Colorado University Athletics
Colorado To Host Top-Ranked Nebraska
ON TAP: Colorado (14-9, 10-6 Big 12) will host #1 Nebraska (23-0, 15-0) on Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Coors Events Center at 7 p.m. Youth in eighth grade or under will be admitted for $1 and admission will be free for those who show their Iowa State vs. Colorado Football ticket. There will also be a special autograph session following the match.
All home contests can be viewed over the Internet at CUBuffs.com through the webstreaming by BuffVision, as well as live stats which can be followed during the match.
ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado is 14-9 overall and 10-6 in the Big 12. The Buffs are currently fourth in the league standings.
CU started the year off with a victory against Denver, but fell to three top-10 teams in then #10 UCLA, #7 HawaiGÇÖi and #5 Florida at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Buffs bounced back with three straight sweeps at the Colorado Invitational to finish the nonconference schedule above .500 for the 18th straight season.
The Buffs went 6-4 in the first half of the conference season. They recorded a huge win against then-17th-ranked Missouri and included victories against Texas Tech, Kansas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Baylor. CU fell to #1 Nebraska, #5 Texas, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
CU started the second half of the Big 12 season off with a sweep of Texas Tech and then a five-game win over Texas A&M before falling to No. 8 Texas in three. The Buffs rebounded with a win against K-State, but then fell to Missouri. The Buffs swept Kansas to improve to 10-6 in the Big 12.
Senior Ashley NuGÇÖu has tallied 1,006 assists to average 12.42 per game, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. In league only matches, she is averaging 12.64 assists, which is sixth. Freshman Kaitlyn Burkett made her collegiate debut with one game against Florida. She has seen action in eight games this season, dishing out 33 assists to average 4.25 per game. Thanks to the direction of NuGÇÖu and Burkett, the Buffs are hitting .229 on the season; sixth in the league. In conference matches, CU is hitting .227, which also ranks sixth.
Colorado has averaged 15.87 kills per game this season, which ranks fourth in the conference. Junior Amber Sutherland leads CU with 4.39 kills per game, which is good for third in the league. Sutherland is averaging 4.57 in Big 12 contests, also third. Sophomore Mallori Gibson adds 3.18 kpg and is averaging a team best 0.33 aces per game.
On the right side, sophomore Alex Buth is averaging 20 kills per game. Buth is also averaging 2.00 digs and 0.62 blocks per game.
The Buffalo middles have been taking care of business in 2006. Senior Lara Bossow has averaged 2.03 kills per game. She adds 0.84 blocks per game and is hitting .244. Sophomore Lauren Schaefer adds a team-high 0.89 blocks per game (66 total), along with 2.49 kpg. She is hitting .319 overall (10th in the Big 12) and .333 in league contests (fifth). Senior Austin Zimmerman has recorded 1.78 kpg and is hitting .331 (seventh in the Big 12). Zimmerman is sixth in league only matches at .331.
Junior transfer Kristen Karlik ranks first for the Buffs with 4.09 digs per game and ranks sixth in the league. She has also added 15 aces. Sophomore transfer Callie Webster has picked up 141 digs on the year to average 1.83 dpg in 77 games.
In conference only matches statistics, the Buffs are fourth in aces (1.34), fifth in assists (14.64), sixth in kills (15.54), eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.237) and ninth in blocks (2.42).
ABOUT THE HUSKERS: Nebraska is undefeated on the year and sports a 23-0 overall record and is 15-0 in the Big 12.
The Huskers lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.296), opponent hitting percentage (.136), assists (16.48), kills (17.60) and digs (17.31). NU is second in blocks (3.23) and is seventh in service aces (1.47).
NebraskaGÇÖs offense is directed by Rachel Holloway. She is averaging 13.56 assists per game, which is second in the Big 12.
Sarah Pavan leds NU and the conference with 5.16 kills per game. Jordan Larson, who ranks fourth in the league, is averaging 4.32 kpg. Larson also added 0.45 aces per game to rank third in the Big 12.
