Colorado University Athletics
Colorado Preps For Texas A&M and Missouri
THE MATCHES: The University of Colorado (6-20, 1-17) will host its final home volleyball match of the season against Texas A&M (19-10, 8-10 Big 12) on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The match will start at 6:30 p.m. It will also serve as senior night. Colorado will honor a pair of seniors in four year Buff Therese Vinal and two year Buff Kristen Karlik.
The athletic department is also holding a Thanksgiving food drive and fans who bring a canned food item will receive free admission to the match.
CU will hit the road one last time this season to face Missouri (16-11, 9-9 Big 12) on Saturday, Nov. 24. The match time has been moved to a 12 p.m. start.
HEAD COACH PIGÇÖI AIU: PiGÇÖi Aiu (pronounced P-E I-U) is in his 11th season as ColoradoGÇÖs head coach sporting a career record of 186-136. He became the all-time winningest coach on Sept. 7 with a win against UCF (182). The 1997 Big 12 and District V Coach of the Year, Aiu has led the Buffs to nine NCAA Tournaments in 10 seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1997. Under his guidance, the Buffs have sported four All-Americans, 11 All-Region, and 24 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 121-97 record in Big 12 matches, is joined on the bench this season by eighth-year associate head coach Jil Thomason and fourth-year assistant and USA Olympian, Erik Sullivan.
Aiu is 8-13 against Texas A&M and owns a 11-10 record against Missouri.
ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado is 6-20, 1-17 (Big 12) in the 2007 season.
The Buffs got out to a rough start, dropping their first two matches at the All-State Sugar Bowl Classic to Tulane and Furman. The Buffs were up 2-0 in both matches, but were unable to close out the match and dropped the final three games in each.
Colorado won three straight at the CU Invitational and improved to a 3-2 record. CU defeated UNC Wilmington and Central Florida at its tournament, but ended the weekend with a huge win against then-No. 11 California. All three wins were three-game sweeps.
The Buffs headed north to Fort Collins, for the Hilton Classic. They dropped the first match to Colorado State in three, but rebounded to sweep both Winthrop and Miami (Ohio).
CU started out the Big 12 season with a five-game loss to Texas Tech in Lubbock and a pair of five-game losses at home against Baylor and No. 16 K-State. The Buffs led at the side change in the fifth game, but were unable to convert in both. CU hit the road with the same result, losing in five to then No. 25. Texas defeated the Buffs in three to close the road swing.
The Buffs returned home, but still had the five-game curse, dropping a match to Missouri in five. Top-ranked Nebraska swept CU the following Saturday at home.
The bad luck continued for the Buffs as they dropped the next two matches on the road in four games. They fell to Kansas and Texas A&M. Colorado closed out the first half of the conference season with a five-game loss to Iowa State.
Colorado started the second half of the conference season with another five-game loss to Baylor and dropped matches against OU and UT at home. CU hit the road for a match against Iowa State, but was unable to get the victory.
The Buffs ended their losing streak on Nov. 3 with a four-game win over Texas Tech. It was the first four-game win of the season for CU.
Colorado dropped the next three matches to No. 2 Nebraska, Kansas and No. 12 Kansas State.
The Buffs are hitting .219, which ranks seventh in the league. Sophomore Kaitlyn Burkett has dished out 1,206 assists (11.94 apg, seventh in the Big 12). Junior Lauren Schaefer leads the Buffs with a .360 hitting percentage and ranks fifth in the Big 12.
Sophomore Mallori Gibson is the team leader in kills with 3.12 per game (303). Sophomore Emilee Sisco adds 3.03 (230) and junior Alex Buth is close behind with 3.01 kpg (307). The Buffs average 14.56 kills per game and rank ninth in the Big 12.
Freshman Schylur Edelman leads the Buffs with 1.01 blocks per game (99 total).Schaefer is second with 0.83 and Buth is third with 0.70. Edelman has recorded 13 block solos to lead the Buffs. CU is averaging 2.17 blocks per game, which is 10th in the conference.
