Thursday, December 1
Waco, Texas
3:30 PM
Colorado
20-11,12-8Pac-12
1
vs
3
Rice
-273,131 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
24
26
16
14
1
Rice
26
24
25
25
3
The Buffs huddle in-between sets at Baylor
Photo by: Tyler Davis
Colorado’s NCAA Hopes Ended By No.20 Rice
December 01, 2022 | Volleyball
WACO, Texas — Colorado women's volleyball fell to No. 20 Rice in four sets (26-24, 24-26, 25-16, 25-14) here Thursday night, losing in the first round in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018.
The Buffaloes (20-11, 12-8 Pac-12) lost in a tough match to the Owls (27-3, 13-1 C-USA) after suffering from long scoring runs made by Rice in the third and fourth sets.
Lexi Hadrych led CU on the offensive end with 20 total kills which ranked second among all players. She also had the best hitting percentage of anyone in the match with an impressive .405. Hadrych added three blocks on defense. Maya Tabron was one kill away from a double-double performance as she totaled nine kills and 17 digs to go along with her two blocks.
Alexia Kuehl recorded five of Colorado's nine total blocks on the defensive end, adding to her five kills. In her second time making the NCAA tournament, Brynna DeLuzio also neared a double-double with eight assists and 11 digs.
For Rice, Sahara Maruska dominated as she racked up 22 total kills while hitting .309. Ellie Bichelmeyer and Danyle Courtley both reached double-digit kills for the Owls.
After a very tight first two sets the Buffs were outhit .244 to .070 in the third set and .389 to .053 in the final set which seemed to be the difference in Waco tonight.
Colorado finished the season with it best record since the 2017 season when the Buffs went 24-10 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE:
Both teams fought back-and-forth to a 9-9 tie early in the set. The tie continued to 14 all before a Rice service error gave Colorado a 15-14 advantage heading into a media timeout. After the break, CU committed consecutive attack errors as it trailed the Owls 16-15. Levaggi picked up her first kill of the match to tie it once again at 16-16. Both teams kept trading points all the way to a 23-23 tie before a Rice attack error set up set point for the Buffs as the Owls took their first timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, Bichelmeyer evened things up at 24 all with a kill. She then recorded two more kills to earn set point and the set win for Rice. Bichelmeyer finished the set with seven kills while hitting .778 as the Owls won the set 26-24.
SET TWO:
After trailing 5-2, Colorado scored three unanswered points to tie it up at 5-5 with the help of an overturned call following a CU game challenge. Tabron's second kill of the match extended the Buffs' scoring run to seven to go up 9-5 which led to a Rice timeout. Shortly after the timeout, the Owls went on a 4-0 scoring run to tie it at 10 all. Colorado outscored Rice 5-1 in the next six points before the Owls called their second and final timeout of the set while trailing 15-11. Tabron racked up her fifth kill to give CU a 20-17 lead. Rice scored three straight points to tie it 20-20 and force a Buffs timeout. The tie continued to 24-24 before Hadrych's 12th total kill gave Colorado set point. Kuehl and Tabron combined for a block to win the set for CU 26-24.
SET THREE:
Colorado jumped out to an early 6-4 lead before Rice went on a 3-0 scoring run to take the lead at 7-6. While trailing 10-9, CU scored three straight, but the Owls answered with three of their own, keeping a one-point lead at 13-12. Tabron tied it at 14 all with a kill and the Buffs took the lead 15-14 following a Rice attack error before a media timeout. The Owls reclaimed the lead with four unanswered points which led to a Colorado timeout. Maruska picked up her 16th total kill to extend Rice's scoring run to eight and force CU to take its second and final timeout while trailing 22-15. Anota Adekunle recorded a kill to make it a 10-0 run and set up an Owls' set point. Kuehl ended Rice's 10-0 scoring run with her fourth kill. An error committed by the Buffs gave the Owls the set win at 25-16.
SET FOUR:
Colorado started the set the same way it did in the third by opening up with a 6-4 lead then facing a 3-0 scoring run by Rice to trail 7-6. After that run, CU didn't lead again during the entire set. Rice went up 10-7 after a kill from Courtley, forcing an early timeout from the Buffs. After the break, the Owls outscored Colorado 5-1, which led to another CU timeout. While Rice led 18-9, the Buffs scored three straight points capped off by Hadrych's 20th kill to make it 18-12 and force a timeout from the Owls. Out of the timeout, Rice held control and went on a 5-0 run, making it 23-12. The Owls reached set point following a kill from Maruska and then won the match 25-14 on a kill by Courtley.
