Colorado
Rice
Buffs To Face No. 20 Rice In NCAA’s First Round
November 28, 2022 | Volleyball
BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's volleyball is headed to Waco, Texas for their first round match of the NCAA tournament against No. 20 Rice Thursday at 3:30 p.m. MT.
The appearance marks the 21st time that the Buffs (20-10, 12-8 Pac-12) have been in the NCAA Tournament. The last time CU played in Waco at Baylor University for the post-season was in 2017. That year, the Buffs won their first two matches and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to No. 5 Nebraska.
The last time Colorado made it to the NCAA tournament was in 2018 when the team lost in the first round to South Carolina in five sets.
No. 20 Rice (26-3, 13-1 C-USA) has seven prior NCAA appearances, with this year's appearance being the fifth in the span of five years.
The Owls are led in kills by fifth year middle blocker Anota Adekunle. Adekunle has an impressive .426 attack percentage and is averaging 3.15 kills a set. On the defensive front, she also leads the team in blocks and has 92 total blocks on the year.
The Owls have also found offensive powerhouses in their pair of outside hitters, Sahara Maruska and Danyle Courtley. Maruska has notched 299 kills this season while Courtley has 288. Both are averaging 2.74 kills a set.
Colorado's offense is currently led by outside hitter Maya Tabron. Tabron has 353 kills this season with a .227 attack percentage. Last week, she earned consecutive double-doubles to close out Pac-12 conference play with 10 kills and 13 digs against Arizona and 14 kills and 12 digs against Utah.
Closely trailing Tabron in kills is Colorado's other outside hitter, Lexi Hadrych. Hadrych has notched 341 kills this season for a .235 attack percentage, and she earned 20 kills to hit .395 against Arizona last week.
Middle blocker Meegan Hart is another staple in the Buffs' offense and is currently eighth in the NCAA in hitting percentage at .432. She's 49th in the NCAA in blocks per set at 1.23 and has posted 135 blocks so far this season. CU's other middle blocker, Alexia Kuehl, is averaging 1.10 blocks per set and has earned 121 blocks this year. The 6-7 middle averages 1.67 kills a set and has a .299 attack percentage.
Jill Schneggenburger has also contributed strongly both offensively and defensively for the Buffs. The 6-0 hitter has earned 242 digs this season, only trailing CU's libero, Katie Lougeay, who has 366. Schneggenburger has earned 136 kills this season.
Distributing the offense are setters Taylor Simpson and Brynna DeLuzio. Simpson has earned 867 assists and 214 digs while DeLuzio has 230 digs and 313 assists this season. DeLuzio is a six year graduate student, and she is the only player on the roster that's been to the NCAA tournament as a Buff. Her first tournament appearance took place in Waco in 2017 as a freshman.
The game will be shown on ESPN+. If the Buffs advance to the second round, they'll face the winner between No. 17 Baylor and Stephen F. Austin. That match will be shown on ESPN+ Friday at 6 p.m. MT.
