Friday, November 22
Boulder, Colo.
7:00 PM
University of Colorado
3
vs
1
California
Photo by: Dan Madden
Buffs Upset No.24 Cal In Four
November 22, 2019 | Volleyball
BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's volleyball team knocked off No.24 Cal Friday evening in a four-set (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18), 3-1 victory at home.
Colorado (12-15, 4-13 Pac-12) sought out redemption over the Golden Bears (20-7, 10-7 Pac-12) after Cal took a five-set match from Colorado at their place earlier in the season. With the win, the Buffaloes are still on track and in the hunt to finish with a .500 overall record and be eligible for the postseason.
After a slow start in the first set, freshman Sterling Parker erupted to finish with a match-high 14 kills and a .345 hitting percentage. Parker tallied only one kill in the first set but followed up the second and third with four kills before finishing off the Golden Bears with five kills in the fourth set.
Middle Meegan Hart had a solid night with 13 kills and an outstanding .455 hitting percentage. She also had key defensive plays with five digs along with her five blocks. Senior Justine Spann added 12 kills, more than half of which came from an amazing first set that she finished with eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Elissa Alcantara added 10 kills to give the Buffs four players in double-digit kills.
The offense flowed through setter Jenna Ewert who finished with a double-double 42 assists and 14 digs. She also added four kills, an ace and three blocks. Middle Danielle Price had a .400 hitting percentage night with five kills on 10 swings.
The Buffaloes had themselves a block party with 14 total blocks. Spann led the team with six total blocks including three solo. Price, Parker and Hart all had five block assists while Rachel Whipple tied Ewert with a team-high 14 digs.
Colorado won the blocking game but also dominated the service game. Colorado finished with five aces, led by Katie Lougeay's two. Cal was out of system numerous times, made apparent by CU finishing with 11 unassisted kills. Colorado finished with a team hitting percentage of .301 while holding Cal to just a .188 hitting percentage. The Buffs hit .500 in the first set as a team with 20 kills, then finished the match in the fourth with a .435 hitting percentage and five blocks.
The Buffs get back to work tomorrow as they prepare to face No.4 Stanford at home Sunday at noon. CU will begin the tough week that features three matches in seven days, concluding the regular season against Utah Saturday, Nov. 30 at 11 a.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado opened the first set with back-to-back points. CU then put together a three-point run as they continued to lead 5-1. Both sides battled until the Buffs took control of a 10-7 lead while Spann led Colorado with five kills and a hitting percentage of .429. After an impressive rally from both sides that ended with an Ewert kill, the Bears called their first timeout as they trailed 16-10. CU was hitting an outstanding .500 while holding Cal to a .333 hitting percentage. Colorado developed a 4-0 run to take the lead 22-13. Cal challenged the last play of a tipped ball that was awarded to CU to keep the score at 22-13. Colorado was hitting .548 while holding the Golden Bears to a .290 hitting percentage. After a big block from CU, the Buffaloes arrived at set-point and won the set two plays later. Spann led Colorado with eight kills while hitting .438 and Forte led the Golden Bears with three kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Hart hit .833 with five kills and Colorado finished the set with a .500 hitting percentage.
Cal began the second set with a 5-0 scoring run and forced the Buffs to call their first timeout. Back into action, Colorado snapped California's scoring streak with their first point of the set. CU put together a three-point run to trail the Golden Bears 10-7. Cal challenged the previous call of a tipped ball that was awarded to the Buffs. Colorado added two more points to extend their run to five. CU battled back to tie the score at 11-11 while scoring 8-1 over Cal. The Buffaloes were hitting .333 to California's .170 while Spann racked up nine kills and Ewert got to her 16th assist. Colorado put together a four-point run that gave them a 16-15 lead and forced California to call their first timeout of the set. The Buffs were holding the Golden Bears to a match hitting percentage of .140 while hitting .339. Both teams battled to a tie at 17-17 until Hart earned her sixth kill of the night giving CU the lead. The Buffs put together another 3-0 scoring run that forced the Golden Bears to call their final timeout. Out of the break, California broke the Buffs scoring streak but continued to trail 21-18. California challenged a touched ball that was awarded to the Golden Bears and made the score 22-21. Cal challenged another tipped ball that was reversed to set up a tie. On the next play, Colorado arrived at set-point and won the set on the next play. Ewert collected 21 assists through the second set while Spann had 10 kills thus far. Anderson and Forte led the Golden Bears through the second set with six kills each as CU held Cal to a .167 hitting percentage. Both teams used all of their challenges through the second set.