Tracy Stalls and Kori Cooper top the Big 12 hitting percentage list. Stalls is attacking at a .434 clip to lead the league, while Cooper is second in the Big 12 at .389.
Dani Busboom has picked up 5.17 digs per game for the Huskers and is first in the Big 12. Larson ranks ninth with 3.56 dpg. Stalls and Pavan rank sixth and 10th, respectively in the league in blocks. Stalls has put up 1.40 bpg, while Pavan adds 1.15.
THE SERIES: Nebraska owns a 41-5 advantage in the series against Colorado. The last time CU defeated the Huskers was in 1997. The Buffs swept the season series with wins on Oct. 8, 1997 (Lincoln) and Oct. 28, 1997 (Boulder).
A DECADE WITH PIGÇÖI AIU: PiGÇÖi Aiu (pronounced P-E I-U) is in his 10th season as ColoradoGÇÖs head coach sporting a career record of 176-113. The 1997 Big 12 and District V Coach of the Year, Aiu has led the Buffs to eight NCAA Tournaments in nine seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1997. Under his guidance, the Buffs have sported three All-Americans, 10 All-Region, and 21 All-Big 12 performers. Aiu has been involved in the Colorado volleyball program in some capacity since its inception in 1986.
Aiu, who has led the Buffs to a 118-78 record in Big 12 matches, is joined on the bench this season by seventh-year assistant Jil Thomason and third-year assistant and USA Olympian, Erik Sullivan.
Aiu is 2-17 against Nebraska.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME BETWEEN THESE TWO?: Colorado fell to top-ranked Nebraska 27-30, 18-30, 21-30 at the Nebraska Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb.
The Buffs hit just .129 in the match, compiling just 38 kills. Amber Sutherland recorded a team-best nine kills, but hit -.033 with 10 errors and 30 attacks. Austin Zimmerman tallied seven kills. Lauren Schaefer and Mallori Gibson each tallied six. Schaefer recorded the best hitting percentage for CU at .235.
Ashley NuGÇÖu handed out just 30 assists, averaging just 10.00 per game. NuGÇÖu added just three kills of her own.
Nebraska dominated with 56 kills while hitting .287. The Huskers put up 12 blocks and added five aces. Colorado out-dug the Huskers 51-50.
Kristen Karlik recorded 11 digs and Callie Webster picked up nine. NuGÇÖu recorded a team-best 14 digs.
CU started off strong in the first game. The Buffs took the lead at 2-1 and held it until the Huskers tied it up at 13. Colorado fought to stay in the game and evened the score at 23. NU pulled away with the next two points, eventually winning the game.
The following two games saw Nebraska taking control from the start.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Ashley NuGÇÖu recorded 45 assists and moved into fourth on CUGÇÖs career assists chart with 3,969 as Colorado blanked Kansas 30-25, 30-28, 32-30 on Wednesday night at Horejsi Athletics Center in Lawrence, Kansas. NuGÇÖu passed Elizabeth Gower, who handed out 3,933 assists from 1999-2002.
The Buffs improved to 14-9 overall and 10-6 in the Big 12 with the victory. This is also the second consecutive year CU has won at Kansas.
Amber Sutherland led CU with 13 kills and hit .238. Mallori Gibson added 12 kills and hit .200. Lauren Schaefer and Alex Buth each recorded 11. The Buffs hit .241 in the match. NuGÇÖu had the best hitting percentage at .556. She recorded six kills with one error on nine attacks.
Overall, CU recorded 58 kills compared to KUGÇÖs 41. The Buffs held the Jayhawks to a .189 hitting percentage.
CU served up seven aces in the match. Gibson tied a career-high with four. Lara Bossow added a pair and Buth recorded the other.
Colorado picked up 57 digs; while KU recorded just 41. Kristen Karlik led the Buffs with 16. Sutherland recorded her 11th double-double of the year with 12. Buth added nine and NuGÇÖu picked up seven.
The Buffs put up 8.0 blocks, just one less than Kansas. Schaefer, Buth and Bossow each put up one solo. Schaefer added four assists, while Buth and Gibson each added two assists.
