No. 18 Buffs Battle Back To Sweep UC Irvine

Saturday, September 10

San Diego, Calif.

3:00 PM

Colorado

5-2

UC Irvine

3-7

UC Irvine

Colorado

September 10, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID

SAN DIEGO — Less than 24 hours after suffering a tough loss to No. 15 San Diego, the 18^th ranked Buffs bounced back to earn a convincing 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-11) win over UC Irvine on Saturday at the San Diego Invitational.

The win, which puts CU at 5-2 on the season, is head coach Jesse Mahoney's 200^th career win as a collegiate head coach. Of those 200 wins, 93 have been at a Division I school.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs regrouped on Saturday afternoon to out-duel UC Irvine. Sophomore Alexa Smith and junior Gabby Simpson led CU with 11.0 points each. Smith recorded a team-best nine kills and added four block assists, while Simpson hammered eight kills, four block assists and an ace. Both also attacked at a good clip with Smith recording a .400 efficiency with one error on 20 attacks and Simpson tallying a .353 percentage with two errors on 17 attacks.

Simpson and senior Kiara McKibben guided the Buffs to their second best hitting percentage of the year at .375. Simpson handed out 18 assists, while McKibben added 12 assists.

Sophomore Naghede Abu had the best hitting percentage of either team, hitting a blazing .600 with six kills on 10 errorless attacks. She was a force at the net as well, posting six blocks. Junior Anna Pfefferle led CU at the net, posting a season best seven block assists.

SET 1: The Buffs were never behind in the first set and had an 18-13 lead before UCI called its first timeout. CU responded out of the break with four straight points, increasing the lead to 22-13. The Anteaters were able to side-out and added a pair of points for their score, but CU finished the set easily off an ace by Pfefferle and a Gabby Simpson kill.

SET 2: UCI grabbed an early 12-10 lead from the Buffs in the second set, but CU put together a 4-0 run to go up 14-12, causing the Anteaters to spend a timeout. UCI took the first point out of the break, but the Buffs responded with two more points (16-13). UCI got back within one point at 21-20, but CU quickly closed the door on UCI, taking the following three points (24-20). The Anteaters fought off a pair of set points, but CU won after Stephanie Shadley hammered her fourth kill of the match (25-22).

SET 3: Colorado did not waste any time in the third set, taking an early 8-3 advantage. After a UCI timeout, the Buffs continued their hot streak, tacking on five more points, including a pair of aces by Cierra Simpson, causing the Anteaters to use their final timeout (13-3). CU took the first point after the break before UCI finally was able to side-out, but the deficit was too great to overcome and the Buffs were able to finish the game (and the match) easily with a 25-11 victory.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .375 with 41 kills and five errors on 96 attacks, while UCI was held to a .134 hitting percentage with 37 kills and 24 errors on 97 attacks. Both teams had 35 assists and UCI had the advantage on digs (38-31), but the Buffs out-blocked the Anteaters 14.0-2.0 and had five service aces to UCI's one.

NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 5-2 on the season, while UCI is 3-7…After both of CU's losses this year, the Buffs have come back the following day to sweep their opponent...Abu led the Buffs this weekend with 12 blocks, 2.00 per game…She also hit a team-high .524 with 12 kills and one error on 21 attacks…All 13 Buffs who traveled to San Diego played in the match against UCI…Freshmen Lillie Klemmer and Rachel Whipple made their CU debuts in the match..

NEXT UP: The Buffs host the Omni Invitational, Sept. 16-17, at the Coors Events Center. CU will host Chicago State, New Orleans and Colorado State.

QUOTABLE:
Jesse Mahoney, head coach
"After a tough loss last night, the team did a great job regrouping and coming out ready to play today. They executed the game plan well. We were able to get some new faces out on the court; it was nice having everyone able to contribute to this important win."

"We are coming away from this weekend with a better understanding of what we need to work on before another big week ahead."

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COLORADO TICKET INFORMATION
Single match tickets for most contests start at just $5 for general admission and $8 for reserved seating. Tickets for 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.