Both teams battled back-and-forth to a 4-4 tie in the third set. Colorado was hitting .000 with four kills and four errors while Cal marked a hitting percentage of .143 at 8-8. Colorado's Ewert had a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs. The Buffaloes put together a 3-0 run to take the lead over the Golden Bears 11-9. After CU took a two-point lead, California called their first timeout of the set as the Buffs led 14-12. Out of the break, the Golden Bears scored two straight to bring the score back to a 14-14 tie. Spann topped Colorado with 12 kills while Hart trails with 10 kills of her own. Forte led the Golden Bears with 8 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. After the Golden Bears took an 18-17 lead, Colorado called their first timeout of the set. Back into action, the Buffs scored two straight to take the 19-18 lead. The Buffaloes battled to take a 22-21 lead and forced Cal to take their final timeout. Ewert had 33 assists and 10 digs. Out of the break, California tied up the score 22-22. California took a 24-23 lead after a hitting error that forced Colorado to call their second timeout. Cal took the set on the next play.
CU and Cal traded blows back-and-forth to a 4-4 tie to open the fourth set. The Golden Bears put together a three-point scoring run as they led the Buffaloes 6-4. CU responded with their own scoring run of three to take the lead 7-6. Hart and Spann of Colorado were tied at 12 kills each while the Buffs put together another 3-0 run to lead the Golden Bears 10-8. The Buffaloes out hit the Golden Bears 6-2 which forced California to take their first timeout of the set. Colorado was hitting .617 as a team and held Cal to .077. Out of the break, Colorado scored 2-1 over California giving them the 18-12 lead. The Golden Bears went on a four-point scoring run which forced the Buffs to call their first timeout. Back into action, the Buffaloes snapped Cal's scoring run and added to their lead 19-16. Both teams exchange blows as CU took the 21-17 lead and forced the Golden Bears' final timeout. Prior to the break, the Buffaloes scored two back-to-back, and out of the break they added three to arrive at match-point 24-17. Colorado won the match two plays later. CU held Cal to a .088 hitting percentage while Parker topped the Buffs leaderboard with 14 kills. Colorado's Ewert racked up 42 assists and 14 digs. Potter of the Golden Bears had a double-double of her own with 37 assists and 15 digs while Forte had 13 kills.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
General
"I thought it was a really well played match for all four sets. Cal is a little beat up, losing one of their outsides. They have had to make some adjustments but that is volleyball in the PAC-12 this season. I felt like our team prepared extremely well and I thought we knew what was coming. We were prepared for it. I thought we served and passed particularly well for large stretches. We had multiple players hitting very high percentages. Jenna (Ewert) is doing a fantastic job spreading the ball around. I didn't look at Rachel's (Whipple) stats but I felt like she had a really nice match especially digging the ball across court for their outside hitters. It was a complete match and we are excited to play at home and continue playing three more matches here in Boulder."
On Blocking
"The blocks really flowed from serving. We got them out of system enough and we were able to key on their outside hitters. Their middles are two really elite players. We were able to get some stuff blocks on them which really helped momentum wise. (Assistant Coach) Lee Maes puts together a great game plan. He manages our blocking system and I thought he did a great job. Our kids executed and that is what good volleyball looks like."
Redshirt Sophomore Meegan Hart
On Her Overall Great Game
"I contribute to my teammates. Block set up was great, so digging, I just kind of stood there and hoped they got it, but I think just overall the passing was amazing. Setting, Jenna did a great job of distributing the ball around, so thanks to them.
On What This Win Means Moving Forward
"I think it just gives us some confidence and shows that we play really well at home and if we keep serving aggressive and just being aggressive we can do anything. So, I think just giving us some confidence and aggressiveness going into the next match."
Freshman Sterling Parker
On Improving Her Play Throughout The Match
"Shout out to Jenna because as you said I was rocky in the first set, but Jenna does a really good job of just trusting her headers and just distributing the ball really well. So, the fact that she trusts me even after I made a few errors to continue to make a change and make plays meant a lot to me. I think it was really up to her and just to build my confidence."
