Sunday, November 17
Pullman, Wash.
1:00 PM
Colorado
11-15,3-13Pac-12
2
at
3
Washington State
22-6,11-5Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
Colorado
23
26
25
15
9
2
Washington St.
25
24
13
25
15
3
Photo by: Tony Harman
Whipple’s Career-High Not Enough In Loss to Cougs
November 17, 2019 | Volleyball
PULLMAN – Colorado Buffaloes volleyball senior Rachel Whipple posted a career-high 28 digs in a five-set (25-23, 24-26, 13-25, 25-15, 15-9) loss to No.22 Washington State University Sunday afternoon in Pullman.
Colorado (11-15, 3-13 Pac-12) handled the Cougars (22-6, 11-5 Pac-12) in the second set before putting on a show in the third, but eight blocks in the fourth set turned the tides and set WSU up for the comeback. The Cougars doubled up the Buffs with 26 kills in the final two sets compared to just 13 for CU as the team hit a combined .000 hitting percentage in the final two sets.
Whipple was a force for Colorado in the first three sets, posting 28 total digs to become just the fourth CU player in rally scoring era to have more than 26. She recorded nine in the first set, six in the second and seven in the third. The fourth set saw four more digs and numerous more ups off of blocks for the Cougars. She marked her previous career-best through four sets at 26 and then posted two in the final set.
The Buffs were led offensively by Justine Spann and Elissa Alcantara as each had 16 kills. Sterling Parker and Meegan Hart joined in with 11 and 10 kills, respectfully, led by Hart's .435 hitting percentage. Jenna Ewert recorded another double-double with 45 assists and 12 digs while Spann added to her double-double total with 10 digs.
On the defensive side, Whipple handled the back row, posting two times more digs than any other competitor. Colorado denied numerous slides from the Cougs middles with eight solo blocks led by Parker's four. Colorado ended up with nine team blocks compared to WSU's 15.
The Cougars Pia Timmer had 16 kills but middle Jocelyn Urias was the star with 15 kills and a .414 hitting percentage. She also had eight total blocks for 22 points. Washington State had four players record 10 or more digs.
The Buffs return home for the final four matches in eight days. They play Cal Friday night before hosting Stanford on Sunday. The team finishes Thanksgiving break with a Wednesday match against Oregon followed by a Saturday senior day against Utah.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs scored first but the Cougs rebounded with a 4-0 run. Washington State continued to charge with a 6-2 lead as the Buffs struggled to serve receive early. Colorado worked closer to an 8-6 score behind strong defense from Whipple with five early digs. Spann picked up her fifth kill of the set as the Buffs closed the gap again to 12-10. A block gave CU a three-point run and closed the lead to just a single point. The Buffs tied it up at 14 and took the lead on a Lougeay ace. The lead only lasted a point as WSU put down a three-point run, forcing CU to call timeout. CU looked to be filing the stat sheet with Spann with six kills, Ewert with nine assists and five digs and Whipple with seven digs. Out of the break CU tied things up at 17 all with both teams hitting exactly .278. The Buffs were called on four-hits, challenged immediately by Colorado as WSU took a 20-18 lead but was unsuccessful in turning the outcome. The Buffs called a second challenge on the ball being in, this one successful to flip the point as CU trailed 21-20. The Buffs tied things up at 22 all to force WSU into a timeout. The Cougs took the first point out of the break, but an attack error notched it up at 23. WSU earned the first set-point, then sealed the win on a service ace. Spann ended with seven kills while Ewert had 13 assists and six digs. Whipple led the field with nine digs while Alcantara had six kills and a .625 hitting percentage.
Colorado earned a quick 4-2 lead after Spann stuffed the Cougs' middle twice in a row. WSU tied it back up at six all and looked to take the lead before Mahoney called his third challenge of the match on a called tip. The challenge went well to flip the lead to the Buffs. Colorado stuffed another two attacks to give them four in the set and a 12-9 lead. Spann's 10th kill forced WSU into a timeout. CU pushed to a 16-13 lead before the Cougs closed the gap to one at 16-15. Washington State finally tied it up at 18 and took the lead at 19-18, forcing Colorado into a timeout after a 3-0 run. Colorado tied things back up at 20 after a Parker kill and net violation then took the lead on a four-touch call of WSU. Schneggenburger put down a pair of CU aces to extend the Buffs on a 4-0 run and force a Cougar timeout down 22-20. Colorado's fifth block of the set pushed the run to five-straight before a Spann attack error that had the team pleading for it to be called in. Two plays later and the Cougs had things tied up and the Buffs took a timeout. Spann came out of the break with a kill to set up set-point, but a Cougs kill sent it to extra points. Spann put down another kill for the second set-point, then finished it off a play later to finish with 13 total. Ewert dished out 25 assists and was a dig from a double-double while Whipple totaled 15 digs.