Junior Callie Webster is the team leader with 4.26 digs per game, which is third in the Big 12. Buth ranks second on the squad with 2.38 dpg and junior Ashley VenHorst adds 1.60. Colorado averages 13.78 digs per game and is 10th in the Big 12.
BUFFS AT HOME: Colorado will call the Coors Events/Conference Center home for the 19th straight season. The Buffs are 203-76 all time at the CECC for a winning percentage of .728.
ABOUT THE AGGIES: Texas A&M owns a 19-10 overall record and is 8-10 in the Big 12. The Aggies are ranked seventh in the league standings.
The Aggies are hitting .269, which is third in the league. Kristen Schevikhoven is averaging 11.81 assists per game. Kelly Stanton is hitting a team-high .357.
TAMU averages 16.19 kills per game, which is fourth in the Big 12. Sarah Ammerman is recording 4.27 kills per game and Mary Batis adds 3.48 per game.
Batis also leads the team with 3.53 digs per game. Jen Moore picks up 3.13 digs per game. The Aggies record 15.90 digs per game, which is sixth in the conference.
Texas A&M is seventh in the Big 12 in blocks. The Aggies put up 2.72 per game. They have two Aggies who record over 1.00 per game in Jillian Phillips (1.17) and Kelly Stanton (1.03).
ABOUT THE TIGERS: Missouri is 16-11 overall and 9-9 in the league. The Tigers are sixth in the Big 12.
The Tigers are attacking at a .242 percentage, which is fifth in the league. They are directed by Lei Wang, who is recording 9.62 assists per game. Amanda Hantouli hits a team-best .283.
Na Yang averages a team best 4.53 kills per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. Weiwen Wang adds 2.80 kills and Megan Wilson chips in 2.69.
Tatum Ailes leads the Tigers with 4.92 digs per game which is the top mark in the league. Caitlyn Vann adds 2.66 and Lei Wang adds 2.41 digs per game. MU ranks first in the league with 16.74.
Mizzou puts up 2.75 blocks per game for sixth in the league. Hantouli leads the team with 1.06 per game. Weiwen Wang adds 0.84.
THE SERIES: Texas A&M owns a 16-8 advantage in the series against the Buffs. Colorado has won three of the last five meetings, but A&M has won six of the last 10 matches. The Aggies own a 7-5 record against the Buffs at the CECC. CU has a commanding 31-11 lead in the series against Missouri. Colorado has won two of the last four meetings, but has only won three of the last 10.
THE STREAK IS OVER: CU ended the longest losing streak in its 22-year history on Nov. 3 against Texas Tech. The Buffaloes dropped 14 straight matches dating back to Sept. 12. Seven of the 14 matches went to five games.
FIVE UP: Colorado has played in 10 five-game matches this season. The school record for five-game matches in a season is 11, which was set in 2005. CU was 7-4 in those matches.
COUNTDOWN TO 400: The Buffs are just three wins from the programGÇÖs 400th overall win with 397. CU has averaged 18.62 wins per year over the last 21 years.
BLOCKING FEVER: Colorado recorded two school blocking records on Oct. 17 against Iowa State. The Buffs recorded 26.0 team blocks and 42 block assists. Three Buffaloes recorded 10 or more blocks. They were led by Lauren Schaefer with 12 (one solo and 11 assists), Schylur Edelman with 11 (two solos and nine assists) and Kaitlyn Burkett with 10 (one solo and nine assists). Alex Buth also tied a career-high with eight block assists.
30 IS THE NEW 20: Junior Callie Webster recorded 33 digs against Missouri (10/3) and became the first Buff since 1995 to record 30 or more digs in a match. Webster was one shy of tying the record for a five-game match (34) which is help by former Buff and current AVP standout Rachel Wacholder. The all-time record for digs in a match is 41, which is held by Karrie Downey (11/5/94 vs. ISU). Webster ties the fifth highest amount recorded in a match. She was also named the leagueGÇÖs defensive player of the week (10/1-10/7).
FIVE NOT SO KIND: The Buffs havenGÇÖt been able to win a five-game match this season, despite being up 2-0 in three matches. All five of CUGÇÖs victories have come when CU can close of the contest in three games.
