Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Olivia Butrymovich at olbu3713@colorado.edu.
It was a very successful weekend for the University of Colorado volleyball team as the Buffs hosted the University of California and the Stanford University Cardinal and were rewarded with wins over both teams.
Friday night’s game against the California Golden Bears marked the first victory of the weekend. The Lady Buffs played to four sets and came away with the overall W: 25-22, 36-34, 17-25 and 25-17.
The second set of the match proved to be the hardest-fought battle of the season thus far for the Buffs. In a game that usually ends at 25 points, CU played through another 11 before securing the set win against the Golden Bears.
Senior outside hitter Austin Alexis led the team in kills with 18 and 19.5 (the half for a block assist) total points for the Buffs.
Junior libero Cierra Simpson headed the team’s defense with an outstanding 31 digs on the night.
Heading into Saturday’s game against Stanford, the Buffs had a big task ahead of them. Stanford, currently ranked No. 6 in the country, would prove to be a difficult opponent for the Buffs to take down.
CU had an all-time 0-16 record against Stanford, who was ranked No. 1 all last season. Stanford ended up losing to Penn State in the National Semifinals, but Penn State went on to win the National Title against Brigham Young University.
Sunday’s match started strong for the Buffs with an immediate kill by sophomore middle blocker Anna Pfefferle. After kills by sophomore setter Gabby Simpson and freshman Abu Naghede, the Buffs continued to lead the Cardinals.
Stanford responded quickly to Colorado’s offense with a kill by sophomore middle blocker Merete Lutz. Lutz, standing at an astounding 6’8”, would continue to give CU’s defense trouble throughout the entirety of the game.
The Cardinal had taken the lead in the set and CU was forced to call a timeout. Gabby Simpson’s back row attack and a solo block by Austin allowed the Buffs to climb back from the deficit and keep the Buffs within one point of Stanford.
Naghede established her dominance at the net after coming up with multiple blocks against Stanford’s powerful, and tall, front row. Naghede’s contribution on the net helped to tie the match at 21.
The Colorado block, headed by Nagehde, proved to be unstoppable and helped Colorado to pull ahead from the Cardinal. The blocker’s timing began to match up with the oppositions hits, making it more challenging for the opponents to be successful on their attacks.
Junior right side hitter Joslyn Hayes and Gabby Simpson helped to secure the 25-23 win with back to back kills.
With a continued sense of determination, the Lady Buffs carried their momentum on into the second set of the match. Set two became a battle of the defenses, with each team scrambling on nearly every point to keep the ball in play.
Strong blocks helped to allow the defensive players to maintain control of the ball and keep the ball active for the offense.
A proactive read of Stanford’s defense assisted senior setter Nicole Edelman to place the ball deep court giving the Buffs the point.
The defensive duo of Cierra Simpson and freshman defense specialist Abbie D’Agosta came up big for CU with multiple digs to keep the Buffs within sights of Stanford. Colorado was able to overcome a late two point lead by Stanford and force the game into extra points.
A kill by Hayes and a block by the Buffs’ defense aided in the Buffs comeback victory 27-25 over the Cardinal.
The Buffs attempted to shutout the No. 6 Cardinal in three sets, but were unsuccessful.
A long rally to tie the game at the beginning of the set gave the impression that Stanford was far from quitting. The Cardinal’s Lutz and freshman outside hitter Hayley Hodson continued to pose a threat for the Buffs’ defense to contain, but multiple kills between the duo kept the game close throughout the set.
This back and forth between the two teams resulted in a prolonged game that proved it could be anybody’s game.
In the end, the set would belong to the Cardinal, 25-23, after acing the Buffs on the second to last play of the game and a successful kill by Lutz. The set itself had a total of 19 ties and eight lead changes.
The final set resided entirely with the Buffs. CU gained the lead on the first point of the game with a block by Austin and never looked back.
Multiple Stanford blocking errors accompanied by a block by Pfefferle and a kill by Gabby Simpson helped the Buffs to extend their lead to four.
After a Cardinal timeout, the Buffs continued to broaden their lead by five late in the match. The Buffs added more points to their lead with kills by Austin and Gabby Simpson. An overpass by Stanford allowed for a free Edelman kill and a commanding advantage.
A final kill by Gabby Simpson sealed the deal for the Lady Buffaloes, 25-21, and allowed them their first victory in 16 games over the Stanford Cardinal.
Gabby Simpson led the team with 25 kills, a .405 hitting percentage, and 25.5 total points. Her sister, Cierra Simpson, totaled 16 digs and Abu rounded out the defensive end with seven blocks. Austin also totaled 22 total points with 17 kills, four blocks, and 12 digs.
A major win over such a prestigious team not only had the players excited, but Head Coach Liz Kritza as well, despite not being able to take Stanford in three sets.
“I know it went to four, we would have liked it in three, but there’s some really high-level volleyball and some really good plays but we dug our heels in and said we would not go,” Kritza said.
After losing to No. 1-ranked University of Southern California last week, the Buffs showed their commitment to putting up a fight and not getting discouraged by a set loss.
“This is the next set at hand, the scores are back to zero and we need to take care of this set, instead of putting it off and letting it go to five,” Edelman said in regards to closing out the game.
The Buffs hit the road next week as they travel to Arizona to take on the University of Arizona on Friday and Arizona State on Sunday.