CAREER-HIGH ANYONE?: Four Buffs either set a career-high or tied a career-high in a five-game win against Kansas State on Nov. 1. Ashley NuGÇÖu recorded 74 assists, which ranks 14th in school history. Lauren Schaefer recorded 19 kills and Alex Buth tallied 17. Mallori Gibson tied her career-best with 18 kills.
CAREER-HIGH PART 2: CU had four Buffs record 15 or more kills in a match on Nov. 1 against KSU for the first time since Sept. 6, 2001 when Meghan Barkman (15), Kim Taskey (16), Sonja Russell (15) and Monique Gerlach (16) did it against BYU. Besides Schaefer (19), Buth (17) and Gibson (18), Amber Sutherland added 18.
TAKIN CARE OF BUSINESS: Colorado completed the sweep of K-State on Nov. 1 for the first time since 1997. The Buffs have now won four of its last six meetings against the Wildcats.
BRING OUT THE BROOMS: The Buffs swept the season series against Texas A&M for the first time in school history. CU defeated A&M in three games on Sept. 27 in Boulder and completed the sweep on Oct. 25 with a five-game thriller. The win also marked the second straight season the Buffs have defeated the Aggies on their home court.
TAKING THE LITTLE APPLE: Colorado won its first match in Manhattan, Kan., since Nov. 3, 1999. It was also the first three-game victory over the Wildcats in Kansas since Nov. 19, 1994.
SUPER STAR: Amber Sutherland recorded a career-high 35 kills against No. 17 Missouri on Sept. 13. It was the third-most kills any CU player has recorded in a match (the most being 40 by Sarah Lodge in 1997). Sutherland also hit at a clip of .397, added four assists, four block assists and 14 digs. Only five other Buffs have hit 30 or more kills in a match. Sarah Lodge did it twice (40 and 36), as did Karrie Downey (34 twice). They are joined by current AVP standout Rachel Wacholder (32), Staci Wolfe (31) and Tina Murray (30). Sutherland
was also named Big 12 Player of the Week for her efforts.
BIG 12 OPENERS: The Buffs have won four of its five last Big 12 openers; including one in 2004 against No. 15 Kansas State. The only Big 12 opener CU has dropped in the last five years was in 2005 against No. 18 Texas in Austin.
A THREE-GAME RECORD: Colorado set a school record for hitting percentage in a three-game match against Central Connecticut State at .528 at the Colorado Invitational on Sept. 8. The Buffs recorded 56 kills on 89 swings and committed just nine errors. It is also the highest hitting percentage recorded in a match for CU.
THE NEWEST BUFFS: The Colorado volleyball coaching staff recently had two additions in the month of August. On Friday, August 11, Erik and Amanda Sullivan welcomed a baby boy, Cade Kian. The SullivansGÇÖ also have a daughter, Shaye (4). Jil and Chance Thomason added a baby girl, Matilda Jane, to their family on Thursday, August 31. She joins sisters Isabel (5) and Josephine (3).
A HELPING HAND: Andy Klussmann, a veteran volleyball coach, filled in for Colorado assistant coach Jil Thomason while she is on maturnity leave. Klussmann was the second assistant coach at Colorado State University from 2000-04. During that time, he was responsible for working with the middle blockers, travel, recruiting and scouting.
Klussmann played volleyball at UCLA from 1983-86 and helped the Bruins win back-to-back national championships in 1983-84. In 1984, the team went 38-0 enroute to the championship.
Klussmann has found his way back to coaching after making a remarkable recovery from a tragic car accident in 2004 that claimed his wife JannaGÇÖs life. This past club season, he coached the Norco 17 Black team. As for joining the Colorado volleyball team, Klussmann says, "IGÇÖm having a great time."
Klussmann has two stepchildren, Sarah and Seth and two young sons, Drew and Jackson and resides in Fort Collins, Colo.