THE HOUSE: Freshman Schylur Edelman recorded a career-high 12 block assists on Sept. 22 against Kansas State. It was the first time since Dec. 1, 2006 that a Buff put up 10 or more blocks (Austin Zimmerman, one solo and nine assists). It was also the first time since Sept. 15, 2004 that a Buff recorded 10 or more block assists. Lara Bossow put up 11 against K-State.
20/20: Junior Alex Buth recorded 21 kills and 23 digs on Sept. 12 against Texas Tech to become the first Buff since 2002 to record a 20-20 double-double. The last time a Buff recorded a 20-20 double-double was Nicole Carr on Sept. 13, 2002 against Texas-Arlington. She recorded 20 kills and 24 digs. This was the 23rd time in CU history a 20-20 or better double-double was recorded.
STARTING OFF ON A HIGH NOTE: CU hit a school record .534 (57k-10e-88att) against UNC Wilmington on August 31. The mark also ranks first in the Big 12 for the year.
KNOCKING ?EM OFF: The Buffs defeated then-No. 11 California 30-28, 30-25, 30-28 to win the CU Invitational on Sept. 2. CU recorded 52 kills, 41 digs and 2.0 blocks while hitting .228. Cal tallied 42 kills, 38 digs and 16.0 blocks while hitting .226. Cal was the first ranked opponent the Buffs faced in 2007.
ONE, TWO, THREE!: All five of CUGÇÖs non-conference wins came in three games. That included a win over then-No. 11 California. The Buffs were 5-2 during the non-conference season when taking the first two games.
ABOVE .500 AGAIN: CU finished its non-conference schedule above .500 for its 19th straight season, which means the Buffs havenGÇÖt held a losing non-conference record since its second season as a varsity sport in 1987.
FROSH IMPACT: Colorado has had to rely on several freshman during the 2007 season and the Buffs have not been disappointed. Schylur Edelman (Sterling, Colo.) has stepped right into her starting role in the middle and Ellen Henry (Long Beach, Calif.) has helped with CUGÇÖs passing due to the loss of Amber Sutherland.
YOUNGINS: CU has three seniors on its roster; however, only one has seen time during a match this season. The Buffs have five juniors, three sophomore and seven freshmen. At any time on the court, there can be three to four underclassmen racking up the points for the Buffs.
22 YEARS AND GOING STRONG: The 2007 season is the 22nd for the Colorado volleyball program. Since debuting as a varsity program in the fall of 1986, the Buffs have an overall record of 397-265, including one conference title (Big Eight in 1993).
CU has advanced to 16 NCAA Tournaments in 21 years, 15 of which have come since 1991. The Buffs are one of only 14 NCAA Division I programs with at least 15 appearances since 1991.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Schylur Edelman led the Buffs with 12 kills, but it wasnGÇÖt enough for the University of Colorado volleyball team as No.12 Kansas State swept the Buffs on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Ahearn Field House. Game scores were 17-30, 26-30, 16-30. Edelman hit a team-best .524 with just one error on 21 swings.
Colorado managed to keep the second game close, exchanging the lead five times and keeping the score tied 11 times. The Buffs recorded 15 kills in the second game and hit a match hit .243.
Kelsey Loop dished out eight kills for CU, which was the second best on the team. Alex Buth recorded six kills and six digs.
K-State recorded 53 kills and hit .393. The Wildcats held CU to a .168 attack percentage with just 37 kills.
Libero Callie Webster recorded nine of the BuffGÇÖs 39 digs. Webster has 435 digs on the season, which ranks fourth on the single-season chart. Kansas State totaled 40 digs on the night.
Colorado was no match for Kansas State, who out-blocked the Buffs 12.0-2.0.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME (versus TAMU): Schylur Edelman led the Buffs with 12 kills, but it wasnGÇÖt enough to end the University of Colorado volleyball teamGÇÖs losing streak. CU lost its ninth straight match to the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Oct. 13 at the G. Rollie White Coliseum. Game scores were 30-26, 22-30, 25-30, and 17-30.
