Balanced Buffs Avoid Upset, Defeat Arizona State in Five Sets
November 18, 2017 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The Buffaloes narrowly avoided an upset after the Arizona State Sun Devils took Colorado to five sets (28-26, 25-16, 26-24, 25-23, 15-11) at the Coors Events Center on Saturday night to improve the team to 21-8 overall and 11-7 in conference play. Arizona State fell to 10-20 overall (0-18 Pac-12).
WHAT HAPPENED: For the first time this season, five players recorded 10+ kills. Junior Alexa Smith led the team in kills with 22 and also recorded 11 digs, 3 blocks and 3 assists. Behind her was junior Frankie Shebby who recorded 16 kills and three blocks. She led the team in digs with 18.
Next was senior Joslyn Hayes who tallied 13 kills, four blocks and three digs. Fellow senior Anna Pfefferle put up 12 kills, five blocks and two digs. Junior Naghede Abu led the team in blocks with eight and also recorded 10 kills.
Freshman Brynna Deluzio handed out a season-high 64 assists, 11 digs and three blocks.
Arizona State's Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils with 25 kills. She also put up 15 digs, three blocks and two assists.
SET 1: The Buffs came out a bit slow in the first set, ASU going ahead 2-0 early on. The score remained close until ASU broke a 10-10 tie and scored four in a row, forcing the Buffs to take a timeout. CU scored two after the timeout but ASU still held the lead, 14-12. After a challenge timeout, Colorado went on a 6-2 run. After ASU tied it up 20-20, possession continued to flip after every play. The Sun Devils eventually scored two in a row to bring their lead to 27-26 and forcing CU to take a timeout. The Buffs were not able to regroup and ASU took set one, 28-26.
SET 2: The second set proved to be less of a challenge for the Buffaloes, despite starting off fairly evenly. CU and ASU stayed close, tying the score six times before the Buffs broke a 9-9 tie. Colorado scored two in a row after that and Arizona State took a timeout but were unable to take back any momentum. The Buffs went on a 4-0 run after the timeout and charged ahead for the rest of the set, eventually taking it with a score of 25-16.
SET 3: CU came out of halftime strong, quickly taking a 6-2 lead in the third set, forcing ASU to take an early timeout. The Sun Devils then gained serious momentum and went on a six-point run to take an 8-6 lead. The Buffs rallied and took a 13-12 lead which caused ASU to take a timeout. The Sun Devils scored after their timeout and continued to put points up. After ASU went ahead 22-20, the Buffs took a timeout to regroup and scored three right away, taking back a 23-22 lead. Despite the Buffs' attempt at a rally, the Sun Devils scored three in a row and secured a 26-24 victory.
SET 4: Despite taking an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set, the Buffs struggled to maintain any kind of momentum throughout the fourth set. ASU went on a four-point streak to tie things up 9-9 which forced the Buffs to take a timeout. Arizona State stayed strong during the set but the Buffs remained close. After ASU went ahead 22-19, CU took a timeout and scored three in a row. The Buffs then won a challenge that reversed a 24-22 ASU lead and scored two in a row to take the set, 25-23.
SET 5: Colorado took control of the game from the start of set five, going up 4-1 and forcing Arizona State to take a timeout. After the timeout, the Sun Devils went on a 4-1 scoring run but the Buffs answered with their own 5-point run, widening their lead to 10-5. Arizona State took another timeout but were unable to regroup. After going back and forth for a few points, CU claimed victory in the match thanks to a 15-11 set five score.
NOTES: The Buffs are now 11-2 at Coors this season…ASU still leads the series 8-6 but the Buffs are now 4-2 against the Sun Devils in Boulder…This match marks the season-high in team kills (76) and season-high in team assists (72).
TEAM STATISTICS: Colorado hit .242 with 76 kills and 28 errors. Arizona State trailed in every category, hitting .203 with 65 kills and 29 errors. ASU led in digs (76-72) but CU led in aces (5-4). Each team recorded 16 blocks.
NEXT UP: Colorado will travel to Berkley to face the Cal Bears on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. MT. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Network.
QUOTES:
Head coach Jesse Mahoney
General
"It was a long, tough match. I congratulate Arizona State for playing hard. It is tough when you are winless, in the league at this point, to continue to motivate and continue to play hard. Their staff did a great job getting their players ready to go. They definitely made life tough for us and I felt that we were really slow coming out of the chute in set one. Still had one swing to win that set and we let that slip away. We kind of recovered in set two and then kind of fell into the same kind of doldrums in set three. In the middle of set four I thought that we woke up and started playing hard. We came back from a deficit to win that set and that propelled us into set five. We had five players with double digit kills, which is really good to see. It means that our setter is doing a nice job moving the ball around. They did have sixteen blocks, that was a little frustrating for us I think. We didn't have a lot of vision swinging at different times in that match. I am really proud of the team in set five, I thought that they put the previous sets behind them and came out playing really hard."
