat's Whipple gathered her 19th kill of the night while hitting .283 and Patterson collected her 37th assist of the match. Arizona took a two-point lead after a Smoot kill which forced Colorado's first timeout of the set. Back into action, Spann collected her ninth kill which put CU one point behind Arizona's 22-21 lead. Colorado called their final timeout after a bad set from Spann giving UA the 23-21 lead. The Wildcats get to set-point after another Smoot kill and won the set two points later.
The Buffaloes opened the fifth set with a 5-1 run which forced Arizona to call their first timeout. The Wildcats challenged and won a tipped ball which gave them two points on the board behind Colorado's five. UA went on a 3-0 scoring run that put them within two of Colorado's 7-5 lead. The Buffs challenged and lost a tipped ball but led Arizona 9-6 while holding them to a -.125 hitting percentage. Colorado took a 12-9 lead several points later while Arizona was hitting .000. The Buffaloes arrived at match-point after a Hart kill and won on the next point. CU finished the set hitting .286 to Arizona's .080 while Ewert had 61 assists and Alcantara had 22 kills.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On The Match
Well, a little monkey off our back so I happy to get the win. I thought we started the match out really strong, we were serving and passing really well. We thought that they were going to short serve us a lot which they did but we handled that really well in the first two sets. They got away from it as the match went on because we were siding out at a really high level. That's a really good team that is really well coached. They have a couple of starters out with injuries, so they have done a really good job with what they have. They are really efficient and block especially well. I thought that we had a chance to get them in three but we lost a little bit of our composure. But I thought that we played a great fifth set and closed it out. Now we get to celebrate it for a couple of hours then get back to work.
On Dealing With The Losing Streak
Regardless of our record or the scoreboard, we show up every day and work hard. I have been especially proud of that, I don't think that anyone has tossed in the towel. You can see Justine Spann limping off the floor tonight, she is putting her body on the line. Daniel Price was also putting her body on the line. Rachel is asking for extra reps during the week. I mean we are trying to get better so really happy about that. We have a lot of young player that this is a new experience for. Most of them are used to winning a bunch so dealing with that and the growth process that we are going through is stressful. I think that they are doing a really good job growing through that process.
On Carrying This Momentum Into Pac-12 Play
We can play at a really high level, we have shown that in a couple of matches. We have top 25 wins on five with Cal on the road, we can do a lot of good things. We just have some lows that we have to find a way to get out of and that is what we are working on every day. This team is really good about match preparation and really good about knowing what they should be doing and why. When we do that, we can be really successful.
On The Freshmen
We have seven freshmen, four of them who play fairly consistently. Jill started out as a six rotation outside and did a great job early. She had to deal with some injuries and she is doing a really nice job in the back row for us. Alyssa, like we mentioned, had some monster matches, this match for over 20 kills and hitting four hundred or whatever it was, that is really hard to do. And then we have Katie who missed the first month and a half of the season with an injury. She is coming back and has given us a lot of stability in the passing lanes. Savannah has come off the bench to serve and has done a really good job there. Sterling should be in here as well, she had huge numbers. When she is good, we are really good. Our younger kids are going through the process and growing up; they are going to have some highs and lows but eventually we are going to have more highs.
Senior Rachel Whipple
On The Team's Passing Tonight
Passing I thought was really good, especially those first two sets. We practiced the short serves a lot in practice. I was just really proud of our team for not giving up tonight. We could've just folded and crumbled after they won the third set and when they won the fourth. I'm super proud of us for coming out in the fifth and everyone giving 100% effort. It was really fun.
On How Katie Lougeay Alleviates Pressure In The Back Row
Yeah, Katie and Savannah when she was back there. Especially with like setter dump for example. Knowing that I have another awesome defender with me just lets me take a deep breath. I trust all our defensive specialists and liberos. It's really nice having Katie back.
Freshman Elissa Alcantara
On What Was Working Tonight
I think that we had some really great passes and then Jenna was just moving the ball around, so I feel like we just had to execute really well.
On What It's Like Getting Accustomed To This Level Of Play
Yeah, it's a lot about getting used to it because I was just used to trying to fill in and do my job when I'm in. It's a lot of getting used to and I'm excited to have this opportunity.
Team Stats
UA
CU
Kills
61
67
Errors
26
26
Attempts
160
165
Hitting %
.219
.248
Points
77
87
Assists
49
65
Aces
3
8
Blocks
13
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
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