Posts tagged MT
Brooks: Buffs Rely On Tightened ‘D’ In Rout Of Utes
Feb 2nd
Colorado’s coach was more focused on what her team didn’t do than most anything Utah did – and fine-tuning her team was the right approach. Lappe’s Buffs clamped down defensively, made a few offensive tweaks and dispatched the Utes 61-45 at the Coors Events Center.
“It was good to get that win,” Lappe said. “I thought our players stepped up and did some good things on the defensive end and in rebounding.”
Winning for only the second time in their past eight games, the Buffs (13-8, 3-7) scored the afternoon’s first points and never trailed thereafter. CU led 33-16 at halftime, by as many as 20 points early in the second half, and allowed the Utes (10-11, 3-7) no closer than 13 for the rest of the game.
‘D’ was key for the Buffs, who had shot below 40 percent from the field in nine of their previous 11 games. While Sunday’s shooting percentage didn’t climb above 40 (35.8), CU held Utah to a frigid 25.9 percent – well below the 38.8 the Utes shot in Wednesday night’s 58-55 win.
In that game, CU’s Arielle Roberson and Jen Reese combined for only nine points. By halftime Sunday, Roberson-Reese had 16 between them – Roberson with 9, Reese with 7. Reese didn’t score in the second half, but Roberson doubled her first-half productivity and finished as the game’s high scorer (18).
Roberson said Lappe’s characterization of the Buffs now as “underdogs” made them “all come out and be more aggressive . . . we threw the first punch and were more aggressive.”
Defensively, said Roberson, the Buffs “boxed out a lot better, got a lot of defensive rebounds. We were better on our fouls, so I think (Lappe) was very pleased about that. We were scrappy, we were in passing lanes, and that set the tone for our offense.”
Brittany Wilson added 10 points for CU, seven of them in the second half. Freshmen Haley Smith contributed eight points and eight rebounds, matching Roberson’s board total. Lappe said Smith “played tremendous. I liked her demeanor . . . she was aggressive and that gave us a lot of energy and helped our overall intensity.”
Smith, a 6-0 wing from Sammamish, Wash., called Sunday’s win “a good bounce-back game for us . . . I think our mentality is changing.”
Sophomore Jamee Swan, who had scored 15 points and collected eight rebounds in Wednesday night’s loss, was held out of Sunday’s first for violating a team rule. She played 5 minutes, totaling one point and two rebounds.
Utah had one player in double figures – guard Danielle Rodriguez with 11. Forward Michelle Plouffe, the Utes’ high scorer (14) in Wednesday’s game, went 1-for-10 from the field Sunday and finished with 7 points. Cheyenne Wilson, who had 11 points against the Buffs in the earlier meeting, managed nine in the rematch.
Lappe credited Roberson, Reese and Rachel Hargis for their defensive work on Plouffe and for turning Sunday’s game in a guards duel.
“We match up well with her (but) you always have to know where (Plouffe) is,” Lappe said, noting that Hargis did “a great job” in spelling Roberson, which allowed Roberson to stay fresh on the offensive end.
The Buffs raced to a 33-16 halftime lead, finally ending a long 3-point drought and getting an impressive first-half finish from freshman Zoe Beard-Fails.
After missing the last 13 trey attempts – a span of 88:33 or two-plus games – CU got a 3-pointer from Reese to take a 5-2 lead that was never relinquished. Roberson closed the Buffs’ first-half scoring with a straightaway triple from the top of the key.
CU finished the half 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and got one of its top 3-point shooters – junior guard Lexy Kresl – back on the court. Kresl, out for the previous three games with a lower leg injury, played 4 first-half minutes but did not attempt a shot. But with 6:45 to play in the game, she knocked down a critical trey to send CU ahead 50-31. The Buffs finished 3-of-11 from behind the arc.
Lappe said Kresl wasn’t necessarily ahead of schedule in her comeback, noting that she will be brought along slowly and monitored for this week’s games. The Buffs visit the Pacific Northwest this week, playing at Oregon State on Friday (9 p.m. MT) and at Oregon on Sunday (3 p.m. MT).
Beard-Fails, who had scored six points in the previous nine Pac-12 games, matched that total in final 2:38 of Sunday’s first half. The 6-2 Beard-Fails, of Herndon, Va., followed a pair of free throws with two inside baskets as the Buffs stretched their advantage to 30-16.
Half a minute later, Roberson drained her 3-pointer, giving CU its 17-point lead at the break. The Buffs owned a healthy 27-12 rebounding edge after the first 20 minutes (51-35 for the game), but they committed 11 turnovers (17 for the game) which the Utes converted into 11 first-half points – the key number in keeping Utah as close as it was after one half. The plus-15 board advantage was the Buffs’ biggest in a half this season.
CU shot 42.9 percent in the opening half and went into the second half wanting that stat to hold up. It didn’t, but the Buffs compensated on the defensive end. They kept their intensity up to open the final 20 minutes, opened a pair of 20-point leads and kept the Utes playing catch up for the remainder of the game.
Utah coach Anthony Levrets applauded CU for adjusting after Wednesday’s game: “When they played big the first time, we had our two guards guarding Arielle on the perimeter, and then that allowed Plouffe to guard Reese.
