Buffs Return Home For Remainder of Season

BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team returns home for the final four matches this season in an eight-day window beginning Friday against No.24 Cal at 7 p.m. MT followed by No.4 Stanford Sunday at noon.

Colorado (11-15, 3-13 Pac-12) begins the final stretch of the regular season with three matches in the final four matches against ranked teams. The Buffs need to win out to remain eligible for the postseason.

The Buffaloes are coming off a pair of ranked losses on the road in Washington. Sunday's five-set match loss to Washington State saw senior libero Rachel Whipple set a new career-high in digs at 28, the most for a Buff in the past four years. Whipple is closing in on her 1,000th career dig and will need to average just under 21 digs per match to reach the mark.

CU is led offensively by senior Justine Spann with 343 kills. Freshman Elissa Alcantara has three matches in the past four tries with more than 13 kills and a high of a .393 hitting percentage in the win against UCLA. The duo is the benefactors of sophomore setter Jenna Ewert who marked her 22nd double-double against Washington, putting her just four away from the top-20 in school history in total double-doubles.

Colorado finishes out the tough eight-day stretch with a matchup against Oregon on Wednesday at 2 p.m. followed by senior day against No.16-ranked Utah on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS
The 24th-ranked Cal volleyball team followed the dramatic five-set win against the Buffaloes in October with three-straight losses to USC, UCLA and Oregon, all in four sets. After taking care of Arizona, ASU and Oregon State, the Golden Bears loss to the Los Angeles squad at home including a three-set loss to the Bruins.

Cal is second in the conference in hitting percentage at .269 as well at fourth in assists and kills. Middle Preslie Anderson is third in the Pac in hitting percentage at .373 while Mima Mirkovic is ninth in the conference in kills with 3.16 per set.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
The Cardinal are lining up for their third-straight Pac-12 title with a two-match lead over Washington. The team suffered a sweep against UCLA but has taken care of the rest of the conference including five sweeps in the past six matches. Two-time NCAA Player of the Year Kathryn Plummer is back in action after missing numerous part of the season due to injury. She helped the Cardinal redeem their loss to the Bruins with 16 kills and a .444 hitting percentage in their last match.

Stanford leads the Pac in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and blocks. They are third in the conference in aces and digs. Setter Jenna Gray is second in the conference with 11.30 assists per set while Madeleine Gates is second in blocks per set at 1.41. Libero Morgan Hentz leads the conference with 4.91 digs per set.

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Players Mentioned

Elissa Alcantara

Jenna Ewert

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple