Saturday, December 2
Waco, TX
7:00 PM
Colorado
24-9
3
at
0
Baylor
24-7
1
2
3
F
Colorado
25
25
25
3
Baylor
12
22
20
0
Photo by: Samuel Sharpe Photography
Buffs Advance To First Sweet 16 In 20 Years With Sweep Of Baylor
December 02, 2017 | Volleyball
WACO, Texas – For the first time in two decades, the Buffs will dance past the first weekend of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The Colorado Volleyball team swept Baylor, 3-0, to win and advance in the 2017 version of The Dance. Â
The 25-12, 25-22, 25-20 win puts the Buffs in the program's fourth Sweet 16 and first since 1997. The Buffs also advanced in 1993 and '94. CU is now 24-9 on the season and Baylor, ranked No. 18 and seeded No. 12, ended its season at 24-7.Â
WHAT HAPPENED: Colorado jumped out quick in the first set and rolled to a 25-12 win to take a quick 1-0 lead. The second set was much closer, and the Buffs used a late rally to win, 25-22. In the third set, the Buffs had a 4-0 run midway through and maintained that lead throughout the end of the match, winning 25-20.Â
Brynna DeLuzio again paced the Buffs offense with 38 assists as three of the Buffs five starting hitters hit .300 or better in the match. As a team, the Buffs hit .320, the best percentage hit against Baylor all season, with 43 kills and just 11 errors on an even 100 attacks. Alexa Smith led the way offensively with 14 kills and hit .394. Frankie Shebby hit .308 with 11 kills and added 14 digs defensively. Naghede Abu had eight blocks to pace the Buffs defense and added seven kills. Joslyn Hayes had seven blocks and five kills and Anna Pfefferle had four kills and four blocks. Gabby Carta-Samuels added 13 digs from the libero position.
SET 1: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead with solid serving by Pfefferle and two early blocks from Abu. The Buffs then rattled off five straight points to push the lead to 10-2 before the two went back and forth a little bit. Up 14-6, the Buffs used another 4-0 run to push the lead into double figures at 18-6 and went on to win, 25-12. Smith led the way offensively for the Buffs with five kills on six attacks for a .833 hitting percentage. Shebby added four kills while Pfefferle and Abu both had three. The Buffs hit .560 as a team with 16 kills and just two errors on 25 attacks. The Buffs held Baylor to just .148 hitting with nine kills and five errors on 27 attacks.
SET 2: The two teams played the second set a lot closer and sided out most of the first part of the set. With CU holding a slim 10-9 lead, they reeled off four straight points to take a 14-9 lead and force a Baylor time out. The Bears then responded with chipped away at the CU lead, tying the match at 17-17. The match would remain tied at 18-18 and 19-19 before the Buffs took a 21-19 lead. After Baylor closed it to 21-20, CU rattled off three straight. The Bears held off two set points, but CU won the third, taking the set 25-22 on a kill by Abu. CU hit .257 in the set with 15 kills and six errors on 35 attacks ,while Baylor hit .194 with 13 kills and six errors on 36 attacks. CU out blocked Baylor 4-2 and had two aces to zero to take the win. Abu had three kills and three blocks for the Buffs while Smith and Shebby both added three more kills, as well. Shebby also had five digs in the set.Â
SET 3: The two teams played evenly in the first set and after Baylor tied the match at 8-8, the Buffs went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead and held that lead for the remainder of the match. Baylor cut the lead to 16-14, and CU responded and pushed it to 18-14. A late 4-1 run put the Buffs up 23-16 and then the Buffs cruised to a 25-20 win. The Buffs hit .225 in the third set with 12 kills and three errors on 40 attacks and held Baylor to a .143 percentage with 16 kills and nine errors on 49 attacks. CU had seven blocks in the final set with Hayes picking up four blocks and Abu three in the set.Â
NOTES: The Buffs are now 23-10 against Baylor all-time, and now 2-0 since the Buffs left the Big 12 in 2011. CU is now 6-0 against former Big 12 teams since joining the Pac-12. The Buffs are now 13-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 4-7 in the second round. This is the Buffs fourth Sweet 16 appearance and first in 20 years. The Buffs also got to the Sweet 16 in 1993, '94 and '97. The Buffs have never advanced past the Sweet 16. The Buffs earned the program's seventh sweep in NCAA Tournament action and second sweep in the second round, along with 1993. The win tonight was the program's first in a road match in NCAA Tournament action in 15 tries, improving to 1-14. CU is 6-3 in neutral court matches and 6-1 in home matches. The Buffs won their 24th match of the season, now alone for third-most in program history and most since 1993. The 1991 team was 25-10 and the '93 squad was 26-6. This is the Buffs sixth win over a ranked team, as Baylor was No. 18 in the AVCA poll. The six wins matches the school record, also set two seasons ago in 2015. The Buffs are now 12-4 in the last 16 matches since Oct. 13 and also won five of the last six dating back to Nov. 17. These are the first two NCAA wins for head coach Jesse Mahoney. He is now 2-2 in NCAA Tournament matches as he was 0-2 while coaching at Denver.
TEAM STATISTICS: Colorado hit a solid .320 with 43 kills and 11 errors on 100 attacks, the highest percentage against Baylor this season. The Buffs held the Bears to just .161 (38-20-112). CU out-blocked Baylor 13-4, including 7-2 in the third set, and had four aces to zero for Baylor.Â
NEXT UP: Colorado advances to the Sweet 16 and will face another old foe in No. 5 seed Nebraska in Lexington, Ky., next week. The Huskers beat Washington State 3-0 in the second round to advance. Host Kentucky, the No. 4 seed, will play No. 13 seed BYU in Lexington, as well.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the big win…
"We're obviously very excited about the opportunity to move on. I thought we played with incredible energy, especially leading into the match. The first set, the way we came out, we were firing on all cylinders offensively and definitely ahead of the play defensively."
Â
On Naghede Abu…
"Naghede will actually be disappointed that she was (named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament). She's never happy with how she played. She was walking off talking about how poorly she did, and that is what drives her. She is always trying to be the best she can be. She's an amazing competitor and I thought she established our middle attack and asserted her athleticism. She hit the ball high and hard, and defensively she can be such a wall out there. I'm proud of her, she had such a great match."
Â
Junior Alexa Smith
On what it means to advance to the Sweet 16…
"Words can't really describe the excitement we have right now. It takes a special group of girls and I think you see that when we play and interact with each other. It's a special group that gets along as much as we do on the court and off the court and I think that's what has carried us through this entire tournament."
Â
Freshman Brynna Deluzio
On coming to play Baylor in the NCAA Tournament…
"Baylor is a great team, and especially tonight, I think we did a great job of executing our serve and pass game. I think that really helped us stay composed and consistent throughout the match."
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The 25-12, 25-22, 25-20 win puts the Buffs in the program's fourth Sweet 16 and first since 1997. The Buffs also advanced in 1993 and '94. CU is now 24-9 on the season and Baylor, ranked No. 18 and seeded No. 12, ended its season at 24-7.Â
WHAT HAPPENED: Colorado jumped out quick in the first set and rolled to a 25-12 win to take a quick 1-0 lead. The second set was much closer, and the Buffs used a late rally to win, 25-22. In the third set, the Buffs had a 4-0 run midway through and maintained that lead throughout the end of the match, winning 25-20.Â
Brynna DeLuzio again paced the Buffs offense with 38 assists as three of the Buffs five starting hitters hit .300 or better in the match. As a team, the Buffs hit .320, the best percentage hit against Baylor all season, with 43 kills and just 11 errors on an even 100 attacks. Alexa Smith led the way offensively with 14 kills and hit .394. Frankie Shebby hit .308 with 11 kills and added 14 digs defensively. Naghede Abu had eight blocks to pace the Buffs defense and added seven kills. Joslyn Hayes had seven blocks and five kills and Anna Pfefferle had four kills and four blocks. Gabby Carta-Samuels added 13 digs from the libero position.
SET 1: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead with solid serving by Pfefferle and two early blocks from Abu. The Buffs then rattled off five straight points to push the lead to 10-2 before the two went back and forth a little bit. Up 14-6, the Buffs used another 4-0 run to push the lead into double figures at 18-6 and went on to win, 25-12. Smith led the way offensively for the Buffs with five kills on six attacks for a .833 hitting percentage. Shebby added four kills while Pfefferle and Abu both had three. The Buffs hit .560 as a team with 16 kills and just two errors on 25 attacks. The Buffs held Baylor to just .148 hitting with nine kills and five errors on 27 attacks.