On what the team did well in the second set
"I think that in the second set we did a lot of things right; we passed really well, I thought that we served and got them out of system, our block came alive, we definitely got ahead of the play. Credit to Arizona State, they made some changes, they moved some players around and definitely did a lot of different things from that point on that became a little more unpredictable. It took us a little time to get back ahead of the play in set four and five."
On the challenge-replay late in the fourth set
"The best vantage point to ref a match is from right where the coach stands, because you can see everything. That sounds like a joke but it is actually true, you have a better view point of that than where the refs stand. You could see the ball glance off of the blocker's hand and change direction. So it was a pretty easy one to call, it was a high swing by Joslyn [Hayes] and a pivotal point. That was the difference between 24-22 and 23 all."
On the first 21-win season since 2003 and moving forward
"I was talking to somebody before the match and they were making a comment on how Arizona State hadn't won in the Pac-12 yet, and you know every team is good. They have taken teams to five sets in this league. We talk about it and we understand it, I'm not sure we came out and played with a sense of urgency. We need a sense of urgency to win our next three matches, because we want to host the first two rounds here and we have put ourselves in a place to do that. If we would have lost this match or a match against Cal or Utah, we are not doing that and we are on the road. While I think that we can play with any team in the country, I would rather play anyone in the country here. You asked about the 21 win season, and that is all great. We are happy to win matches of course, but we are focused more on what we have left in the year."
Junior Frankie Shebby
On if she thought winning the fourth set sparked something within the team
"Most definitely. I think those last four points are very tight. With the teams up by one, the other team is always frantic and I think in that situation for how we were playing we stayed very calm in those last few points, which was very necessary to win that game. I felt we played well at the end of that set. "
On how big it is for the team to have two wins in a row at this point in the season
"I think we have one big goal, so I think it's definitely important to us. The way we started out didn't make it seem that way, but we finished strong."
Junior Alexa Smith
On what made the team realize how much was at stake with this game
"It was a long match for sure and I think we did start off slow, but throughout the match we realized what was at stake. We really want to keep getting better at this point in the season and every win is really important. I think we all realized that going into the postseason. I really think that's what woke us up in the first set."
On if she thought winning the fourth set sparked something within the team
"I think that was definitely a turning point. I'm not saying that if we wouldn't have gotten that point than we wouldn't have won, but I think that really gave us momentum moving forward."
On what she thought it took to win the fourth set despite multiple setbacks during the set
"I think what we did really well on our side is we stayed calm. A lot of times teams get frantic in those situations, but we handled it on our side and we knew what needed to get done. So, the calmness on our side is what helped us."
WHAT HAPPENED: For the first time this season, five players recorded 10+ kills. Junior Alexa Smith led the team in kills with 22 and also recorded 11 digs, 3 blocks and 3 assists. Behind her was junior Frankie Shebby who recorded 16 kills and three blocks. She led the team in digs with 18.
Next was senior Joslyn Hayes who tallied 13 kills, four blocks and three digs. Fellow senior Anna Pfefferle put up 12 kills, five blocks and two digs. Junior Naghede Abu led the team in blocks with eight and also recorded 10 kills.
Freshman Brynna Deluzio handed out a season-high 64 assists, 11 digs and three blocks.
Arizona State's Oluoma Okaro led the Sun Devils with 25 kills. She also put up 15 digs, three blocks and two assists.
SET 1: The Buffs came out a bit slow in the first set, ASU going ahead 2-0 early on. The score remained close until ASU broke a 10-10 tie and scored four in a row, forcing the Buffs to take a timeout. CU scored two after the timeout but ASU still held the lead, 14-12. After a challenge timeout, Colorado went on a 6-2 run. After ASU tied it up 20-20, possession continued to flip after every play. The Sun Devils eventually scored two in a row to bring their lead to 27-26 and forcing CU to take a timeout. The Buffs were not able to regroup and ASU took set one, 28-26.
SET 2: The second set proved to be less of a challenge for the Buffaloes, despite starting off fairly evenly. CU and ASU stayed close, tying the score six times before the Buffs broke a 9-9 tie. Colorado scored two in a row after that and Arizona State took a timeout but were unable to take back any momentum. The Buffs went on a 4-0 run after the timeout and charged ahead for the rest of the set, eventually taking it with a score of 25-16.
SET 3: CU came out of halftime strong, quickly taking a 6-2 lead in the third set, forcing ASU to take an early timeout. The Sun Devils then gained serious momentum and went on a six-point run to take an 8-6 lead. The Buffs rallied and took a 13-12 lead which caused ASU to take a timeout. The Sun Devils scored after their timeout and continued to put points up. After ASU went ahead 22-20, the Buffs took a timeout to regroup and scored three right away, taking back a 23-22 lead. Despite the Buffs' attempt at a rally, the Sun Devils scored three in a row and secured a 26-24 victory.
