Colorado Stifles A Staigerless Baylor Squad In Sweep On Road

  0 Carly DeMarque | December 03rd, 2017 | Big 12, College - Women's Indoor, News, Pac 12

Match Results

  • Colorado def. #12 Baylor 3-0, (25-12, 25-22, 25-20)
  • Colorado improves to 24-9, Baylor ends season at 24-7
  • Waco, Texas
  • Attendance: 1,392
  • Match Stats

In an upset, Colorado takes down #12 seeded Baylor in straight sets on the road to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the fourth time the Buffs have advanced to the Sweet 16 and the first time since 1997.

It was a rough night for Baylor, as they were only able to play their star outside hitter Katie Staiger for one set in the match, to which she took three swings on the ball with one kill and one error before being taken off the court. The loss of Staiger proved to be a costly thing for the Bears, though they have been competing without for most of the end of the regular season. Staiger went down with an foot injury a few weeks back and has been played limited in her final weeks with Baylor. Yossiana Pressley has stepped up in her absence but that was not enough to get past the Buffs.

The first set was a strong start to the second round match for the Buffs as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead over the Bears. The hole the Bears dug themselves in this set was too much to come back from as the Buffs continued to force runs over Baylor to take the first 25-12.

It became more of a competitive match in the second set as things were tied up early at 5-5, however, this did not last long as Colorado pushed ahead to take a 14-9 lead in the set. Baylor fought back to tied things up at 17s, 18s and 19s before the Buffs pulled ahead by two which was too much for the Bears to overcome before falling 25-22.

The third set was another back-and-forth fight in the beginning before the Buffs went on a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. Colorado used small two points runs to keep themselves ahead of the Bears. Late, the Buffs went ahead 23-16 after a three-point run but three consecutive kills from Pressley brought the score to 23-19. The final point of the match came on a block from Naghede Abu and Joslyn Hayes over Pressley to end things at 25-20.

Leading Colorado was Alexa Smith with 14 points on a .394 hitting clip while Frankie Shebby added another 11 kills and 14 digs for a double-double. Abu posted eight blocks in the win while Hayes contributed another seven. Gabby Carta-Samuels picked up 13 digs in the backcourt.

For Baylor, Pressley led the team with 14 kills and nine digs but had 10 hitting errors on the night. Shelly Fanning posted 10 kills while Aniah Philo picked up 14 digs.

Press Release

Courtesy of Colorado Athletics

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.

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.

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.

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-Samuelsadded 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.

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.

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.

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 Mahone
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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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”

Press Release

Courtesy of Baylor Athletics

12th-seeded Baylor volleyball (24-7) ended its unprecedented 2017 campaign in the NCAA Second Round with a 3-0 loss to Colorado (24-9) Saturday night at the Ferrell Center, 25-12, 25-22, 25-20.

The Bears were led offensively by Yossiana Pressley and Shelly Fanning, posting 14 and 10 kills, respectively. In the back row, Aniah Philo tied a match-high 14 digs for her second postseason double-digit dig effort.

Katie Staiger became the second player in program history to record 1,700 career kills at Baylor, finishing with one kill against the Buffaloes.

Baylor started slow in the opening frame, falling behind 8-2 after a Colorado service ace. Fanning snapped a 5-0 run with her first kill of the match, but Baylor was forced to play from behind with the Buffalo offense hitting .560. Baylor dropped its worst set loss of the season, 25-12.

BU tangled with CU to open the second set, but three Buffalo kills created some early separation and forced BU to take a timeout, trailing 14-9. Baylor went on a 3-0 run soon after that and pulled within two, but BU would fall just short and head into intermission with a 2-0 deficit.

Baylor jumped out to a 2-1 lead behind kills from Pressley and Tola Itiola, but the Bears couldn’t hold up on the defensive end to fall into a 15-12 hole at the media timeout. Baylor held off a match point with its fourth block of the match before a Colorado block ended it in three sets, 25-20.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Yossiana Pressley tied a match-high 14 kills to lead the Bears.
• Shelly Fanning had 10 kills on a team-best .368 hitting efficiency in the middle.
• Aniah Philo tied a match-high 14 digs in the back row, leading the team with two double-digit dig performances in the NCAA Tournament.
• Yossiana PressleyCamryn Freiberg and Shelly Fanning were named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Katie Staiger tallied her 1,700th career kill in the opening set, becoming the second Bear ever to accomplish that mark.
• Seniors Camryn Freiberg and Tola Itiola combined for 10 kills in their final collegiate match.
• BU advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the second consecutive year and moves to 2-2 in postseason matches under McGuyre.
• BU is now 1-1 in postseason matches at the Ferrell Center.
• Baylor is now 10-23 all-time against Colorado and 5-12 in Waco against the Buffaloes.

STAT OF THE MATCH
1,700 – the career kill mark achieved by senior Katie Staiger during Saturday’s match.

TOP QUOTE #1
“I’m not sure we had the chance to put pressure on Colorado since we were playing from behind most of the game. So, when it comes to volleyball, that was the match. I think their strengths were the right kind of strengths to win matches. I think they were taking specific spots away that dared us to hit angles at times, and I think we were a little slow to recognize those opportunities. Credit to their passing, we really didn’t get after it enough on the surface line.” -head coach Ryan McGuyre on the match

TOP QUOTE #2
“You don’t want to compare, so to each season its own. You have 20 girls crying in the locker room because they’re mourning. Not all teams are that way, some teams don’t care and are happy the season is over. For us, we’re family, and we just really wanted to extend the season. To know a beautiful part of our lives is over is disappointing, and it hurts. It’s a discouragement. Disappointment is not the end of a journey but the start of something great. God has a beautiful way of turning painful memories into joy when we’re attentive to what he’s trying to have us learn. For these four seniors, their hearts are so inclined to see the beauty in the disappointment and ugliness. They’ve persevered through injuries last year. That’s a huge part of their legacies. When we eventually do win it all, they’ll be a part of that foundation and that message. When we get to go to weddings and reunions, we’re not going to remember the score of this match.” -McGuyre on how this team compares to other teams he’s coached

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor ends its 2017 season with a 24-7 overall record.

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About Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque has been involved with competitive volleyball for the majority of her life, playing competitively at the club and collegiate level for 15 years and coaching club for five. Now a retired Division I volleyball athlete out of McNeese State University, she continues her volleyball enthusiasm by stepping back into …

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