Colorado Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement...
"First of all, we're excited that we got the opportunity to make it to this event and we've been treated really well since we have been here. Rice is really good. Kudos to them for playing a hell of a match. I felt like the first two sets were really competitive and could have gone either way, but the third and into the fourth, they just wore us out defensively. So the loss is frustrating, but we have a special group this year and they've been through a lot. I'm proud of them for the season that they've had. We lose seven players, and those seven players meant a lot to our program."
On Rice, if they were a part of the Pac 12…
"I think [their play fits] pretty well. We finished fifth in the Pac 12. We're playing USC, UCLA and Washington in a pretty good league and a pretty deep league. So obviously, they pass well, they have a really nice system that they run and they have a setter that can do it."
On returning to the NCAA Tournament…
"Our season was a grind every match. Every match of ours was competitive in our league. Making it to this point, we had to win four of our last five games or whatever it was to get here, and it says a lot. The experience of being here and so many of our players have an opportunity to come back next season. Hopefully this experience will help."
Colorado Setter/Libero Brynna DeLuzio
Thoughts on the match and season…
"Just like [Coach Mahoney] was just saying, I'm just proud of what we've done, given the last couple of years. We kind of have this goal of being back in the tournament, and I think we've done everything in our power to get here so you know, one loss or one game doesn't define us. I think that this season was so special for this group of girls."
On leaving an impression for the returning players next year…
"Well, the younger players got to experience an NCAA tournament, which is kind of the best experience I think you get at that age and just see the grind that it takes to get here. It's a really special group of girls. The relationships that we've been able to form and having this type of chemistry that we've haven't had in a while, really leaves an imprint that this is a group of forever friends."
Colorado Middle Blocker Meegan Hart
On what changed after the second set…
"They're a great team. Defensively, they stepped up in order to get some big swings and it can get frustrating when you know you're not scoring, and you just keep trying to score and score. I think defensively, it's just the speed."
On an impression for the returning players next year…
"I'd say just not letting like past seasons define you. I think this year, whatever's happened in the past doesn't have to repeat this year. So I think about how close we are, and cherish every moment because these friendships last a lifetime, and just hold on to that. You're not going to remember 20 years from now about one ball you hit out or whatever it was; just remember the good moments and the big wins."
The Buffaloes (20-11, 12-8 Pac-12) lost in a tough match to the Owls (27-3, 13-1 C-USA) after suffering from long scoring runs made by Rice in the third and fourth sets.
Lexi Hadrych led CU on the offensive end with 20 total kills which ranked second among all players. She also had the best hitting percentage of anyone in the match with an impressive .405. Hadrych added three blocks on defense. Maya Tabron was one kill away from a double-double performance as she totaled nine kills and 17 digs to go along with her two blocks.
Alexia Kuehl recorded five of Colorado's nine total blocks on the defensive end, adding to her five kills. In her second time making the NCAA tournament, Brynna DeLuzio also neared a double-double with eight assists and 11 digs.
For Rice, Sahara Maruska dominated as she racked up 22 total kills while hitting .309. Ellie Bichelmeyer and Danyle Courtley both reached double-digit kills for the Owls.
After a very tight first two sets the Buffs were outhit .244 to .070 in the third set and .389 to .053 in the final set which seemed to be the difference in Waco tonight.
Colorado finished the season with it best record since the 2017 season when the Buffs went 24-10 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE:
Both teams fought back-and-forth to a 9-9 tie early in the set. The tie continued to 14 all before a Rice service error gave Colorado a 15-14 advantage heading into a media timeout. After the break, CU committed consecutive attack errors as it trailed the Owls 16-15. Levaggi picked up her first kill of the match to tie it once again at 16-16. Both teams kept trading points all the way to a 23-23 tie before a Rice attack error set up set point for the Buffs as the Owls took their first timeout of the set. Out of the timeout, Bichelmeyer evened things up at 24 all with a kill. She then recorded two more kills to earn set point and the set win for Rice. Bichelmeyer finished the set with seven kills while hitting .778 as the Owls won the set 26-24.
