Sunday, November 24
Boulder, Colo.
12:00 PM
Colorado
12-16,4-14Pac-12
0
vs
3
Stanford
22-4,16-2Pac-12
1
2
3
F
Stanford
25
25
25
3
Colorado
14
5
18
0
Photo by: Dan Madden
Colorado Fall to No.4 Stanford In Sweep
November 24, 2019 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-14, 25-5, 25-18) sweep to No.4-ranked Stanford at home Sunday afternoon.
The Buffs (12-16, 4-14 Pac-12) fall out of NCAA postseason eligibility with the loss as the Cardinal (22-4, 16-2 Pac-12) clinch at least a share of the 2019 Pac-12 title with the win.
Serving was the story of the match as Stanford put down 11 aces to keep Colorado out of system for a majority of the match. This played heavily into the outcome of the second set where Colorado fell 25-5 to tie the lowest score in the rally-scoring era in a set for the Buffs as well as tying Stanford's largest margin of victory in a set. The Cardinal hit .467 with 15 kills while Colorado had two kills and a -.148 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Jenna Ewert led the team with 11 assists, three blocks and an ace. She also was the only player to register an errorless match with two kills on seven swings. Justine Spann had a team-high six kills while Sterling Parker had five kills and a team-high .364 hitting percentage.
Rachel Whipple led the team with 11 digs while middles Danielle Price and Meegan Hart joined Justine Spann with two blocks each. Spann also added seven digs.
The Buffaloes put up 7.5 blocks in the match and held the Stanford pin-hitters to low kill numbers with Meghan McClure leading the pins with seven kills. The Cardinal made up the difference in the middle with Audriana Fitzmorris putting down a match-high nine kills while hitting .615. She was joined by Madeleine Gates with eight kills and .368 hitting percentage. The two combined for 13 blocks as they finished as the only players with double-digit points.
Colorado has a short turnaround with an NCAA day off tomorrow before practicing Tuesday for the Wednesday match against Oregon at 2 p.m. The Buffs repeat the process with Thanksgiving off before practicing Friday for senior day against Utah at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinal jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead to start the match. The Buffs rallied back with a three-point run with a pair of blocks. Colorado kept things close at 11-7 with their third block of the match. CU called its first timeout at 13-7 with Stanford hitting .350 led by Fitzmorris' four kills and .600 hitting percentage. Stanford's 5-1 run extended to 7-1 including four-straight before CU could sideout at 15-8. The Cardinal had three aces and hitting greater than .400 when CU called their second timeout at 18-10. Out of the break, Stanford extended the lead with another ace and hit a 10-point margin at 21-11. Stanford hit set point at 24-13 and took the set two plays later. The Cardinal closed out the set hitting .407 with Colorado hitting .200 led by Spann's three kills and .500 hitting percentage.
Stanford began the second set with a 4-0 scoring run before Colorado could get on the board. Colorado called their first timeout of the set after the Cardinal went on a four-point scoring run at 9-2 with Fitzmorris hitting .750 with seven kills. Out of the timeout, Stanford continued their run adding three points before CU made it 12-3. CU called their second timeout of the set down 15-3 and hitting -.154 while the Cardinal were hitting .583. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 6-0 run before Colorado had a sideout at 21-4. Set-point came at 24-5 with Stanford taking the set one play later. The Cardinal put down another three aces and hit .467 in the set while the Buffs hit -.148 with just two kills, tying the lowest set score in CU history as well as the lowest in Stanford history.
The Cardinal opened up the third set with two-straight points before CU scored. The Buffs battled back to make it 3-3 before Stanford retook the lead with a 6-0 scoring run at 9-3, forcing Colorado into their first timeout. Out of the timeout, one play went by followed by the first challenge of the game for CU. The call was upheld making it 10-3. The Buffs went on a 3-0 run at 10-6, before Stanford halted their run. The Cardinal then went on a 4-0 run at 14-6 forcing a Colorado timeout. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 3-1 run before the Buffs scored at 17-8. Colorado put together a 5-1 run to close the gap to 18-12. The Cardinal called their first timeout of the set and the match as Colorado closed the gap to 19-16 on a 3-0 run. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 5-0 run to match-point, ending the match at 25-18.
QUOTES
On The Match
"Stanford is a great team. I thought they played at an exceptional level today. They served extremely well. We struggled throughout the entire match in that facet of the game, giving up free points in serving which ties into defense. When we were out of system, they were able to score a ton. It was a disappointing match because we had been playing very well of late. To take a little step backwards today was unfortunate. We have to find a way to put that behind us very quickly. We have two more really good teams coming in here on Wednesday and Saturday. We have to find a way to put this behind us and look forward."
On The Defense
"I thought we blocked fine. Their low kill numbers were because we made so many errors so they didn't have to transition as many balls as you would think. I think this is a little bit of an aberration for us. We can play a lot better. They put a ton of pressure on us. We had glimpses of playing good volleyball but didn't put it together consistently like we need to. We are going to put this match behind us and take a day off and focus on Oregon for Wednesday."
On The Quick Turnaround
"This time of year with these quick turnarounds it is definitely different. We are pretty dialed into most of the teams in the PAC-12 and what they do well. We have film and have scouted them previously. It is actually the first time with Oregon. I think right now it is trying to manage our health and limit our jumps a little bit. We need to have a good prep practice on Tuesday, mentally more than anything else so we can compete well on Wednesday. Then we have a day off for Thanksgiving and then another prep practice for Saturday. This time of the year everyone is pretty dialed into what our routine is. We just have to be pretty sharp mentally for those prep days and be physically ready to go for Wednesday and Saturday."