SET 4: Despite taking an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set, the Buffs struggled to maintain any kind of momentum throughout the fourth set. ASU went on a four-point streak to tie things up 9-9 which forced the Buffs to take a timeout. Arizona State stayed strong during the set but the Buffs remained close. After ASU went ahead 22-19, CU took a timeout and scored three in a row. The Buffs then won a challenge that reversed a 24-22 ASU lead and scored two in a row to take the set, 25-23.
SET 5: Colorado took control of the game from the start of set five, going up 4-1 and forcing Arizona State to take a timeout. After the timeout, the Sun Devils went on a 4-1 scoring run but the Buffs answered with their own 5-point run, widening their lead to 10-5. Arizona State took another timeout but were unable to regroup. After going back and forth for a few points, CU claimed victory in the match thanks to a 15-11 set five score.
NOTES: The Buffs are now 11-2 at Coors this season…ASU still leads the series 8-6 but the Buffs are now 4-2 against the Sun Devils in Boulder…This match marks the season-high in team kills (76) and season-high in team assists (72).
TEAM STATISTICS: Colorado hit .242 with 76 kills and 28 errors. Arizona State trailed in every category, hitting .203 with 65 kills and 29 errors. ASU led in digs (76-72) but CU led in aces (5-4). Each team recorded 16 blocks.
NEXT UP: Colorado will travel to Berkley to face the Cal Bears on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. MT. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Network.
QUOTES:
Head coach Jesse Mahoney
General
"It was a long, tough match. I congratulate Arizona State for playing hard. It is tough when you are winless, in the league at this point, to continue to motivate and continue to play hard. Their staff did a great job getting their players ready to go. They definitely made life tough for us and I felt that we were really slow coming out of the chute in set one. Still had one swing to win that set and we let that slip away. We kind of recovered in set two and then kind of fell into the same kind of doldrums in set three. In the middle of set four I thought that we woke up and started playing hard. We came back from a deficit to win that set and that propelled us into set five. We had five players with double digit kills, which is really good to see. It means that our setter is doing a nice job moving the ball around. They did have sixteen blocks, that was a little frustrating for us I think. We didn't have a lot of vision swinging at different times in that match. I am really proud of the team in set five, I thought that they put the previous sets behind them and came out playing really hard."
On what the team did well in the second set
"I think that in the second set we did a lot of things right; we passed really well, I thought that we served and got them out of system, our block came alive, we definitely got ahead of the play. Credit to Arizona State, they made some changes, they moved some players around and definitely did a lot of different things from that point on that became a little more unpredictable. It took us a little time to get back ahead of the play in set four and five."
On the challenge-replay late in the fourth set
"The best vantage point to ref a match is from right where the coach stands, because you can see everything. That sounds like a joke but it is actually true, you have a better view point of that than where the refs stand. You could see the ball glance off of the blocker's hand and change direction. So it was a pretty easy one to call, it was a high swing by Joslyn [Hayes] and a pivotal point. That was the difference between 24-22 and 23 all."
On the first 21-win season since 2003 and moving forward
"I was talking to somebody before the match and they were making a comment on how Arizona State hadn't won in the Pac-12 yet, and you know every team is good. They have taken teams to five sets in this league. We talk about it and we understand it, I'm not sure we came out and played with a sense of urgency. We need a sense of urgency to win our next three matches, because we want to host the first two rounds here and we have put ourselves in a place to do that. If we would have lost this match or a match against Cal or Utah, we are not doing that and we are on the road. While I think that we can play with any team in the country, I would rather play anyone in the country here. You asked about the 21 win season, and that is all great. We are happy to win matches of course, but we are focused more on what we have left in the year."
Junior Frankie Shebby
On if she thought winning the fourth set sparked something within the team
"Most definitely. I think those last four points are very tight. With the teams up by one, the other team is always frantic and I think in that situation for how we were playing we stayed very calm in those last few points, which was very necessary to win that game. I felt we played well at the end of that set. "
On how big it is for the team to have two wins in a row at this point in the season
"I think we have one big goal, so I think it's definitely important to us. The way we started out didn't make it seem that way, but we finished strong."
Junior Alexa Smith
On what made the team realize how much was at stake with this game
"It was a long match for sure and I think we did start off slow, but throughout the match we realized what was at stake. We really want to keep getting better at this point in the season and every win is really important. I think we all realized that going into the postseason. I really think that's what woke us up in the first set."
On if she thought winning the fourth set sparked something within the team
"I think that was definitely a turning point. I'm not saying that if we wouldn't have gotten that point than we wouldn't have won, but I think that really gave us momentum moving forward."
On what she thought it took to win the fourth set despite multiple setbacks during the set
"I think what we did really well on our side is we stayed calm. A lot of times teams get frantic in those situations, but we handled it on our side and we knew what needed to get done. So, the calmness on our side is what helped us."
Players Mentioned
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