Saturday, November 9
Los Angeles, Calif.
8:00 PM
Colorado
11-13,3-11Pac-12
1
at
3
USC
14-10,8-6Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
15
25
26
19
1
Southern California
25
23
28
25
3
Photo by: Tony Harman
Colorado’s Run Ends In Four-Set Loss
November 09, 2019 | Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team dropped a four-set loss (25-15, 23-25, 28-26, 25-19) to Southern California Saturday evening in Los Angeles to snap the Buffs' three-match win streak.
Colorado (11-13, 3-11 Pac-12) recovered after a tough first set loss to take the second set, but USC (14-10, 8-6 Pac-12) stole the third set away from the Buffs after facing three set-points. Colorado couldn't recover in the fourth set after hitting .000 as USC's senior outside hitter Khalia Lanier put up 33 kills and a .452 hitting percentage.
The match looked to be a battle between Lanier and the Buffalo combination of Elissa Alcantara and Justine Spann. The two teamed up for 32 kills led by Spann's 17 and Alcantara's .278 hitting percentage. They were joined by Sterling Parker's eight kills and .292 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Jenna Ewert had another strong day despite the team only putting down eight kills in the final set. She powered Colorado to a 20-kill third set behind nearly half of her 44 assists. She also added five kills of her own.
Defensively, Rachel Whipple shined with her fifth 20-dig performance of the season as she averaged five per set. Katie Lougeay added 10 digs and an ace while Spann put down a pair of solo blocks to tie Meegan Hart with a team-high three total blocks.
The Trojans weighed heavily on Lanier's performance which would have tied her career-high had she not put down 40 kills against Utah this week. The other thing that lifted USC to victory was the team's strong blocking that turned back 10 of Colorado's attacks.
Colorado is still in the hunt to return to .500 and be postseason eligible and will look to pick up a pair of wins next weekend on the road against Washington and Washington State for the final road trip of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams traded points back-and-forth until USC put down a three-point run to a 5-2 lead. The Trojans repeated the process to jump to a 10-4 advantage before Colorado called its first timeout with USC hitting .600 compared to the Buffs' .091. The teams traded small runs to a 13-7 USC lead. Colorado looked disorientated with some passing miscues that led to a 17-10 USC lead. The Buffs serving gave away numerous points as the team had more than four service errors by the time USC led 22-14. Coach Mahoney called his second timeout at 23-14. The Women of Troy hit set-point at 24-15, sealing it on the next point. The Buffs finished the set hitting .296 as a team led by Spann and Parker's three kills, but USC hit .552 and had 17 kills in the set compared to the Buffaloes' 10.
The Buffs started the second set with a pair of blocks to give them a 4-3 lead. USC stole back the lead on a 3-1 run at 7-6 but returned the favor on the next serve with their fourth service error. The Trojans went on a 4-1 run to take a quick 11-9 lead, but a Meegan Hart kill and USC ball handling error tied it back up at 11 all. USC's duo of Lanier and Weske were proving to be a problem at nine and eight kills, respectfully as Weske was hitting .800. CU reclaimed the lead at 16-15 off of Spann's sixth kill of the match. Spann put down another kill to spark a CU 3-0 run that forced USC to call timeout at 20-18. The break worked as the Trojans returned with a three-point run to momentarily take the lead before Ewert put down a dump to end the run. Hart followed up with a kill to claim the lead at 22-21. Colorado jumped to set-point at 24-22 after a Hart ace. Ewert took it into her own hands with her fourth kill to end the set 25-23 despite USC hitting .324 in the set compared to CU's .229.
The third set started out with a pair of CU points before USC returned the favor and tied it up at four-all. USC put down a run of three to take an 8-5 advantage. Back-to-back Alcantara kills set up an 8-7 score. The freshman put down another to bring her total to eight. USC continued to pound the ball while hitting .500 in the set without an attacking error as they led 12-9. Colorado stormed back with four-straight points after three Spann kills to take the lead 13-12. Colorado's duo of Spann and Alcantara kept going toe-to-toe with Lanier as the two teamed up for 20 kills compared to Lanier's 19. Colorado put down consecutive Alcantara kills to force USC to call timeout at 18-15. Lanier put down her 20th kill out of the break just two days after setting a career-high 40 kills against Utah. The Trojans scored two-straight to close the gap to one before committing an attack error to give CU a 19-17 lead. Alcantara gave CU a 20-17 lead as the Trojans called their final timeout of the set. A Lanier kill followed by a Trojan ace closed the gap, then an attack error tied it up at 20 points. Spann ended the run then traded kills with Lanier to give the Buffs a close 22-21 lead. A Spann tip was called out which was instantly challenged by coach Mahoney but there was no video to prove the play and Colorado wasn't charged a timeout. A USC service error returned the lead to the Buffs but a CU block went out-of-bounds to tie it at 23 all. Set-point was set up for Colorado after an Ewert kill at 24-23. After tying it up a block error gave the Buffs their second set-point. Alcantara set up the third set-point after her 13th kill but a lucky roll off the tape tied the set again for the Trojans. USC earned its first set-point after a block at 27-26 then finished off the set after an attack error for the Buffs. Colorado hit .277 in the set with 20 kills while USC hit .357 to keep their match team hitting percentage at .400 led by Lanier's 24 kills and .524 hitting percentage.
