It was a weekend of ups and downs for the University of Colorado women’s volleyball team. After a prolific 10-set showing last weekend, the Buffs fell to the University of San Diego in three short sets on Friday night, quickly snapping the team out of their ranked daydream. The Buffs quickly rallied back from defeat to sweep UC Irvine on Saturday.
The team is coming off one of the best weekends in program history. The Buffs upset two ranked teams while in Boulder last weekend. Colorado beat No. 17 Penn State, a program that has won six of the past nine NCAA titles (most recently in 2014).
The Buffs also upset No. 21 Illinois in five sets at the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. Colorado is now ranked 18 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, making it one of five Pac-12 teams to be ranked in the top 25.
Colorado lost to No. 15 San Diego on Saturday, 20-25, 14-25 and 21-25. The Buffs lost their fire against such a highly ranked team and were never able to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball.
The Buffaloes tallied 32 kills for the entire match, but the Toreros nearly doubled that, recording 57 kills. Junior outside hitter Stephanie Shadley led the Buffs in kills with eight. Her teammate, sophomore outside hitter Alexa Smith, recorded seven.
Colorado established a strong block against San Diego. CU recorded a total of 10.5 team blocks, headed by sophomore middle Naghede Abu, who recorded two solo blocks and four assists. Colorado’s proficiency at the net allowed them to effectively dismantle the San Diego block. The Toreros managed a team total of three blocks.
Both teams managed five service errors each, but Colorado’s back court failed to out-dig the opponent. The Buffs’ defense, led by senior libero Cierra Simpson, recorded 46 team digs on 142 total Torero attacks.
A loss to San Diego didn’t keep the Buffs down for too long, as they defeated UC Irvine in three sets, 25-15, 25-22 and 25-11, shortly after.
Colorado’s defeat of the Anteaters showcased its accuracy at the net. CU recorded 41 kills on 96 total attacks, and of those 96, only five were errors, giving the team a solid .375 hitting percentage.
Smith once again was a standout hitter for the Buffs, registering nine kills on 20 attacks. Junior right side Gabby Simpson also tallied eight kills on 17 attacks.
The Buffs once again dominated the block, recording a team total of 14, led by junior middle blocker Anna Pfefferle.
After the weekend, the Buffs stand at a team record of 5-2. Colorado has one more weekend of non-conference play before opening up the regular season in Boulder against Utah.
The Buffs will host the Omni Invitational next weekend. CU will take on Chicago State Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. MST. They also play New Orleans Saturday, Sep 17 at 11 a.m. MST and will play in-state rivals Colorado State later that evening at 7:30 p.m. MST.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Olivia Butrymovich at olbu3713@colorado.edu.