“When they went back small today, it was a really good move by them because then our ‘five’ man has to either guard Reese or Roberson –and neither one of them is ever a ‘five.’ Playing on the perimeter was really hard for our big girls. It was a great adjustment by Colorado and I give a lot of credit to them.”
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
CU women’s volleyball team falls to No. 21 Oregon Ducks
Oct 19th
EUGENE, Ore. — The University of Colorado volleyball team put up a battle but was unable to earn the road win as the Buffs fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) to the No. 21 Oregon Ducks on Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena.
Junior middle blocker Kelsey English led the Buffs with nine kills and hit a match-best .600 with no errors on 15 attacks. She also recorded three digs and added one block assist.
Nikki Lindow had seven kills for CU while posting four blocks (one solo and three assists). Taylor Simpson and Alexis Austin each had four kills in the effort and Kerra Schroeder added three kills. The Buff hit .128 in the match with 28 kills and 14 errors on 109 attacks. Nicole Edelman handed out 20 assists for the Buffs and tallied one kill.
Defensively Cierra Simpson picked up 10 digs, while Edelman and Schroeder each had six digs. Edelman also did well at the net with four blocks (one solo and three assists). CU had 38 digs and 7.0 team blocks in the match.
The Ducks hit .226 in the match with 47 kills and 21 errors on 115 swings. Liz Brenner led UO with 14 kills and Canace Finley and Martenne Bettendorf each contributed nine kills. Finley also posted four block solos and Amanda Benson had a match-high 16 digs.
The Buffs are now 11-6 overall, 3-4 in the Pac-12; while the Ducks improved to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
CU took a 6-3 lead in set one after putting together a 5-0 run on Schroeder’s serve, forcing the Ducks to use their first timeout of the set. Oregon came back to even the score at 9-9 and from there it was a back-and-fourth battle to the finish. CU had a 21-19 advantage over the Ducks before UO rallied back to finish the frame with six straight points (25-21). The Buffs out-hit UO in the set .143-.073. Each team recorded 11 kills in the game, but the Ducks had eight errors on 41 attacks while CU had just six errors on 35 attacks.
The second set was another close battle in the beginning before the Ducks took a 13-9 lead. The Buffs tried to stick with UO, but the Ducks increased their lead to 21-13 and finished the set 25-16. The Buffs hit .024 compared to UO’s .189.
Oregon took an 8-5 lead in set three, so Kritza called her first timeout of the frame. The Buffs got back within one point at 11-10, but again the Ducks pulled ahead, this time going up 16-12. Once again CU got back within a point at 17-16 after a 4-1 run, this time forcing the Ducks to use a timeout. Out of that break, the Ducks recorded a 5-1 run (22-17) and the Buffs called their final timeout of the set. CU tried its best, but was unable to overcome the deficit and fell 25-18.
The Buffs return to action on Sunday, Oct. 20 against Oregon State at 12 p.m. MT in Corvallis, Ore.
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COLORADO BUFFALOES
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CU v-ballers lose to Cal-Berkeley
Oct 11th
BERKELEY, Calif. — The University of Colorado volleyball team lost a tough match to California 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-21) on Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.
With the loss, the Buffs are now 11-4 overall (3-2 Pac-12), and the Bears improved to 10-4 overall (3-2 Pac-12). Both teams are receiving votes in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll.
Alexis Austin led CU with nine kills, while Kerra Schroeder and Taylor Simpson each recorded eight kills. Kelsey English and Nikki Lindow both notched five kills in the match.
English added a match-high four service aces, three of those coming in the first set. She posted a team-high three block assists and totaled 10.5 points to lead the Buffs.
CU hit .144 in the match with 36 kills and 21 errors on 104 attacks. Cal had 42 kills and 15 errors on 97 swings to hit .278.
Schroeder had a team-best 11 digs in the effort and Cierra Simpson had five digs. CU as a team recorded 36 digs in the match and also put up 6.0 blocks.
Adrienne Gehan had a match-high 15 kills for Cal and hit .361 with just two errors on 36 attacks. Lara Vukasovic was second for the Bears with eight kills and Maddy Kerr recorded 12 digs.
CU got out to a quick start in the match, taking a 5-0 lead. Cal came back to even the score at 9-9 and went on to take its first lead of the set at 11-10. The Bears increased their lead to 18-14, forcing the Buffs to use a timeout. CU started to rally, and got within three points at 22-19 when Cal took its first timeout of the set. The Buffs took the next point with a kill from English, but then the Bears answered with two more points (24-20). CU fought off the first set point with a kill from Austin, but Cal finished the set with a kill from Gehan (25-21).
Cal took a 7-3 advantage to start set two. The Buffs got back within a point at 10-9, but the Bears pulled away to a 14-11 lead before increasing it to 19-13, which made CU take a timeout. The Buffs tried to get back into the set, but weren’t able to pull off the comeback and fell 25-17.
The Bears started set three with a 13-8 lead before the Buffs used a timeout. After the break, CU put together a 6-2 run to get within a point of the Bears (15-14), but the Bears answered back with three straight points to go ahead by four (18-14). The Buffs didn’t give up and kept fighting; getting back to within a pair of points at 21-19. The teams traded off points for the next five points but then the Bears finished the set with two straight (25-21).
The Buffs will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 12 when they take on No. 8 Stanford at 8 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Digital Network.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
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