Colorado (12-15, 4-13 Pac-12) sought out redemption over the Golden Bears (20-7, 10-7 Pac-12) after Cal took a five-set match from Colorado at their place earlier in the season. With the win, the Buffaloes are still on track and in the hunt to finish with a .500 overall record and be eligible for the postseason.
After a slow start in the first set, freshman Sterling Parker erupted to finish with a match-high 14 kills and a .345 hitting percentage. Parker tallied only one kill in the first set but followed up the second and third with four kills before finishing off the Golden Bears with five kills in the fourth set.
Middle Meegan Hart had a solid night with 13 kills and an outstanding .455 hitting percentage. She also had key defensive plays with five digs along with her five blocks. Senior Justine Spann added 12 kills, more than half of which came from an amazing first set that she finished with eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Elissa Alcantara added 10 kills to give the Buffs four players in double-digit kills.
The offense flowed through setter Jenna Ewert who finished with a double-double 42 assists and 14 digs. She also added four kills, an ace and three blocks. Middle Danielle Price had a .400 hitting percentage night with five kills on 10 swings.
The Buffaloes had themselves a block party with 14 total blocks. Spann led the team with six total blocks including three solo. Price, Parker and Hart all had five block assists while Rachel Whipple tied Ewert with a team-high 14 digs.
Colorado won the blocking game but also dominated the service game. Colorado finished with five aces, led by Katie Lougeay's two. Cal was out of system numerous times, made apparent by CU finishing with 11 unassisted kills. Colorado finished with a team hitting percentage of .301 while holding Cal to just a .188 hitting percentage. The Buffs hit .500 in the first set as a team with 20 kills, then finished the match in the fourth with a .435 hitting percentage and five blocks.
The Buffs get back to work tomorrow as they prepare to face No.4 Stanford at home Sunday at noon. CU will begin the tough week that features three matches in seven days, concluding the regular season against Utah Saturday, Nov. 30 at 11 a.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado opened the first set with back-to-back points. CU then put together a three-point run as they continued to lead 5-1. Both sides battled until the Buffs took control of a 10-7 lead while Spann led Colorado with five kills and a hitting percentage of .429. After an impressive rally from both sides that ended with an Ewert kill, the Bears called their first timeout as they trailed 16-10. CU was hitting an outstanding .500 while holding Cal to a .333 hitting percentage. Colorado developed a 4-0 run to take the lead 22-13. Cal challenged the last play of a tipped ball that was awarded to CU to keep the score at 22-13. Colorado was hitting .548 while holding the Golden Bears to a .290 hitting percentage. After a big block from CU, the Buffaloes arrived at set-point and won the set two plays later. Spann led Colorado with eight kills while hitting .438 and Forte led the Golden Bears with three kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Hart hit .833 with five kills and Colorado finished the set with a .500 hitting percentage.
Cal began the second set with a 5-0 scoring run and forced the Buffs to call their first timeout. Back into action, Colorado snapped California's scoring streak with their first point of the set. CU put together a three-point run to trail the Golden Bears 10-7. Cal challenged the previous call of a tipped ball that was awarded to the Buffs. Colorado added two more points to extend their run to five. CU battled back to tie the score at 11-11 while scoring 8-1 over Cal. The Buffaloes were hitting .333 to California's .170 while Spann racked up nine kills and Ewert got to her 16th assist. Colorado put together a four-point run that gave them a 16-15 lead and forced California to call their first timeout of the set. The Buffs were holding the Golden Bears to a match hitting percentage of .140 while hitting .339. Both teams battled to a tie at 17-17 until Hart earned her sixth kill of the night giving CU the lead. The Buffs put together another 3-0 scoring run that forced the Golden Bears to call their final timeout. Out of the break, California broke the Buffs scoring streak but continued to trail 21-18. California challenged a touched ball that was awarded to the Golden Bears and made the score 22-21. Cal challenged another tipped ball that was reversed to set up a tie. On the next play, Colorado arrived at set-point and won the set on the next play. Ewert collected 21 assists through the second set while Spann had 10 kills thus far. Anderson and Forte led the Golden Bears through the second set with six kills each as CU held Cal to a .167 hitting percentage. Both teams used all of their challenges through the second set.
