Buffs Fall No. 8/9 Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla.— The University of Colorado volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2009 season to No. 8/9 Florida on Saturday night at the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational in three sets (20-25, 22-25, 15-25).
“Tonight’s match was an important step in the building of this program,” Colorado Head Coach Liz Kritza said. “To take a young and relatively inexperienced group and face off against one of the best teams in the nation is a huge challenge, but more importantly a huge opportunity.”
This was the fourth time in five years the two programs have met and each year the Gators have been the victors. Florida is the first of several ranked opponents CU will face this year including four in the Big 12 Conference.
“We are committed to raising the level of the CU Volleyball program to the top of the college ranks, and to be amongst the best, you have to play the best,” Kritza said.
Sophomore Becah Fogle led the Buffs for the second straight night with 10 kills while freshman Kerra Schroeder recorded eight. Fogle only played in five sets as a freshman and has already surpassed that with her six sets in two matches. She led the team with 27 kills on the weekend.
“I feel really good, but I owe it all to my teammates who have really been pushing me in practice,” Fogle said. “Running our new faster offense is hard, we are working hard and I really feel good about how things are turning out.”
Senior Kaitlyn Burkett hit a team-high .714 with five kills on seven errorless attacks. She spilt setting duties with freshman Megan Cyr and recorded 11 assists. Burkett has been playing several different positions for the Buffs and was named to the all-tournament team.
“I think that coach emphasized right from the beginning that everyone needs to be flexible and versatile,” Burkett said. “And I’ve really taken that on. I feel like where ever coach needs me to go that is where I need to go.
“It has been an adjustment for me, but Megan is doing awesome. I feel like we are both such strong hitters that it really works. We work well together and so if she can hit or I can hit, that is to our advantage to have two strong setters.”
CU started out strong with the Gators in the first set and held the lead at 9-8 prior to UF going on a 4-0 run. The Buffs had a lot of great rallies with the Gators but after allowing UF to put together a 4-1 run, the Gators had a 17-13 lead that CU was unable to recover from as UF went on to take the first set 25-20.
The Buffs got a little behind in the second set and Kritza decided to change things up by moving Burkett back to setter. Steinhaus served four straight points, including a pair of aces, to tie the score at 14 before serving one into the net. Colorado kept it close but was still not able to take surpass the Gators. CU hit six serves into the net which ended up making a difference in the set.
Colorado reset to its original line-up to start the third set and took the first two points before UF got on the board. The score was tied at 5 all before the Gators put together a 10-4 run to take a 15-9 lead in the set. Unfortunately CU’s offense seemed to stall and the Gators finished off the set 25-15.
“This loss will serve us well as we continue to train this team,” Kritza said. “Playing at this level is like taking a magnifying glass to your team, you get to see some areas for improvement that you have not seen before. We will take this loss and make great improvements because of it.”
The Buffs return home for a match against Northern Colorado on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in Greeley before heading to Connecticut for three matches at the Yale Invitational Sept. 4-5.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
Head Coach Liz Kritza Quotes:
Tonight’s match was an important step in the building of this program. To take a young and relatively inexperienced group and face off against one of the best teams in the nation is a huge challenge, but more importantly a huge opportunity.
We are committed to raising the level of the CU Volleyball program to the top of the college ranks, and to be amongst the best, you have to play the best.
Although there were some very bright spots out there on the floor tonight, particularly in games 1 and 2, our ability to sustain that high level of play throughout the entire set is what caused.
This Florida team is very deserving of all the attention they receive, they are well coached, aggressive and physically imposing. When playing a team that is as capable offensively, we need to be able to match them with increased offensive production of our own and the defensive system needed to be much more productive.
This loss will serve us well as we continue to train this team. Playing at this level is like taking a magnifying glass to your team, you get to see some areas for improvement that you have not seen before. We will take this loss and make great improvements because of it.
Senior Kaitlyn Burkett Quotes:
I think that coach emphasized right from the beginning that everyone needs to be flexible and versatile. And I’ve really taken that on. I feel like where ever coach needs me to go that is where I need to go.
It has been an adjustment for me, but Megan is doing awesome. I feel like we are both such strong hitters that it really works. We work well together and so if she can hit or I can hit, that is to our advantage to have two strong setters.
Sophomore Becah Fogle Quotes:
I feel really good, but I owe it all to my teammates who have really been pushing me in practice. Running our new faster offense is hard, we are working hard and I really feel good about how things are turning out.
The coaching change has really affected me in positive ways and has helped me to improve. I owe it all to the new coaches. The work ethic on our team is amazing and we are working really hard.