Colorado hit .253 with 63 kills and 158 attacks but they were no match for Texas A&M, who hit .314 with 72 kills and 156 attacks.
Colorado came out strong in the first game and grabbed the lead from Texas A&M at 3-2, holding them off for the rest of the game. Three kills by Alex Buth and a block by Edelman helped the Buffs pull ahead 15-10. Though the Aggies attempted to come back, CU managed to avoid dropping the game.
Buth recorded a game-high 15 digs and contributed 10 kills. Mallori Gibson hit .320 with 11 kills on 25 attacks. Edelman hit 12 kills on 23 attempts and recorded her teamGÇÖs best hitting percentage at .435.
The Buffs and the Aggies fought hard for game three, tying the game 14 times and changing the lead nine times. TAMU pulled ahead 28-24 on two service aces by Kelsey Bryant and block by Jillian Phillips and Mary Batis. A kill by Batis ended the game and helped her hit a .211 on a game-high 16 kills on 38 attempts.
Bryant recorded the best percentage of the game at .812 with 13 kills on 16 errorless attacks. Batis led the match in both kills and attacks, dishing out 16 kills and 38 attacks.
Jen Moore contributed a team-high 13 digs and Mary Batis hit 11, helping the Aggies total 58 digs to the BuffGÇÖs 55; despite the fact that three CU players picked up double-digit digs. In addition to ButhGÇÖs 15, Callie Webster tallied 14 and Kaitlyn Burkett totaled 12.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME (versus MU): The University of Colorado fought back after dropping the first two games and forced a fifth game against the Missouri Tigers, but it wasnGÇÖt enough as CU dropped the match on Wednesday night at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The games scores were 20-30, 19-30, 30-26, 30-28, 9-15.
Callie Webster led the BuffGÇÖs defense with a career-high 33 digs. It was the first time since 1995 that a Buffalo has recorded more than 30 digs in a match and it has only happened seven other times in school history. The CU record for digs in a five-game match is 34, which was set by Rachel Wacholder against Georgia Tech on Sept. 3, 1995. It ties the fifth highest total in CU history, which also belongs to Wacholder (at Iowa State, Oct. 14, 1995).
This was the BuffsGÇÖ seventh five-game match of the season in its 14th match. Colorado fell to 5-9 overall and 0-6 in the Big 12. The 0-6 record is the worse start for CU in Big 12 history and is the second time CU has started a conference season 0-6. The Buffs were 0-6 to start the Big Eight in 1986 and 87.
Buth led CU with 19 kills and hit .333. Emilee Sisco tied her career-high with 16 and Mallori Gibson added 14. Colorado hit .158 in the match. The Buffs hit 75 kills on 221 attacks. They also recorded 40 errors. Missouri also hit 75 kills but hit .249 on 205 swings with 24 kills.
The Tigers recorded 24.0 team blocks compared to 10.0 for the Buffs. Schylur Edelman led CU with five block assists.
Colorado hit just .043 after the first two games with 26 kills on 93 attacks with 22 errors. Mizzou accounted for 14 of those errors with a tough block. The Tigers hit .229 with 30 kills on 83 swings with just 11 errors.
The Buffs had a better showing coming off the intermission, taking a 6-3 lead in the third game. Colorado never trailed in the frame and didnGÇÖt let the Tigers tie the score after 6-6. CU took at four-point lead at 29-25. MU fought off one match point, but CU closed it with a kill from Buth. The Buffs hit much better with 20 kills on 45 swings and just five errors (.333) and held the Tigers to .250 (18k-6e-48att).
The fourth game saw the Buffs taking the early lead at 8-5, but MU got back in it and retook the lead. The Tigers got out to a 15-11 advantage when CU strung together a 6-0, retaking the lead (17-15). Mizzou tied it up at 27 but Schaefer wasnGÇÖt going to let the Tigers get back in it and hammered a kills. CU closed out the game with a 3-1 run.
CU started out the fifth game strong but let the Tigers got out to a 7-4 lead. MU went on a 6-2 run before the Buffs strung together three straight points, but it was too late and MU finished the game 15-9.
