By Jessica Pariani Sports Volleyball November 16, 2021

Final Road Games of the Season with CU History Being Made

Arizona State

The CU Women’s Volleyball team traveled to Arizona State on Nov. 12. to play the Sun Devils. The Sun Devils won 3-1 against the Buffaloes..

The Devils owned the service line with nine aces while CU had two. The match was also a kill versus kill with 65 kills for ASU and 49 kills for the Buffs. CU also did amazing with their defensive game ending with 13 blocks while ASU only had three. CU also only had 10 attack errors while the Sun Devils had 23.

Brynna DeLuzio, the redshirt senior, made history on Friday with a career-high of 31 digs. In the first set she already had 11 digs, and by the end of the fourth she became the third Buffalo in CU history to have to have numerous 30 dig-matches in the same season. She also became the second Buff ever to record a double-double with assists and 30 or more digs, joining Jennifer Sherlock from 1990 who was the first Buff to record 4,000 career assists. DeLuzio finished the match with 10 assists which is her 23rd double-double of her career.

“Frustrating match for us. We did a lot of things right and gave ourselves an opportunity but had too many service errors when it mattered,” said Head Coach Jesse Mahoney on the match. “We certainly had some bright spots though and I thought Brynna was exceptional once again on defense.”

Jenna Ewert (4) and Meegan Hart (21) put up a block against USC.; The Bold CU; — Jenna Ewert (4) and Meegan Hart (21) put up a block against USC. (Nikki Edwards/The Bold)

During the match, the Buffs had four double-doubles. Jenna Ewert had a solid game as a setter with six kills in the first set and had a double-double early in the second set. She finished with six kills hitting .750 percent, 32 assists, 17 digs and a pair of blocks. Maya Tabron led the team offensively with 13 kills, 10 digs and three blocks. Jill Schneggenburger ended the game with 11 kills, 11 digs, three blocks and a hitting percentage of .281. Jahara Campbell returned to her hometown having eight kills, a hitting percentage of .226 and a career-high of five blocks. Alexia Kuehl came late into the game, with eight kills, three blocks and a hitting percentage of .667

On defense, CU had 13 team blocks led by Meegan Hart who had six blocks. Five Buffs recorded double-digits in digs with four double-double performances and Morgan Riddle putting up 11 digs. Bella Simkus came in and had three blocks in the first two sets while seven other Buffs had a pair of blocks or more.

Even though the Buffs lost to ASU, they fought hard and it showed through their stats, however they unfortunately didn’t secure this win.

Arizona

CU lost to Arzona on Nov. 14 in a very close fourth set of 30-32.

The Buffs fell to Arizona 3-1 after they served up a dozen aces while CU only had six. CU also had six chances in the 4th set to send the game into a 5th set, but Arizona survived every set point and took the win and the season sweep as well. Arizona also killed it on defense with 11 blocks while unfortunately CU only had six.

“I thought we played hard all match. We didn’t necessarily play smart at critical times. We fought well and had our opportunities in set 4 to extend it to a 5th but couldn’t convert to get it done. Overall we are a few plays away each match and have to find a way to make those plays in the future,” Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said.

Jenna Ewert sets the ball at an home match against USC.; The Bold CU; — Jenna Ewert sets the ball at an home match against USC. (Nikki Edwards/The Bold)

On offense, Maya Tabron had a match high of 16 kills. Campbell had 13 kills with a hitting percentage of .242. Kuehl had a strong match with 11 kills and a hitting percentage of .445. Ewert ended with 41 assists and 16 digs leading to her 43rd double-double in her career. This will tie her with her former team mate Alexia Smith for 10th in CU history. Defensive specialist Savannah Perry tied her career-high with four service aces.

Defense fought hard with DeLuzio finishing with a match-high of 18 digs and seven assists. Scheggenburger had a great game back row with 15 digs. Hart ended with five block assists.

It came down to a very close fourth set for the Buffs. They fought hard offensively and defensively during the set and even made CU History with this game as well. The Buffs will come home for three-straight matches against Stanford (Nov. 18), California (Nov. 21) and Washington (Nov. 24). On Nov. 27, they will close out their season traveling to Utah and playing against them. The last leg for CU starts this Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. against Stanford.