Colorado jumped out to a 5-3 lead to start the fourth set, but USC put down a run of three to take a 6-5 lead. Colorado returned the favor with a three-point run of their own to take an 8-6 lead. Both teams were hitting .000 when USC put down its ninth block of the match to close the game to 9-8. The teams battled to an 11-11 tie before USC took a 12-11 lead off Lanier's 26th kill. Another play later that went USC's way was enough to force CU into a timeout. Colorado tied it back up at 13 all but a service error followed by the Trojan's sixth ace pushed the lead back to two. USC put down their 10th block to force CU into its final timeout at 17-14. Lanier's 30th kill extended the lead to 19-15 as CU hit -.030 in the set thus far. The Women of Troy continued to close in on the win with a 23-18 lead, reaching set-point on Lanier's 32nd kill. The match ended on a net violation at 25-19 with USC hitting .331 in the match compared to the Buffs' .195 including hitting .000 in the final set.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On The Match
Overall this was a good weekend for us. We played really good volleyball on Friday and played a couple of good sets of volleyball today. That's a really good. Khalia had a great match and we couldn't find a way to stop her when it mattered, especially towards the end of the third set. We had a chance to go up 2-1 and couldn't quite close and it might have been a little bit of a different match if that had happened. I am happy with the level we are playing at right now.
On Ewert's Weekend
Everyone knows Jenna is super-talented. When we pass the ball well and give her more options where she can be a little more creative with the ball good things happen. We passed fairly well tonight and she was able to isolate some hitters for us. She is playing really well and overall we are trending in the right direction.
On Alcantara's Improvement
Elissa has always been a really physical player. She can play very high and I think it took her a little time to get used to the pace of the Pac-12 and how she can score against the block at this level. She has steadily grown throughout this season and she had another great match and hit for a good percentage. As a group, we are progressing and finally getting healthy. Looking forward to getting some more wins the rest of the season.
Colorado (11-13, 3-11 Pac-12) recovered after a tough first set loss to take the second set, but USC (14-10, 8-6 Pac-12) stole the third set away from the Buffs after facing three set-points. Colorado couldn't recover in the fourth set after hitting .000 as USC's senior outside hitter Khalia Lanier put up 33 kills and a .452 hitting percentage.
The match looked to be a battle between Lanier and the Buffalo combination of Elissa Alcantara and Justine Spann. The two teamed up for 32 kills led by Spann's 17 and Alcantara's .278 hitting percentage. They were joined by Sterling Parker's eight kills and .292 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Jenna Ewert had another strong day despite the team only putting down eight kills in the final set. She powered Colorado to a 20-kill third set behind nearly half of her 44 assists. She also added five kills of her own.
Defensively, Rachel Whipple shined with her fifth 20-dig performance of the season as she averaged five per set. Katie Lougeay added 10 digs and an ace while Spann put down a pair of solo blocks to tie Meegan Hart with a team-high three total blocks.
The Trojans weighed heavily on Lanier's performance which would have tied her career-high had she not put down 40 kills against Utah this week. The other thing that lifted USC to victory was the team's strong blocking that turned back 10 of Colorado's attacks.
Colorado is still in the hunt to return to .500 and be postseason eligible and will look to pick up a pair of wins next weekend on the road against Washington and Washington State for the final road trip of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams traded points back-and-forth until USC put down a three-point run to a 5-2 lead. The Trojans repeated the process to jump to a 10-4 advantage before Colorado called its first timeout with USC hitting .600 compared to the Buffs' .091. The teams traded small runs to a 13-7 USC lead. Colorado looked disorientated with some passing miscues that led to a 17-10 USC lead. The Buffs serving gave away numerous points as the team had more than four service errors by the time USC led 22-14. Coach Mahoney called his second timeout at 23-14. The Women of Troy hit set-point at 24-15, sealing it on the next point. The Buffs finished the set hitting .296 as a team led by Spann and Parker's three kills, but USC hit .552 and had 17 kills in the set compared to the Buffaloes' 10.
