Press Release courtesy of Colorado Athletics
Colorado will finish a four-match road trip with a pair of contests against the schools in the desert. On Friday, Oct. 13, the Buffs will face off against Arizona State at 8 p.m. MT in Tempe, Ariz. Then on Sunday, Oct. 15, CU will play Arizona at 2 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz.
HOW TO WATCH: The match on Friday against ASU will be televised live on Pac-12 Mountain/Arizona, while the contest on Sunday vs. UA will be streamed on the Pac-12 Digital Network.
LIVE STATS: Links to the live stats for both matches are available at CUBuffs.com.
ABOUT THE BUFFS: CU is currently 12-5 overall (2-4 Pac-12). The Buffs fell below .500 in conference play after suffering a pair of losses last weekend to Washington State (3-1) and then-No. 9 Washington (3-0). CU tied for seventh in the conference standings with WSU, California and Arizona.
Junior Alexa Smith leads the Buffs and ranks fifth in the Pac-12 with 4.19 kills per set and is also second in the league in attacks (11.59 per set). Junior Naghede Abuhas the team’s best hitting percentage at .343, which is seventh in the conference and Anna Pfefferle is second for the Buffs with a .321 hitting efficiency.
Colorado’s offense is directed by freshman setter Brynna DeLuzio. She ranks third in the Pac-12 and is 22nd in the NCAA with an 11.26 assists per set average and has guided the Buffs to a .252 mark.
Defensively the Buffs are led by Abu who is recording 1.31 blocks per set (seventh in the Pac-12 and 46th in the NCAA). Junior Gabby Carta-Samuels ranks seventh in the conference with a 3.66 digs per set mark.
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: Arizona State enters this weekend with a 10-8 record and is 12th in the Pac-12 with a 0-6 mark. Oluoma Okaro is the top attacker for the Sun Devils with 4.45 kills per set, the third highest in the conference and 16th in the NCAA. As a team, they are recording 13.70 kills per set while hitting .238. ASU leads the league with 16.55 digs per set, thanks in part to Halle Harker’s Pac-12 leading 5.41 digs per set, which also ranked 17th in the NCAA.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Arizona is 8-7 overall and is tied with the Buffs for seventh in the Pac-12 standings with a 2-4 mark. UA started Pac-12 play with a win over ASU before dropping four straight matches. The Wildcats rebounded in their most recent match, recording a 3-0 win over then-No. 15 Southern California. Kendra Dahlke has a team-best 3.16 kills per set, while Tyler Spriggs adds 2.78 kills per set. Kimberly Gutierrez is the team leader with 2.72 digs per set and at the net, Devyn Cross has posted 1.04 blocks per set.
WHAT’S NEXT: Colorado returns to Boulder for a pair of matches against the L.A. schools. The Buffs will face USC first on Oct. 20 and on Oct. 21, UCLA will be at the Coors Events Center.
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