Buffs Bounce Back To Sweep Long Beach State

PORTLAND, Ore. —After falling in a tough five-set match earlier on Saturday, Colorado (2-1) stormed back to take down Long Beach State (1-2) in straight sets, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22, on Saturday night to wrap up the Portland State Tournament.

CU finished the tournament with a 2-1 record as the Buffs also defeated Texas Tech, 3-2, on Friday night.

SATURDAY'S STORYLINE: The Buffs took the first set against the 49ers 25-21. The beginning of the set was very close, with seven ties, before LBSU took a 14-12 advantage. CU stormed back with a 5-0 run to take a 17-14 lead, but the 49ers weren't going to let the Buffs just take the game, evening the set back up at 18-18. After a quick CU timeout, the Buffs took control back in the set with two straight kills (20-18) and would never look back.

Colorado jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set and doubled up on the 49ers at 16-8. Long Beach State did give the Buffs a little scare when the 49ers got back within three points at 17-14 after recording a 4-0 run, but the Buffs regrouped and went back up 21-16. LBSU was only able to score twice more before CU wrapped the set up 25-18.

With a sweep in sight, the Buffs knew they would need a strong third set to finish off the 49ers, and that is what they did although the score was always close. CU led 15-12 midway through the set, thanks in part to a 4-0 run, and would never trail in the set despite LBSU's best effort. The 49ers were able to tie the set up twice (at 16 and again at 17), but after that, the closest the 49ers got was one point as CU was able to close the match strong, taking a 25-22 victory.

STANDOUTS: Senior middle blocker Katelyn Cuff had a spectacular night, hitting a team best .818 with nine kills on 11 errorless attacks. It's the best single match hitting percentage for a CU middle blocker since 2005 when Lara Bossow hit .833. CU's other middle, sophomore Naghede Abu, also had an impressive night attacking at a .692 efficiency with nine kills and no errors on 13 swings. Sophomore Alexa Smith led the Buffs for the second time this season, recording 19 kills in the win. She also hit well at .406 with six errors on 32 swings. Senior Kiara McKibben handed out 43 assists, which averaged 14.33 a set.

TEAM STATISTICS: For the third straight match, CU out-hit its opponent. The Buffs recorded a .384 clip with 51 kills and 13 errors on 99 attacks, while LBSU hit .229 with 36 kills and 14 errors on 96 swings. Defensively the Buffs picked up 41 digs, 12 more than LBSU's 29.

NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 2-1 on the season; Long Beach State, which was receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll, is 1-2. LBSU owns a 3-1 lead in the all-time series against the Buffs.

NEXT UP: The Buffs will head home to the Coors Events Center in Boulder to host the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge, Sept. 3-4. No. 9 Stanford, No. 11 Stanford and No. 14 Illinois will all meet up in Boulder for a great weekend of volleyball, although CU will not face Stanford until the Pac-12 season starts.

QUOTABLE: Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"This was a great win to finish the weekend against a very solid Long Beach State team. Our most complete match so far, we were efficient both offensively and defensively."

"Alexa Smith had another monster match for us and our middles Katelyn (Cuff) and Naghede (Abu) were extremely effective at the net."

"We have got a lot of work ahead of us to be the team we want to be this season and this weekend was a good first step."

COLORADO TICKET INFORMATION
Single match tickets for most contests start at just $5 for general admission and $8 for reserved seating. Tickets for the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge (Sept. 3-4), as well as the second day of the Omni Invitational (Sept. 17), will start at $8 for general admission and $12 for reserved seats. Kids 12 and under are still free.

Season tickets are also available and start at just $25 for general admission, while reserved seats are $40. Fans can purchase single match and season tickets online at CUBuffs.com or by calling 303-49-BUFFS.

And don't forget about the Women's Sports Pass. For just $125, the Women's sports pass gives you general admission seating for all volleyball, soccer and women's basketball home games.

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Team Stats

Alexa Smith

Katelyn Cuff

Naghede Abu

Joslyn Hayes

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Katelyn Cuff

Kiara McKibben

Alexa Smith

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Katelyn Cuff

Kiara McKibben

Alexa Smith