The Buffs started the second set with a pair of blocks to give them a 4-3 lead. USC stole back the lead on a 3-1 run at 7-6 but returned the favor on the next serve with their fourth service error. The Trojans went on a 4-1 run to take a quick 11-9 lead, but a Meegan Hart kill and USC ball handling error tied it back up at 11 all. USC's duo of Lanier and Weske were proving to be a problem at nine and eight kills, respectfully as Weske was hitting .800. CU reclaimed the lead at 16-15 off of Spann's sixth kill of the match. Spann put down another kill to spark a CU 3-0 run that forced USC to call timeout at 20-18. The break worked as the Trojans returned with a three-point run to momentarily take the lead before Ewert put down a dump to end the run. Hart followed up with a kill to claim the lead at 22-21. Colorado jumped to set-point at 24-22 after a Hart ace. Ewert took it into her own hands with her fourth kill to end the set 25-23 despite USC hitting .324 in the set compared to CU's .229.
The third set started out with a pair of CU points before USC returned the favor and tied it up at four-all. USC put down a run of three to take an 8-5 advantage. Back-to-back Alcantara kills set up an 8-7 score. The freshman put down another to bring her total to eight. USC continued to pound the ball while hitting .500 in the set without an attacking error as they led 12-9. Colorado stormed back with four-straight points after three Spann kills to take the lead 13-12. Colorado's duo of Spann and Alcantara kept going toe-to-toe with Lanier as the two teamed up for 20 kills compared to Lanier's 19. Colorado put down consecutive Alcantara kills to force USC to call timeout at 18-15. Lanier put down her 20th kill out of the break just two days after setting a career-high 40 kills against Utah. The Trojans scored two-straight to close the gap to one before committing an attack error to give CU a 19-17 lead. Alcantara gave CU a 20-17 lead as the Trojans called their final timeout of the set. A Lanier kill followed by a Trojan ace closed the gap, then an attack error tied it up at 20 points. Spann ended the run then traded kills with Lanier to give the Buffs a close 22-21 lead. A Spann tip was called out which was instantly challenged by coach Mahoney but there was no video to prove the play and Colorado wasn't charged a timeout. A USC service error returned the lead to the Buffs but a CU block went out-of-bounds to tie it at 23 all. Set-point was set up for Colorado after an Ewert kill at 24-23. After tying it up a block error gave the Buffs their second set-point. Alcantara set up the third set-point after her 13th kill but a lucky roll off the tape tied the set again for the Trojans. USC earned its first set-point after a block at 27-26 then finished off the set after an attack error for the Buffs. Colorado hit .277 in the set with 20 kills while USC hit .357 to keep their match team hitting percentage at .400 led by Lanier's 24 kills and .524 hitting percentage.
Colorado jumped out to a 5-3 lead to start the fourth set, but USC put down a run of three to take a 6-5 lead. Colorado returned the favor with a three-point run of their own to take an 8-6 lead. Both teams were hitting .000 when USC put down its ninth block of the match to close the game to 9-8. The teams battled to an 11-11 tie before USC took a 12-11 lead off Lanier's 26th kill. Another play later that went USC's way was enough to force CU into a timeout. Colorado tied it back up at 13 all but a service error followed by the Trojan's sixth ace pushed the lead back to two. USC put down their 10th block to force CU into its final timeout at 17-14. Lanier's 30th kill extended the lead to 19-15 as CU hit -.030 in the set thus far. The Women of Troy continued to close in on the win with a 23-18 lead, reaching set-point on Lanier's 32nd kill. The match ended on a net violation at 25-19 with USC hitting .331 in the match compared to the Buffs' .195 including hitting .000 in the final set.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On The Match
Overall this was a good weekend for us. We played really good volleyball on Friday and played a couple of good sets of volleyball today. That's a really good. Khalia had a great match and we couldn't find a way to stop her when it mattered, especially towards the end of the third set. We had a chance to go up 2-1 and couldn't quite close and it might have been a little bit of a different match if that had happened. I am happy with the level we are playing at right now.
On Ewert's Weekend
Everyone knows Jenna is super-talented. When we pass the ball well and give her more options where she can be a little more creative with the ball good things happen. We passed fairly well tonight and she was able to isolate some hitters for us. She is playing really well and overall we are trending in the right direction.
On Alcantara's Improvement
Elissa has always been a really physical player. She can play very high and I think it took her a little time to get used to the pace of the Pac-12 and how she can score against the block at this level. She has steadily grown throughout this season and she had another great match and hit for a good percentage. As a group, we are progressing and finally getting healthy. Looking forward to getting some more wins the rest of the season.
Team Stats
CU
USC
Kills
53
62
Errors
24
15
Attempts
149
142
Hitting %
.195
.331
Points
61
78
Assists
49
58
Aces
3
6
Blocks
5
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ VolleyballS
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MB
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DS/L
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ VolleyballOH
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DS/L
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