Buffs Set To Face No. 16 Oregon & Oregon State

BOULDER — With six matches left in the Pac-12 season, Colorado will hit the road for a pair of contests in the Pacific Northwest. The Buffs will face No. 16 Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 10, in Eugene, Ore., and on Saturday, Nov. 12, CU will take on Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. Both contests are scheduled for 8 p.m. MT starts.

Thursday's match against Oregon will be streamed live on Pac-12 Plus through Twitter (@OregonVB). The match on Saturday against OSU will also be streamed on Pac-12 Plus. Links to lives stats and the live streams are available on the volleyball schedule at CUBuffs.com.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: The Buffs have recorded a 13-11 overall record this season after splitting a pair of matches last weekend. CU fell in four sets to then-No. 13 Stanford, but came back to sweep California. Colorado is also 5-9 in the Pac-12, which is ninth in the league standings. The Buffs rank 43rd in blocks per set nationally (2.50), which is fourth in the Pac-12, and are averaging 13.12 kills per set.

Individually, the Buffs are led by Alexa Smith, who is averaging 3.19 kills per set. At the net, sophomore Naghede Abu is averaging the 48th best total in the country, fifth in the Pac-12, at 1.27 blocks per set.

Junior Gabby Simpson and senior Kiara McKibben have been running a very successful 6-2 offense, as seen in CU's hitting efficiency (.235). Simpson is averaging 5.47 assists per set, but also adds 2.55 kills per set, the second best total on the team. McKibben is recording 6.05 assists per set. Senior Cierra Simpson leads the Buffs with 3.59 digs per set, the 10th best mark in the Pac-12.

ABOUT OREGON: The Ducks are ranked 16th in the latest AVCA Poll with an overall record of 17-6. Oregon is 10-4 in Pac-12 play, which is tied for first with Washington, UCLA and Stanford. UO leads the conference in hitting percentage (.280), which is 10th in the nation. The Ducks are also ranked second in the conference in assists per set (13.50) and kills per set (14.31), which are 12th and 14th, respectively, in the NCAA.

Lindsey Vander Weide leads UO with 3.27 kills per set and ranks fourth in the conference with 0.29 aces per set. Three of the best hitting percentages in the conference belong to Ducks with Ronika Stone (.363), Taylor Agost (.345) and Kacey Nady (.319) coming in fourth, eighth and 10th, respectively. Nationally Stone is ranked 49th and Agost is 85th. Maggie Scott and August Raskie share time setting for the Ducks. Scott is averaging 6.79 assists per set, while Raskie adds another 5.20 assists per set. Amanda Benson is second in the Pac-12, 31st in the NCAA, with 5.05 digs per set.

Oregon has an 11-3 advantage in the all-time series against CU. UO took the first meeting between the two schools this year, defeating the Buffs in Boulder 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21). The Buffs earned their first victory in Eugene last season (3-2), coming back from a 0-2 deficit.

ABOUT OREGON STATE: Oregon State is 10-15 overall, 3-11 in the Pac-12 entering the weekend. As a team, the Beavers are averaging 12.91 kills per set while hitting .206. They are posting 2.24 blocks per set and are recording 15.08 digs per set.

Mary-Kate Marshall is OSU's leading offensive weapon, averaging 4.06 kills per set, which is 46th in the NCAA and third in the Pac-12. Teammate Lanesha Reagan is second on the team with 3.32 kills per set. McKenna Hollingsworth is averaging 8.54 assists per set, fourth in the league and Kayla Ellis is fifth in the Pac-12 in digs per set with 4.03.

The Buffs lead the all-time series against OSU at 7-3. The two teams did not play each other until CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011. OSU won the first three meetings, but it has been all Buffs since with CU taking the last seven contests, which includes a 3-1 CU win earlier this season in Boulder (25-21, 18-25, 25-19, 25-23).

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Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Kiara McKibben

Cierra Simpson

Gabby Simpson

Alexa Smith