Colorado University Athletics
Colorado Set To Challenge No. 21 Missouri
ON TAP: Colorado (13-8, 9-5 Big 12) heads to Columbia, Mo. to take on the 21st-ranked Missouri Tiger (14-9, 8-6 Big 12) on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Hearnes Center on the campus of MU. The contest is set for a 5:30 (MT) start. The match will also be the 100th-career match for senior setter Ashley NuGÇÖu. NuGÇÖu is also 56 assists away from becoming fourth on CUGÇÖs career assists chart.
All home contests can be watched 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 13-8 overall and 9-5 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.
Colorado started the conference season with a huge win over the then-17th-ranked Mizzou Tigers. The Buffs won in five games on their home court. CU extended its win streak to five as the Buffs swept Texas Tech on the road.
The Buffs recorded their first conference loss against No. 5 Texas, but came back with a five-game win against Kansas. CU also recorded a three-game win over Texas A&M before falling to Oklahoma, to land at 4-2. The Buffs came back with a win on the road against K-State for the first time since Nov. 13, 1999, before falling to Iowa State and Nebraska. The Buffs finished the first half of the Big 12 schedule with a win over Baylor.
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 to get back on the winning track in league play.
Senior Ashley NuGÇÖu has tallied 914 assists to average 12.35 per game, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. In league only matches, she is averaging 12.57 assists, which is fifth. 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 .230 on the season; sixth in the league. In conference matches, CU is hitting .228, which anks fifth.
Colorado has averaged 15.81 kills per game this season, which ranks fifth in the conference. Junior Amber Sutherland leads CU with 4.36 kills per game, which is good for third in the league. Sutherland is averaging 4.56 in Big 12 contests, also third. Sophomore Mallori Gibson adds 3.12 kpg and is averaging a team best 0.29 aces per game.
On the right side, sophomore Alex Buth is averaging 2.03 kills per game. Buth is also averaging 1.96 digs and 0.62 blocks per game, while hitting .198.
The Buffalo middles have been taking care of business in 2006. Senior Lara Bossow has averaged 2.09 kills per game. She adds 0.82 blocks per game and is hitting .258. Sophomore Lauren Schaefer adds a team-high 0.82 blocks per game (55 total), along with 2.46 kpg. She is hitting .328 overall (ninth in the Big 12) and .346 in league contests (fifth). Senior Austin Zimmerman has recorded 1.82 kpg and is hitting .344 (seventh in the Big 12). Zimmerman is fourth in league only matches at .351.
Junior transfer Kristen Karlik ranks first for the Buffs with 4.06 digs per game and ranks sixth in the league. She has also added 15 aces. Sophomore transfer Callie Webster has picked up 131 digs on the year to average 1.87 dpg in 70 games.
In other conference only matches statistics, the Buffs are fifth in aces (1.30), fifth in assists (14.52), sixth in kills (15.43) and eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.236).
ABOUT THE TIGERS: Missouri dropped to sixth in the Big 12 standings after losing a four-game match to Iowa State on Wednesday night. The Tigers own a 14-9 overall record and an 8-6 record in the Big 12. MU is currently on a three-match losing streaking, falling to #1 Nebraska, Baylor and ISU.
Jessica Vander Kooi leads the Tigers with 4.26 kills per game and ranks fifth in the league. Nicole Wilson adds 3.30 kpg and Na Yang tallies 2.89 kpg.
Lei Wang has directed the MU offense to a .226 attack percentage. She averages 12.10 assists per game, seventh in the Big 12.
Tatum Ailes ranks second in the conference with 4.73 digs per game. Vander Kooi adds 3.27 for the Tigers who rank sixth in the league with 15.93 dpg.
Wilson and Vander Kooi are the only two Tigers who average over 1.00 blocks per game. Wilson puts up 1.10 and Vander Kooi adds 1.02. Mizzou is sixth in the league with 2.69 bpg.
THE SERIES: Colorado owns a 31-9 lead in the series against Missouri. The Buffs are 4-6 in the last 10 match-ups with the Tigers and have won the last two contests in five games.
A DECADE WITH PIGÇÖI AIU: PiGÇÖi Aiu (pronounced P-E I-U) begins his 10th season as ColoradoGÇÖs head coach sporting a career record of 175-112. 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 117-77 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 11-8 against Missouri.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME BETWEEN THESE TWO?: Amber Sutherland recorded a career-high 35 kills as Colorado defeated No. 17 Missouri 30-24, 27-30, 30-24, 23-30, 15-9 at the Coors Events Center in front of 904. Sutherland became the first Buff since Sarah Lodge in 1997 to record over 30 kills in a match.
Missouri was led by Jessica Vander Kooi. She recorded 22 kills and hit .304.
The Buffs hit .303 in the match and held the Tigers to .197 attack percentage. Colorado recorded 86 kills, picked up 79 digs and 12 blocks. Sutherland hit .397 and added 14 digs in the win for her double-double. Mallori Gibson was the second highest on the team with 13. Lauren Schaefer attacked at .409 with 12 kills on 22 swings with three errors. Alex Buth, just like Sutherland, recorded 14 digs and she added four blocks.
Ashley Nu'u came just one assist shy of her career-high with 69. The Buffs dished out 80 assists total. NuGÇÖu notched eight kills, five digs and seven blocks while hitting .467.
Kristen Karlik picked up a career-best 26 digs, becoming the first Buff to record over 25 digs since Sonja Russell in 2001. Karlik added three assists and a pair of aces.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Lauren Schaefer, Alex Buth, Mallori Gibson and Amber Sutherland notched double-figures in kills as the Buffs edged Kansas State 27-30, 37-35, 33-31, 23-30, 15-12. Schaefer and Buth each recorded career highs. Schaefer notched a team-best 19 and Buth tacked on 17 kills.
Gibson tied her career-high with 18 kills, while Sutherland recorded her ninth double-double of the year with 18 kills and 15 digs.
Ashley Nu'u handed out a career-best 74 assists in the victory. The 74 assists performance by NuGÇÖu is the 14th-best in school history. NuGÇÖu has recorded one other match in the 70-Assists Club on Oct. 5, 2005 in a five-game match against Baylor.
Colorado hit .230 and recorded 90 kills. The last time CU recorded 90 kills in a match was on Oct. 7, 2000 against Texas Tech (92). Four Buffs hit about .300 on the night. Schaefer hit .300, Buth hit .389; NuGÇÖu hit .429 and Austin Zimmerman notched a .400 hitting percentage with four kills on 10 errorless attempts.
The Buffs improved to 13-8 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12. The Wildcats fell to 9-15 overall and 1-13 in the league. With the win and a loss by Missouri to Baylor on Wednesday night, the Buffs moved into sole possession of fourth-place in the conference standing.
Colorado had trouble holding onto leads in the match. There were 38 ties and 17 lead changes in the match. There were 15 ties and 11 in the second and third games, respectively.
With the victory, Colorado swept the season series with the Wildcats for the first time since 1997. The Buffs defeated KSU 3-0 on Oct. 7 in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Buffs picked up 69 digs in the match and were led by Kristen Karlik with 2. Gibson added nine and NuGÇÖu tallied eight. Callie Webster and Buth each recorded six.
Colorado put up 16.0 blocks. Schaefer, Lara Bossow and Sutherland each notched six. Buth added five and NuGÇÖu put up four.
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.
THREE GAMES OR FIVE: Colorado has only played three and five-game matches this season. The Buffs have yet to play a four game match with six matches left in the regular season.
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 was 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.
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 17th and Missouri fell to 21st.
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 385-243, 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.