Colorado Celebrates Historic Season at Annual Banquet

BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's volleyball team celebrated their Fall 2022 accomplishments at their year-end banquet in the Arrow Touchdown Club today.

The Buffs closed out the year with a 20-11 overall record, marking the first time the Buffs won 20 matches in one season since 2017. Colorado earned their best conference record since joining the Pac-12, going 12-8 and finishing tied for fifth in the conference. The Buffs' impressive regular season play and crucial wins over ranked teams like No. 19 Illinois and No. 21 Washington helped the team qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018. The team's defeat of No.21 Washington made program history as it marked the first time that the Buffs had defeated Washington while in Seattle. Another historic moment occurred when Colorado earned victories against both UCLA and USC in the same weekend at the CU Events Center. Prior to that, the Buffs had never defeated both LA schools on their home floor in a single weekend.

During the banquet, the team handed out a number of volleyball and team awards.

Volleyball Awards:

Offensive MVP- Lexi Hadrych
Defensive MVP- Meegan Hart
Scout Team MVP- Kelley Levaggi
Heart of a Buff- Savannah Perry

Lexi Hadrych was honored with the Offensive MVP award. She led the team in kills per set throughout the season with 3.25. She notched 361 total kills throughout the season for a .242 attack percentage, and the outside hitter had three matches where she earned at least 20 kills. Hadrych also finished 15th in the Pac-12 for kills per set and was named as an All-Pac-12 honorable mention for the first time in her career.

Meegan Hart earned the Defensive MVP award by being a crucial first line of defense for the Buffs all season long. She averaged 1.21 blocks per set, ranking her at fourth in the Pac-12 and 57th in the NCAA. The middle blocker earned 138 total blocks during the season, finishing second in conference and 49th in NCAA rankings. This season, Hart was granted first team All-Pac-12 honors, selected for the First-Team Pacific South All-Region by the AVCA, voted an All-American by VolleyMag, and was chosen as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week twice. The grad student finished her MS Organization Leadership degree in December.

Kelley Levaggi was chosen as the Scout Team MVP. The award is given to a versatile player who helps to prepare the starters for the different kinds of opponents they're going to face each week. The right side set a career high in kills on senior day against Utah, earning seven. Levaggi graduated in December with a major in Psychology.

Savannah Perry earned the Heart of the Buff award by displaying the ideals and core values that are established in the volleyball program on a day-to-day basis. The defensive specialist earned 133 total digs this season, with a season high 13 digs taking place in a five-set thriller against Oregon. Off the court, Perry is one of eight recipients for the Student Leader of the Year Award. The senior graduated in December with a major in Integrative Physiology.

Team Awards

In addition to honoring individual players' success on the court, the program also recognized student athletes' performance in the classroom. Perry was recognized as the Academic Student-Athlete of the Month in October and Emma DeSensi claimed the award in January.

Senior Speeches

Last, but by no means least, each graduating senior had an opportunity to talk about the program and their teammates. In their speeches, the seniors touched on how they felt extremely at home in CU's volleyball program and how their teammates aren't just teammates; they're lifelong friends. The seniors also thanked all of the coaches and support staff who made the 2022 season a major success, in addition to expressing their gratitude for the opportunity to play at Colorado.

Colorado University Athletics

Colorado Celebrates Historic Season at Annual Banquet

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Players Mentioned

Emma DeSensi

Lexi Hadrych

Meegan Hart

Kelley Levaggi

Savannah Perry

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