Coach Mahoney earned his first yellow card of the season as WSU took a 2-1 lead off an attack error. The Buffs pushed to a large 8-3 lead when the Cougs called timeout. CU's run extended to six before a service error allowed the Cougs to sideout at 10-4. Colorado put together another run of four to force a second Cougs timeout as CU was hitting .312 compared to -.167 for Washington State. Whipple recorded her 20th dig the play before to double up the field as the next closest had nine. Ewert reached a double-double at 16-7 with 28 assists and 10 digs. The Buffs hit set-point at 24-11, taking the win three plays later. Colorado hit .343 compared to just .029 for WSU in the set as Whipple accumulated 22 digs, Ewert with a double-double 32-11 and Alcantara and Spann with 13 kills each.
Colorado took an early 4-1 lead and WSU was having none of it, calling an early timeout. The Cougs stormed back to take a 9-7 lead after a 7-1 run. The storm continued to rage for the Cougs as they went up 12-9 before CU called timeout. The Cougs continued to lead as CU was hitting .000 at the 17-12 mark. WSU put down its sixth block of the match to hit 19-12, then pushed it to seven blocks at 20-13. Mahoney called timeout after the Cougars put down their eighth block of the set, giving them more blocks than CU had kills. Set-point came at 24-14 and the set was finished two plays later. CU hit -.091 in the set with eight kills while WSU had eight blocks and hit .333.
Whipple earned her career-high in kills with 27 as CU tied up the fifth 1-1. The Cougs jumped to a 4-2 advantage, pushing to 6-3 before CU called timeout. Out of the break WSU committed a service and attack error as CU clawed to within one. Another error tied things up at six. A pair of tips gave the Cougs an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. A kill and block forced CU into a timeout at 10-7. An ace set the Cougs up with a four-point lead, then followed it up with a kill off a service overpass, 13-8. Washington State hit match-point at 14-8. The match looked sealed on a WSU kill that Mahoney challenged to be out but video evidence was inconclusive.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On Whipple's Performance
Rachel had a great match, she has been having a really nice second half of her senior season and continues to get better. She is a large reason for our improved play over the last five or six matches. I couldn't be more proud of her continued development.
On the Match
The first two sets could have gone either way and was really good volleyball on both teams' part. We couldn't quite close out the first set and that would've been key. Sets three, four and five, we were on the plus side in set three because we served and passed at an extremely high level. When you can do that and be in-system while the other team is out-of-system you are going to win. Sets four and five were the reverse of that. This is a really good blocking team and when a good blocking team knows where the ball is going to go can be very successful. All that being said, I'm very proud of our performance and proud of our whole team is playing in the second half. We are putting ourselves in positions to win matches, just can't close them all out.
On the Offense
I thought for a good portion of that match we passed really well and Jenna was running tempo and making good decisions. Our three pin hitters were taking really nice swings, it was good to see and I'm happy to see the continued growth of Elissa and Sterling. I'm proud of our seniors putting it all out on the floor and playing their butts off every match.
Colorado (11-15, 3-13 Pac-12) handled the Cougars (22-6, 11-5 Pac-12) in the second set before putting on a show in the third, but eight blocks in the fourth set turned the tides and set WSU up for the comeback. The Cougars doubled up the Buffs with 26 kills in the final two sets compared to just 13 for CU as the team hit a combined .000 hitting percentage in the final two sets.
Whipple was a force for Colorado in the first three sets, posting 28 total digs to become just the fourth CU player in rally scoring era to have more than 26. She recorded nine in the first set, six in the second and seven in the third. The fourth set saw four more digs and numerous more ups off of blocks for the Cougars. She marked her previous career-best through four sets at 26 and then posted two in the final set.
The Buffs were led offensively by Justine Spann and Elissa Alcantara as each had 16 kills. Sterling Parker and Meegan Hart joined in with 11 and 10 kills, respectfully, led by Hart's .435 hitting percentage. Jenna Ewert recorded another double-double with 45 assists and 12 digs while Spann added to her double-double total with 10 digs.
On the defensive side, Whipple handled the back row, posting two times more digs than any other competitor. Colorado denied numerous slides from the Cougs middles with eight solo blocks led by Parker's four. Colorado ended up with nine team blocks compared to WSU's 15.
The Cougars Pia Timmer had 16 kills but middle Jocelyn Urias was the star with 15 kills and a .414 hitting percentage. She also had eight total blocks for 22 points. Washington State had four players record 10 or more digs.
The Buffs return home for the final four matches in eight days. They play Cal Friday night before hosting Stanford on Sunday. The team finishes Thanksgiving break with a Wednesday match against Oregon followed by a Saturday senior day against Utah.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Buffs scored first but the Cougs rebounded with a 4-0 run. Washington State continued to charge with a 6-2 lead as the Buffs struggled to serve receive early. Colorado worked closer to an 8-6 score behind strong defense from Whipple with five early digs. Spann picked up her fifth kill of the set as the Buffs closed the gap again to 12-10. A block gave CU a three-point run and closed the lead to just a single point. The Buffs tied it up at 14 and took the lead on a Lougeay ace. The lead only lasted a point as WSU put down a three-point run, forcing CU to call timeout. CU looked to be filing the stat sheet with Spann with six kills, Ewert with nine assists and five digs and Whipple with seven digs. Out of the break CU tied things up at 17 all with both teams hitting exactly .278. The Buffs were called on four-hits, challenged immediately by Colorado as WSU took a 20-18 lead but was unsuccessful in turning the outcome. The Buffs called a second challenge on the ball being in, this one successful to flip the point as CU trailed 21-20. The Buffs tied things up at 22 all to force WSU into a timeout. The Cougs took the first point out of the break, but an attack error notched it up at 23. WSU earned the first set-point, then sealed the win on a service ace. Spann ended with seven kills while Ewert had 13 assists and six digs. Whipple led the field with nine digs while Alcantara had six kills and a .625 hitting percentage.