Both teams battled back-and-forth to a 4-4 tie in the third set. Colorado was hitting .000 with four kills and four errors while Cal marked a hitting percentage of .143 at 8-8. Colorado's Ewert had a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs. The Buffaloes put together a 3-0 run to take the lead over the Golden Bears 11-9. After CU took a two-point lead, California called their first timeout of the set as the Buffs led 14-12. Out of the break, the Golden Bears scored two straight to bring the score back to a 14-14 tie. Spann topped Colorado with 12 kills while Hart trails with 10 kills of her own. Forte led the Golden Bears with 8 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. After the Golden Bears took an 18-17 lead, Colorado called their first timeout of the set. Back into action, the Buffs scored two straight to take the 19-18 lead. The Buffaloes battled to take a 22-21 lead and forced Cal to take their final timeout. Ewert had 33 assists and 10 digs. Out of the break, California tied up the score 22-22. California took a 24-23 lead after a hitting error that forced Colorado to call their second timeout. Cal took the set on the next play.
CU and Cal traded blows back-and-forth to a 4-4 tie to open the fourth set. The Golden Bears put together a three-point scoring run as they led the Buffaloes 6-4. CU responded with their own scoring run of three to take the lead 7-6. Hart and Spann of Colorado were tied at 12 kills each while the Buffs put together another 3-0 run to lead the Golden Bears 10-8. The Buffaloes out hit the Golden Bears 6-2 which forced California to take their first timeout of the set. Colorado was hitting .617 as a team and held Cal to .077. Out of the break, Colorado scored 2-1 over California giving them the 18-12 lead. The Golden Bears went on a four-point scoring run which forced the Buffs to call their first timeout. Back into action, the Buffaloes snapped Cal's scoring run and added to their lead 19-16. Both teams exchange blows as CU took the 21-17 lead and forced the Golden Bears' final timeout. Prior to the break, the Buffaloes scored two back-to-back, and out of the break they added three to arrive at match-point 24-17. Colorado won the match two plays later. CU held Cal to a .088 hitting percentage while Parker topped the Buffs leaderboard with 14 kills. Colorado's Ewert racked up 42 assists and 14 digs. Potter of the Golden Bears had a double-double of her own with 37 assists and 15 digs while Forte had 13 kills.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
General
"I thought it was a really well played match for all four sets. Cal is a little beat up, losing one of their outsides. They have had to make some adjustments but that is volleyball in the PAC-12 this season. I felt like our team prepared extremely well and I thought we knew what was coming. We were prepared for it. I thought we served and passed particularly well for large stretches. We had multiple players hitting very high percentages. Jenna (Ewert) is doing a fantastic job spreading the ball around. I didn't look at Rachel's (Whipple) stats but I felt like she had a really nice match especially digging the ball across court for their outside hitters. It was a complete match and we are excited to play at home and continue playing three more matches here in Boulder."
On Blocking
"The blocks really flowed from serving. We got them out of system enough and we were able to key on their outside hitters. Their middles are two really elite players. We were able to get some stuff blocks on them which really helped momentum wise. (Assistant Coach) Lee Maes puts together a great game plan. He manages our blocking system and I thought he did a great job. Our kids executed and that is what good volleyball looks like."
Redshirt Sophomore Meegan Hart
On Her Overall Great Game
"I contribute to my teammates. Block set up was great, so digging, I just kind of stood there and hoped they got it, but I think just overall the passing was amazing. Setting, Jenna did a great job of distributing the ball around, so thanks to them.
On What This Win Means Moving Forward
"I think it just gives us some confidence and shows that we play really well at home and if we keep serving aggressive and just being aggressive we can do anything. So, I think just giving us some confidence and aggressiveness going into the next match."
Freshman Sterling Parker
On Improving Her Play Throughout The Match
"Shout out to Jenna because as you said I was rocky in the first set, but Jenna does a really good job of just trusting her headers and just distributing the ball really well. So, the fact that she trusts me even after I made a few errors to continue to make a change and make plays meant a lot to me. I think it was really up to her and just to build my confidence."