SET 2: The two teams played the second set a lot closer and sided out most of the first part of the set. With CU holding a slim 10-9 lead, they reeled off four straight points to take a 14-9 lead and force a Baylor time out. The Bears then responded with chipped away at the CU lead, tying the match at 17-17. The match would remain tied at 18-18 and 19-19 before the Buffs took a 21-19 lead. After Baylor closed it to 21-20, CU rattled off three straight. The Bears held off two set points, but CU won the third, taking the set 25-22 on a kill by Abu. CU hit .257 in the set with 15 kills and six errors on 35 attacks ,while Baylor hit .194 with 13 kills and six errors on 36 attacks. CU out blocked Baylor 4-2 and had two aces to zero to take the win. Abu had three kills and three blocks for the Buffs while Smith and Shebby both added three more kills, as well. Shebby also had five digs in the set.Â
SET 3: The two teams played evenly in the first set and after Baylor tied the match at 8-8, the Buffs went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead and held that lead for the remainder of the match. Baylor cut the lead to 16-14, and CU responded and pushed it to 18-14. A late 4-1 run put the Buffs up 23-16 and then the Buffs cruised to a 25-20 win. The Buffs hit .225 in the third set with 12 kills and three errors on 40 attacks and held Baylor to a .143 percentage with 16 kills and nine errors on 49 attacks. CU had seven blocks in the final set with Hayes picking up four blocks and Abu three in the set.Â
NOTES: The Buffs are now 23-10 against Baylor all-time, and now 2-0 since the Buffs left the Big 12 in 2011. CU is now 6-0 against former Big 12 teams since joining the Pac-12. The Buffs are now 13-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 4-7 in the second round. This is the Buffs fourth Sweet 16 appearance and first in 20 years. The Buffs also got to the Sweet 16 in 1993, '94 and '97. The Buffs have never advanced past the Sweet 16. The Buffs earned the program's seventh sweep in NCAA Tournament action and second sweep in the second round, along with 1993. The win tonight was the program's first in a road match in NCAA Tournament action in 15 tries, improving to 1-14. CU is 6-3 in neutral court matches and 6-1 in home matches. The Buffs won their 24th match of the season, now alone for third-most in program history and most since 1993. The 1991 team was 25-10 and the '93 squad was 26-6. This is the Buffs sixth win over a ranked team, as Baylor was No. 18 in the AVCA poll. The six wins matches the school record, also set two seasons ago in 2015. The Buffs are now 12-4 in the last 16 matches since Oct. 13 and also won five of the last six dating back to Nov. 17. These are the first two NCAA wins for head coach Jesse Mahoney. He is now 2-2 in NCAA Tournament matches as he was 0-2 while coaching at Denver.
TEAM STATISTICS: Colorado hit a solid .320 with 43 kills and 11 errors on 100 attacks, the highest percentage against Baylor this season. The Buffs held the Bears to just .161 (38-20-112). CU out-blocked Baylor 13-4, including 7-2 in the third set, and had four aces to zero for Baylor.Â
NEXT UP: Colorado advances to the Sweet 16 and will face another old foe in No. 5 seed Nebraska in Lexington, Ky., next week. The Huskers beat Washington State 3-0 in the second round to advance. Host Kentucky, the No. 4 seed, will play No. 13 seed BYU in Lexington, as well.
QUOTES:
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
On the big win…
"We're obviously very excited about the opportunity to move on. I thought we played with incredible energy, especially leading into the match. The first set, the way we came out, we were firing on all cylinders offensively and definitely ahead of the play defensively."
Â
On Naghede Abu…
"Naghede will actually be disappointed that she was (named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament). She's never happy with how she played. She was walking off talking about how poorly she did, and that is what drives her. She is always trying to be the best she can be. She's an amazing competitor and I thought she established our middle attack and asserted her athleticism. She hit the ball high and hard, and defensively she can be such a wall out there. I'm proud of her, she had such a great match."
Â
Junior Alexa Smith
On what it means to advance to the Sweet 16…
"Words can't really describe the excitement we have right now. It takes a special group of girls and I think you see that when we play and interact with each other. It's a special group that gets along as much as we do on the court and off the court and I think that's what has carried us through this entire tournament."
Â
Freshman Brynna Deluzio
On coming to play Baylor in the NCAA Tournament…
"Baylor is a great team, and especially tonight, I think we did a great job of executing our serve and pass game. I think that really helped us stay composed and consistent throughout the match."
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Team Stats
COLO
BU
Kills
43
38
Errors
11
20
Attempts
100
112
Hitting %
.320
.161
Points
60.0
42.0
Assists
41
36
Aces
4
0
Blocks
13.0
4.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S/L
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
MB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
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