Colorado earned a quick 4-2 lead after Spann stuffed the Cougs' middle twice in a row. WSU tied it back up at six all and looked to take the lead before Mahoney called his third challenge of the match on a called tip. The challenge went well to flip the lead to the Buffs. Colorado stuffed another two attacks to give them four in the set and a 12-9 lead. Spann's 10th kill forced WSU into a timeout. CU pushed to a 16-13 lead before the Cougs closed the gap to one at 16-15. Washington State finally tied it up at 18 and took the lead at 19-18, forcing Colorado into a timeout after a 3-0 run. Colorado tied things back up at 20 after a Parker kill and net violation then took the lead on a four-touch call of WSU. Schneggenburger put down a pair of CU aces to extend the Buffs on a 4-0 run and force a Cougar timeout down 22-20. Colorado's fifth block of the set pushed the run to five-straight before a Spann attack error that had the team pleading for it to be called in. Two plays later and the Cougs had things tied up and the Buffs took a timeout. Spann came out of the break with a kill to set up set-point, but a Cougs kill sent it to extra points. Spann put down another kill for the second set-point, then finished it off a play later to finish with 13 total. Ewert dished out 25 assists and was a dig from a double-double while Whipple totaled 15 digs.
Coach Mahoney earned his first yellow card of the season as WSU took a 2-1 lead off an attack error. The Buffs pushed to a large 8-3 lead when the Cougs called timeout. CU's run extended to six before a service error allowed the Cougs to sideout at 10-4. Colorado put together another run of four to force a second Cougs timeout as CU was hitting .312 compared to -.167 for Washington State. Whipple recorded her 20th dig the play before to double up the field as the next closest had nine. Ewert reached a double-double at 16-7 with 28 assists and 10 digs. The Buffs hit set-point at 24-11, taking the win three plays later. Colorado hit .343 compared to just .029 for WSU in the set as Whipple accumulated 22 digs, Ewert with a double-double 32-11 and Alcantara and Spann with 13 kills each.
Colorado took an early 4-1 lead and WSU was having none of it, calling an early timeout. The Cougs stormed back to take a 9-7 lead after a 7-1 run. The storm continued to rage for the Cougs as they went up 12-9 before CU called timeout. The Cougs continued to lead as CU was hitting .000 at the 17-12 mark. WSU put down its sixth block of the match to hit 19-12, then pushed it to seven blocks at 20-13. Mahoney called timeout after the Cougars put down their eighth block of the set, giving them more blocks than CU had kills. Set-point came at 24-14 and the set was finished two plays later. CU hit -.091 in the set with eight kills while WSU had eight blocks and hit .333.
Whipple earned her career-high in kills with 27 as CU tied up the fifth 1-1. The Cougs jumped to a 4-2 advantage, pushing to 6-3 before CU called timeout. Out of the break WSU committed a service and attack error as CU clawed to within one. Another error tied things up at six. A pair of tips gave the Cougs an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. A kill and block forced CU into a timeout at 10-7. An ace set the Cougs up with a four-point lead, then followed it up with a kill off a service overpass, 13-8. Washington State hit match-point at 14-8. The match looked sealed on a WSU kill that Mahoney challenged to be out but video evidence was inconclusive.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On Whipple's Performance
Rachel had a great match, she has been having a really nice second half of her senior season and continues to get better. She is a large reason for our improved play over the last five or six matches. I couldn't be more proud of her continued development.
On the Match
The first two sets could have gone either way and was really good volleyball on both teams' part. We couldn't quite close out the first set and that would've been key. Sets three, four and five, we were on the plus side in set three because we served and passed at an extremely high level. When you can do that and be in-system while the other team is out-of-system you are going to win. Sets four and five were the reverse of that. This is a really good blocking team and when a good blocking team knows where the ball is going to go can be very successful. All that being said, I'm very proud of our performance and proud of our whole team is playing in the second half. We are putting ourselves in positions to win matches, just can't close them all out.
On the Offense
I thought for a good portion of that match we passed really well and Jenna was running tempo and making good decisions. Our three pin hitters were taking really nice swings, it was good to see and I'm happy to see the continued growth of Elissa and Sterling. I'm proud of our seniors putting it all out on the floor and playing their butts off every match.
Team Stats
CU
WSU
Kills
58
65
Errors
26
25
Attempts
162
167
Hitting %
.198
.240
Points
71
85
Assists
52
54
Aces
4
5
Blocks
9
15
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
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