BUFF BITS: Austin Zimmerman averaged 6.00 digs in the season opener against DU...CU played to a crowd of 7,071 against HawaiGÇÖi (9/2) in Honolulu...Alex Buth was the lone CU representative on the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team... Freshman Kaitlyn Burkett made her collegiate debut against #5 Florida and added seven assists and two kills...Ashley NuGÇÖu was named the Colorado Invitational All-Tournament Team MVP...Kristen Karlik and Amber Sutherland were also named to the team...Lauren Schaefer and Ashley NuGÇÖu recorded zero errors against Cincinnati (9/7). Schaefer hammered 11 kills on 16 swings (.688) and NuGÇÖu tallied six kills on nine swings (.667)...Kristen Karlik became the first Buff to record more that 20 digs in a match since 2003 with 21 against Cincinnati (9/7)...CU hit a school-record .528 hitting percentage in a three-game match against Central Connecticut State (9/8)...Seven Buffs hit above .400 against CCSU, with four hitting above .600...Kaitlyn Burkett dished out 17 assists in two games against CCSU (9/8)...The Buffs launched 10 aces against Southern Miss (9/9) for the first time since 2003...Amber Sutherland recorded 35 kills to become the sixth Buff to reach 30 or more kills in a match against Missouri (9/13). The 35 kills was the third highest total in school history...Kristen Karlik notched 26 digs against Mizzou, becoming the first Buff since 2003 to pick up 25 or more digs...The Buffs are on a five-match win streak...Amber Sutherland was named the Big 12 Conference Volleyball Player of the Week on Sept. 18...Mallori Gibson and Amber Sutherland each tallied 18 kills against Kansas (9/23)...Gibson was named the CU Athlete of the Week on Sept. 25...CU swept Texas A&M (9/27) for the first time since Nov. 11, 2000...Austin Zimmerman recorded 11 kill matches in back-to-back wins against Kansas (9/23) and Texas A&M (9/27)...Colorado is 8-2 at home and is 4-1 in five-game matches this season... The loss to OU in Boulder marked the first time CU has fallen to the Sooners on its home court since Oct. 13, 1988... Amber Sutherland recorded 25 kills against OU (9/30), recording the third-highest total in her career...CU recorded its first win in Manhattan, Kan., since Nov. 3, 1999 on Oct. 7...Amber Sutherland was the only Buff to reach double-figures in kills with 18 against KSU (10/7). Kristen Karlik was the only Buff with double-figures in digs at 17...Jil ThomasonGÇÖs first match back after maturnity leave was on Oct. 11 against ISU...CU rallied from a 1-2 deficit to defeat Baylor on Oct. 18 in Waco, Texas...The Buffs swept the 2006 season series against Texas A&M for the first time in school history...CU also swept the series against K-State for the first time since 1997...Four Buffs (Lauren Schaefer, Amber Sutherland, Mallori Gibson, Alex Buth) recorded 15 or more kills in a match on Nov. 1 against KSU for the first time since Sept. 6, 2001 against BYU...CU played its first four-game match against Mizzou on Nov. 4.
WHAT A SCHEDULE: The Big 12 continues to be one of the best conferences in the nation, boosting four teams in the 2006 CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll. Nebraska tops the poll for the second straight season, while Texas is the second-highest ranking Big 12 team at No. 8. Oklahoma moved up to 15th and Missouri fell to 25th.
Colorado already faced Florida, HawaiGÇÖi and UCLA during the second week in the season. All three of those teams were ranked in the top-10.
COORS SWEET COORS: Colorado will call the Coors Events/Conference Center home for the 18th straight season. The Buffs are 197-68 all time at the CECC for a winning percentage of .743. CU is 9-3 at the CECC this season.
21st SEASON: The 2006 season will be the 21st for the Colorado volleyball program. Since debuting as a varsity program in the fall of 1986, the Buffs have an overall record of 386-244, including one conference title (Big Eight in 1993). CU has advanced to 15 NCAA Tournaments in 19 years, 14 of which have come since 1991. The Buffs are one of only 15 NCAA Division I programs with at least 14 appearances since 1991.