Buffs Streak Ends With Rams Sweep

FORT COLLINS – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season after being swept, 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-21), by CSU Thursday night in a packed Moby Arena.

No.19 Colorado (5-1) hit .000 in the match as the Rams (6-1) hit .341. The Buffs troubles came down to errors, with the team giving away 36 points by way of attack errors (20), service errors (8), reception errors (4) and block errors (4).

The Buffaloes hit negative for the first two sets, combining for just nine kills in those sets. The team turned things around in the third with 11 kills and a .259 hitting percentage, but it couldn't slow down the Rams who hit .394 in the final set. Three Buffs hit with a negative percentage, while only one CU student-athlete had greater than a .250 hitting percentage. Elissa Alcantara, who came in during the second and third sets, had a .429 hitting percentage with three errorless kills on seven swings.

Justine Spann and Sterling Parker led Colorado with five kills each. Spann hit .087, while Parker went for .105. Parker and Hart each had a team-high three blocks, while Rachel Whipple led the team with seven digs. Jenna Ewert had 15 assists and also had five digs.

CSU dominated behind outside hitter Breana Runnels' 14 kills with a .520 hitting percentage. She committed just a single error in the effort. The Rams had three individuals hit greater than .430, while setter Katie Oleksak had 32 assists. Colorado State had seven total team blocks and were led in the backrow by defensive specialist Olivia Nicholson with 11 digs.

The two teams reconvene tomorrow evening in Boulder to decide the winner of the inaugural Golden Spike Trophy. The match is set for 6 p.m. in the CU Events Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Backed by a stacked home crowd, CSU came out strong with an ace, but a Hart and Parker block turned it back to a tie. CSU took a quick 4-1 lead. The lead extended to 6-1 before a ball down was called and coach Mahoney challenged it successfully. Errors continued to plague the Buffs early with a pair of service errors along with a pair of blocking errors, giving CSU a 9-3 lead before CU called timeout with a -.286 hitting percentage. The lead held to 12-6 with the teams trading back-and-forth. A huge save from Spann and Whipple gave CU a chance to sideout to Parker and cut the lead to five at 14-9. CU's hitting continued to struggle with a -.045 team percentage as CSU extended to an 18-9 lead. CSU reached the 20-point barrier with an eight point lead. Set point came at 24-12, finishing it off a play later. CU hit -.091 in the set with Schneggenburger kill less with a -.444 hitting percentage. CSU hit .269 led by Breana Runnels' .857 hitting percentage with six kills on seven swings.

CSU continued where they left off, pushing to a 5-2 lead early. They continued to extend to a 9-3 lead behind CU hitting -.222 in the set. The Buffs began to push back, stringing together a pair of points to close to 11-7. A three-point CSU run forced a Mahoney timeout. Out of the timeout, CU subbed in Emily DeMure at setter, Alcantara at right side and Lillie Klemmer at middle. The switch couldn't stop the Rams as they went on an 8-1 run to lead 18-8. The switch was made apparent as CU switched to a 6-2 late. CSU rallied to a 22-10 lead late. Set point came at 24-11, taking it two plays later. CU hit -.160 in the set with just three kills while CSU hit .346. with 13.

Colorado got its first lead of the night with the first point of the third set. The Buffs continued to hold the lead to a 5-4 affair. The teams continued to trade points, as CU subbed out Schneggenburger for Alcantara who came out swinging with three kills in five swings. CSU regained the lead and extended to it to 16-12 before CU called timeout after the four-point run. CU rallied back after a long rally ending in a Spann run, then a called Neverdowski ace was challenged by CSU coach unsuccessfully to give the Rams an 18-15 lead. The Rams turned the tide to lead 20-15. Another pair of points forced CU into a timeout trailing 22-17. A Price kill and Spann ace forced CSU to call timeout leading 22-17. Match point came at 24-18, but CU turned back numerous attempts to close it to within three before CSU called timeout. CSU closed it out 25-21. CU hit .000 while CSU hit .341.

QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the match
That's a really good team in a hostile environment, obviously very excited to play us. I thought we did a lot of things poorly, we couldn't serve, pass, defend, block, attack, at the level we have been all season, especially serving and passing. We were hoping we found a point where we would be able to response and regroup a little bit. I think we found that in part of set three. Hopefully when we get them on our home floor we are a little more comfortable and play with more discipline.

On returning to play the same team so quickly
Haven't really done it in a long time, so we will go and watch film and see if there are adjustments to be made. I don't really think our game plan will change a whole lot, we didn't get a chance to implement it because we served and passed so poorly. Those aren't adjustments, those are fundamentals of volleyball.

Next Event

Team Stats

Justine Spann

Sterling Parker

Elissa Alcantara

Jenna Ewert

Players Mentioned

Elissa Alcantara

Emily DeMure

Jenna Ewert

Lillie Klemmer

Sterling Parker

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple

Players Mentioned

Elissa Alcantara

Emily DeMure

Jenna Ewert

Lillie Klemmer

Sterling Parker

Justine Spann

Rachel Whipple