THOMASON PROMOTED, NUGÇÖU NAMED UNDERGRADUATE COACH: Jil Thomason has been promoted to Associate Head Coach. Thomason begins her eighth season as ColoradoGÇÖs top assistant and recruiting coordinator. She works with the BuffsGÇÖ setters and assists in off-campus recruiting.
In her first seven years, she has coached CUGÇÖs setters to two All-American honors, four All-Central Region and four All-Big 12 honors, including CUGÇÖs first American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American honor in Ashley NuGÇÖu in 2006.
Prior to coaching at CU, Thomason spent time as an assistant at the University of Denver and Utah.
The Glen Ridge, N.J., native earned a bachelorGÇÖs degree in English from Wyoming in 1995. The former Jil Robins and her husband, Chance, reside in Louisville. The couple has three children, Isabel Mimi (6), Josephine Didi (4) and Matilda Jane (1).
Aiu also announced that former CU volleyball standout NuGÇÖu will join the coaching staff this season as the undergraduate coach. NuGÇÖu became the fifth Buff to earn All-America recognition as she was named to the AVCA All-America Third Team and was an honorable mention selection on the Asics/Volleyball Magazine All-American Team. NuGÇÖu ranks third all-time on CUGÇÖs assists chart with 4,315. She is 14th on the blocks list (243), 25th in digs (573) and 30th in kills (541).
NuGÇÖu was named the AVCA Division I National Player of the Week after she led CU to its first victory over a No. 1 ranked opponent against Nebraska on Nov. 11 in front of a Coors Events Center record crowd of 4,111. She was named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice in her career and the CU Athlete of the Week three times. NuGÇÖu trained with the U.S. National Indoor team earlier this year.
SUTHERLAND TO REDSHIRT: Senior Amber Sutherland will redshirt the 2007 season. Sutherland, who was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, was fourth in the Big 12 in kills last season (4.18 kpg) and was third in the league only standings (4.32). She ranks 15th overall on CUGÇÖs career kills chart with 908 kills and is looking to become the 13th Buff to reach the 1,000th-career kill mark. Sutherland has also been a key part of CUGÇÖs passing game. In 2006 she was second on the squad with 312 digs. She ranks 24th on the career list with 618.
BUFF BITS: Colorado dropped its season opener for the first time since 2002 when it fell to UCLA in four games. CU went on to lose its first three at the HawaiGÇÖian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Volleyball Classic to Ohio State and HawaiGÇÖi...Schylur Edelman, Kelsey Loop and Kaitlyn Burkett earned their first starts against Tulane (8/24) to open the season...Kaitlyn Burkett dished out all 60 of CUGÇÖs assists against Tulane (8/24) for the first time since Ashley NuGÇÖu recorded 62 against Nebraska (11/11/06)...CU recorded a school record .534 hitting percentage against UNC Wilmington (8/31) and held the Seahawks to a .000 attack percentage...CU defeated No. 11 Cal in three games...CU won the Colorado Invitational for the second straight year by sweeping all three of its opponents...Mallori Gibson was the only Buff to record double-digit kills against Cal...Colorado earned its 200th win at the Coors Events Center against UNC Wilmington (8/31) 30-17, 30-18, 30-12...Emilee Sisco earned her first career start on Sept. 7 against Winthrop...CU won all five of its non-conference wins in three-game sweeps, including the win over No. 11 California...CU has not won a five-game match this year in five tries...CU put up 34 block assists for a total of 18.0 team blocks against Kansas State (9/22). It was the first time CU had recorded 30 or more block assists since Nov. 3, 2001 against TTU...Schylur Edelman put up 12 block assists for the first time since Sept. 15, 2004 when Lara Bossow recorded 11 assists against Kansas State...CU has played its ranked opponents well, but hasnGÇÖt been on the winning side. CU dropped to matches to ranked opponents but had the chance to win the match in either the third or fourth games...Kristen Karlik returned to the Buffalo line-up on Sept. 26 and recorded 13 digs...The Buffs started the Big 12 season at 0-14, which marked the worse start to the conference season in CU history as a member of the Big 12.