The Buffs (12-16, 4-14 Pac-12) fall out of NCAA postseason eligibility with the loss as the Cardinal (22-4, 16-2 Pac-12) clinch at least a share of the 2019 Pac-12 title with the win.
Serving was the story of the match as Stanford put down 11 aces to keep Colorado out of system for a majority of the match. This played heavily into the outcome of the second set where Colorado fell 25-5 to tie the lowest score in the rally-scoring era in a set for the Buffs as well as tying Stanford's largest margin of victory in a set. The Cardinal hit .467 with 15 kills while Colorado had two kills and a -.148 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Jenna Ewert led the team with 11 assists, three blocks and an ace. She also was the only player to register an errorless match with two kills on seven swings. Justine Spann had a team-high six kills while Sterling Parker had five kills and a team-high .364 hitting percentage.
Rachel Whipple led the team with 11 digs while middles Danielle Price and Meegan Hart joined Justine Spann with two blocks each. Spann also added seven digs.
The Buffaloes put up 7.5 blocks in the match and held the Stanford pin-hitters to low kill numbers with Meghan McClure leading the pins with seven kills. The Cardinal made up the difference in the middle with Audriana Fitzmorris putting down a match-high nine kills while hitting .615. She was joined by Madeleine Gates with eight kills and .368 hitting percentage. The two combined for 13 blocks as they finished as the only players with double-digit points.
Colorado has a short turnaround with an NCAA day off tomorrow before practicing Tuesday for the Wednesday match against Oregon at 2 p.m. The Buffs repeat the process with Thanksgiving off before practicing Friday for senior day against Utah at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinal jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead to start the match. The Buffs rallied back with a three-point run with a pair of blocks. Colorado kept things close at 11-7 with their third block of the match. CU called its first timeout at 13-7 with Stanford hitting .350 led by Fitzmorris' four kills and .600 hitting percentage. Stanford's 5-1 run extended to 7-1 including four-straight before CU could sideout at 15-8. The Cardinal had three aces and hitting greater than .400 when CU called their second timeout at 18-10. Out of the break, Stanford extended the lead with another ace and hit a 10-point margin at 21-11. Stanford hit set point at 24-13 and took the set two plays later. The Cardinal closed out the set hitting .407 with Colorado hitting .200 led by Spann's three kills and .500 hitting percentage.
Stanford began the second set with a 4-0 scoring run before Colorado could get on the board. Colorado called their first timeout of the set after the Cardinal went on a four-point scoring run at 9-2 with Fitzmorris hitting .750 with seven kills. Out of the timeout, Stanford continued their run adding three points before CU made it 12-3. CU called their second timeout of the set down 15-3 and hitting -.154 while the Cardinal were hitting .583. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 6-0 run before Colorado had a sideout at 21-4. Set-point came at 24-5 with Stanford taking the set one play later. The Cardinal put down another three aces and hit .467 in the set while the Buffs hit -.148 with just two kills, tying the lowest set score in CU history as well as the lowest in Stanford history.
The Cardinal opened up the third set with two-straight points before CU scored. The Buffs battled back to make it 3-3 before Stanford retook the lead with a 6-0 scoring run at 9-3, forcing Colorado into their first timeout. Out of the timeout, one play went by followed by the first challenge of the game for CU. The call was upheld making it 10-3. The Buffs went on a 3-0 run at 10-6, before Stanford halted their run. The Cardinal then went on a 4-0 run at 14-6 forcing a Colorado timeout. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 3-1 run before the Buffs scored at 17-8. Colorado put together a 5-1 run to close the gap to 18-12. The Cardinal called their first timeout of the set and the match as Colorado closed the gap to 19-16 on a 3-0 run. Out of the timeout, Stanford went on a 5-0 run to match-point, ending the match at 25-18.
QUOTES
On The Match
"Stanford is a great team. I thought they played at an exceptional level today. They served extremely well. We struggled throughout the entire match in that facet of the game, giving up free points in serving which ties into defense. When we were out of system, they were able to score a ton. It was a disappointing match because we had been playing very well of late. To take a little step backwards today was unfortunate. We have to find a way to put that behind us very quickly. We have two more really good teams coming in here on Wednesday and Saturday. We have to find a way to put this behind us and look forward."
On The Defense
"I thought we blocked fine. Their low kill numbers were because we made so many errors so they didn't have to transition as many balls as you would think. I think this is a little bit of an aberration for us. We can play a lot better. They put a ton of pressure on us. We had glimpses of playing good volleyball but didn't put it together consistently like we need to. We are going to put this match behind us and take a day off and focus on Oregon for Wednesday."
On The Quick Turnaround
"This time of year with these quick turnarounds it is definitely different. We are pretty dialed into most of the teams in the PAC-12 and what they do well. We have film and have scouted them previously. It is actually the first time with Oregon. I think right now it is trying to manage our health and limit our jumps a little bit. We need to have a good prep practice on Tuesday, mentally more than anything else so we can compete well on Wednesday. Then we have a day off for Thanksgiving and then another prep practice for Saturday. This time of the year everyone is pretty dialed into what our routine is. We just have to be pretty sharp mentally for those prep days and be physically ready to go for Wednesday and Saturday."
Team Stats
Stan
CU
Kills
42
16
Errors
12
17
Attempts
91
83
Hitting %
.330
-.012
Points
63
25.5
Assists
34
14
Aces
11
2
Blocks
10
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
2
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballColorado vs. CSU Highlights | September 19, 2025
Saturday, September 20
Golden Spike Series Preview | GTK Ana Burilović | This Week in Colorado Volleyball | Sept. 16, 2025
Tuesday, September 16
Volleyball: Colorado vs. Denver Highlights | September 14, 2025
Sunday, September 14
Colorado vs. Toledo Highlights | September 13, 2025
Sunday, September 14