SET TWO:
After trailing 5-2, Colorado scored three unanswered points to tie it up at 5-5 with the help of an overturned call following a CU game challenge. Tabron's second kill of the match extended the Buffs' scoring run to seven to go up 9-5 which led to a Rice timeout. Shortly after the timeout, the Owls went on a 4-0 scoring run to tie it at 10 all. Colorado outscored Rice 5-1 in the next six points before the Owls called their second and final timeout of the set while trailing 15-11. Tabron racked up her fifth kill to give CU a 20-17 lead. Rice scored three straight points to tie it 20-20 and force a Buffs timeout. The tie continued to 24-24 before Hadrych's 12th total kill gave Colorado set point. Kuehl and Tabron combined for a block to win the set for CU 26-24.
SET THREE:
Colorado jumped out to an early 6-4 lead before Rice went on a 3-0 scoring run to take the lead at 7-6. While trailing 10-9, CU scored three straight, but the Owls answered with three of their own, keeping a one-point lead at 13-12. Tabron tied it at 14 all with a kill and the Buffs took the lead 15-14 following a Rice attack error before a media timeout. The Owls reclaimed the lead with four unanswered points which led to a Colorado timeout. Maruska picked up her 16th total kill to extend Rice's scoring run to eight and force CU to take its second and final timeout while trailing 22-15. Anota Adekunle recorded a kill to make it a 10-0 run and set up an Owls' set point. Kuehl ended Rice's 10-0 scoring run with her fourth kill. An error committed by the Buffs gave the Owls the set win at 25-16.
SET FOUR:
Colorado started the set the same way it did in the third by opening up with a 6-4 lead then facing a 3-0 scoring run by Rice to trail 7-6. After that run, CU didn't lead again during the entire set. Rice went up 10-7 after a kill from Courtley, forcing an early timeout from the Buffs. After the break, the Owls outscored Colorado 5-1, which led to another CU timeout. While Rice led 18-9, the Buffs scored three straight points capped off by Hadrych's 20th kill to make it 18-12 and force a timeout from the Owls. Out of the timeout, Rice held control and went on a 5-0 run, making it 23-12. The Owls reached set point following a kill from Maruska and then won the match 25-14 on a kill by Courtley.
Colorado Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement...
"First of all, we're excited that we got the opportunity to make it to this event and we've been treated really well since we have been here. Rice is really good. Kudos to them for playing a hell of a match. I felt like the first two sets were really competitive and could have gone either way, but the third and into the fourth, they just wore us out defensively. So the loss is frustrating, but we have a special group this year and they've been through a lot. I'm proud of them for the season that they've had. We lose seven players, and those seven players meant a lot to our program."
On Rice, if they were a part of the Pac 12…
"I think [their play fits] pretty well. We finished fifth in the Pac 12. We're playing USC, UCLA and Washington in a pretty good league and a pretty deep league. So obviously, they pass well, they have a really nice system that they run and they have a setter that can do it."
On returning to the NCAA Tournament…
"Our season was a grind every match. Every match of ours was competitive in our league. Making it to this point, we had to win four of our last five games or whatever it was to get here, and it says a lot. The experience of being here and so many of our players have an opportunity to come back next season. Hopefully this experience will help."
Colorado Setter/Libero Brynna DeLuzio
Thoughts on the match and season…
"Just like [Coach Mahoney] was just saying, I'm just proud of what we've done, given the last couple of years. We kind of have this goal of being back in the tournament, and I think we've done everything in our power to get here so you know, one loss or one game doesn't define us. I think that this season was so special for this group of girls."
On leaving an impression for the returning players next year…
"Well, the younger players got to experience an NCAA tournament, which is kind of the best experience I think you get at that age and just see the grind that it takes to get here. It's a really special group of girls. The relationships that we've been able to form and having this type of chemistry that we've haven't had in a while, really leaves an imprint that this is a group of forever friends."
Colorado Middle Blocker Meegan Hart
On what changed after the second set…
"They're a great team. Defensively, they stepped up in order to get some big swings and it can get frustrating when you know you're not scoring, and you just keep trying to score and score. I think defensively, it's just the speed."
On an impression for the returning players next year…
"I'd say just not letting like past seasons define you. I think this year, whatever's happened in the past doesn't have to repeat this year. So I think about how close we are, and cherish every moment because these friendships last a lifetime, and just hold on to that. You're not going to remember 20 years from now about one ball you hit out or whatever it was; just remember the good moments and the big wins."
Team Stats
CU
Rice
Kills
45
65
Errors
25
22
Attempts
175
174
Hitting %
.114
.247
Points
57
72
Assists
42
60
Aces
3
3
Blocks
9
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
S/L
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