Colorado University Athletics
Thursday, September 12
Ft. Collins, Colo.
7:00 PM
Colorado
at
Colorado State
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
RS/MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
Photo by: Mark Waldron
Colorado Take on CSU in Home-and-Home Battle
September 10, 2019 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team will take on Colorado State University in a pair of home-and-home matches this Thursday at Moby Arena in Fort Collins at 7 p.m., then 23 hours later at 6 p.m. in the CU Events Center on Friday to decide the winner of the inaugural Golden Spike Trophy.
No.19-ranked Colorado (5-0) rolls into Thursday's match having just lost a single set all season long. The team swept former No.5 Illinois in Iowa City last Saturday, hitting a dominating .462 against the Illini. Those efforts award CU with a pair of Pac-12 player of the week honors, Meegan Hart as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Jill Schneggenburger as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
The Buffs are led by senior Justine Spann, fresh off being named the Co-MVP of the Pac-12/BIG TEN Challenge. Spann has a team-high 68 kills, averaging 4.25 kills per set and hitting .234. She had a career-high .560 hitting percentage with 16 kills against Illinois.
Also for the Buffs offensively, the freshmen duo of Schneggenburger and Sterling Parker has been a welcome addition to the squad. Schneggenburger, named to the Pac-12/BIG TEN Challenge All-Tournament team, had just a single hitting error last weekend and hit an outstanding 12 kills and .661 hitting percentage against Illinois. She has 49 kills this season, averaging more than three kills per set and hitting a team-best .322. Parker has 42 kills and is hitting .274.
The Buffs as a whole are hitting .268, good for 13th in the nation. Jenna Ewert is leading the distribution with 160 assists (10 per set). She is also leading the team with 52 digs.
On the defensive side, Hart has 22 total blocks and is averaging 1.37 per set. Parker and Price have 17 and 16 blocks this season, respectfully, giving CU a strong front that has 42.5 blocks this season. The Buffs are ranked 24th in the nation in blocks per set.
Friday's match with be a 'Wear Black' night with 200 t-shirts to the first 200 students to arrive at the match.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Colorado State (5-1) is coming off of a sweep of No.22 Florida State last weekend in Fort Worth. CSU has swept every opponent it has beaten this season, including TCU and Oklahoma. The team's one falter was a four-set loss to Cal in Moby Arena. Cal, who leads the NCAA in team hitting percentage, held CSU to a .123 hitting percentage and hit .291 in the win. CSU is hitting .264 as a team, good for 44th in the nation. They are also 10th in blocks per set at three per set and 36th in opponent hitting percentage at .125.
CSU has five offensive weapons with 30 or more kills this season, led by redshirt junior Breana Runnels' 68. Senior middle blocker Paulina Hougaard-Jensen will pose a threat to CU with 53 kills and a .349 hitting percentage along with her counterpart, redshirt senior Kirstie Hillyer who has 43 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. The Rams are an experienced team with another pair of seniors, Jessica Jackson and Olivia Nicholson that have 38 and 31 kills, respectfully. Senior setter Katie Oleksak rounds out the experienced starting offense with 11 assists per set.
Defensively, junior libero Alexa Roumeliotis has 78 digs, averaging more than four per set. The two middles have 27 and 21 blocks, led by Hougaard-Jensen who is averaging more than 1.4 per set. CSU as a team has 56.5 blocks this season.
GOLDEN SPIKE SHOWDOWN
This season the Buffs and Rams will compete for the inaugural Golden Spike Trophy, a rivalry traveling trophy inspired by the CU Volleyball Supporter Club. The Golden Spike is a vintage railroad spike donated by the Comanche Crossing Museum in Strasburg, Colo., that has been painted golden and set in the trophy. The spike represents the final spike driven in the Kansas Pacific Railroad that laid the final tracks that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts more than 149 years ago. The two teams will compete annually for the trophy, with the winner of the second match in seasons where two are played in the regular season taking the honor.
No.19-ranked Colorado (5-0) rolls into Thursday's match having just lost a single set all season long. The team swept former No.5 Illinois in Iowa City last Saturday, hitting a dominating .462 against the Illini. Those efforts award CU with a pair of Pac-12 player of the week honors, Meegan Hart as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Jill Schneggenburger as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
The Buffs are led by senior Justine Spann, fresh off being named the Co-MVP of the Pac-12/BIG TEN Challenge. Spann has a team-high 68 kills, averaging 4.25 kills per set and hitting .234. She had a career-high .560 hitting percentage with 16 kills against Illinois.
Also for the Buffs offensively, the freshmen duo of Schneggenburger and Sterling Parker has been a welcome addition to the squad. Schneggenburger, named to the Pac-12/BIG TEN Challenge All-Tournament team, had just a single hitting error last weekend and hit an outstanding 12 kills and .661 hitting percentage against Illinois. She has 49 kills this season, averaging more than three kills per set and hitting a team-best .322. Parker has 42 kills and is hitting .274.
The Buffs as a whole are hitting .268, good for 13th in the nation. Jenna Ewert is leading the distribution with 160 assists (10 per set). She is also leading the team with 52 digs.
On the defensive side, Hart has 22 total blocks and is averaging 1.37 per set. Parker and Price have 17 and 16 blocks this season, respectfully, giving CU a strong front that has 42.5 blocks this season. The Buffs are ranked 24th in the nation in blocks per set.
Friday's match with be a 'Wear Black' night with 200 t-shirts to the first 200 students to arrive at the match.
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Colorado State (5-1) is coming off of a sweep of No.22 Florida State last weekend in Fort Worth. CSU has swept every opponent it has beaten this season, including TCU and Oklahoma. The team's one falter was a four-set loss to Cal in Moby Arena. Cal, who leads the NCAA in team hitting percentage, held CSU to a .123 hitting percentage and hit .291 in the win. CSU is hitting .264 as a team, good for 44th in the nation. They are also 10th in blocks per set at three per set and 36th in opponent hitting percentage at .125.
CSU has five offensive weapons with 30 or more kills this season, led by redshirt junior Breana Runnels' 68. Senior middle blocker Paulina Hougaard-Jensen will pose a threat to CU with 53 kills and a .349 hitting percentage along with her counterpart, redshirt senior Kirstie Hillyer who has 43 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. The Rams are an experienced team with another pair of seniors, Jessica Jackson and Olivia Nicholson that have 38 and 31 kills, respectfully. Senior setter Katie Oleksak rounds out the experienced starting offense with 11 assists per set.
Defensively, junior libero Alexa Roumeliotis has 78 digs, averaging more than four per set. The two middles have 27 and 21 blocks, led by Hougaard-Jensen who is averaging more than 1.4 per set. CSU as a team has 56.5 blocks this season.
GOLDEN SPIKE SHOWDOWN
This season the Buffs and Rams will compete for the inaugural Golden Spike Trophy, a rivalry traveling trophy inspired by the CU Volleyball Supporter Club. The Golden Spike is a vintage railroad spike donated by the Comanche Crossing Museum in Strasburg, Colo., that has been painted golden and set in the trophy. The spike represents the final spike driven in the Kansas Pacific Railroad that laid the final tracks that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts more than 149 years ago. The two teams will compete annually for the trophy, with the winner of the second match in seasons where two are played in the regular season taking the honor.
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