No.24 Colorado Hosts No.11 Oregon and Oregon State
BOULDER – Colorado volleyball hosts its second-straight top-25 matchup this weekend when No.11-ranked Oregon comes to town Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting Oregon State Sunday at noon.
The 24th-ranked Buffs (10-1, 1-1 Pac-12) are fifth in the conference standings after the opening weekend. They join the top-ranked Ducks (11-1, 2-0 Pac-12) and UCLA as the only one-loss teams in the conference. Oregon State (2-10, 0-2 Pac-12) is last in the conference with 10 losses.
Colorado has been led by Pac-12 digs leader Brynna DeLuzio who was recently named a top-10 libero by NCAA Volleyball. She is averaging six digs per set in conference play and 4.85 digs per set where is 33rd in the nation. The Buffs are second in the conference with 15.53 digs per set and third in blocks per set in which they are 19th in the nation at 2.71 per set.
The Buffs are ranked in the top-four spots in the conference in every statistical category except aces per set. They are second in kills per set, third in hitting percentage, assists and blocks and fourth in opponent hitting percentage.
Friday, Colorado will honor breast cancer survivors at the match dressing in pink and taping the court in pink. Their 'Dig Pink' match will also give out 200 pink CU Volleyball shirts to the first 200 fans. Sunday the team will honor mental health awareness with green in their shirts and equipment.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
The 11th-ranked team in the nation has a lone loss against then-No.13 Minnesota in five sets at home. They defeated five straight unranked opponents to start the season, dropping only one set. They swept then-ranked 18 Penn State at home. Since the loss they have won five straight including five-set matches against Harvard and Arizona State.
They are 13th in the nation in hitting percentage at .284 led by Brooke Nuneviller's 3.57 kills per set in the 6-2 offense. Taylor Borup and Gloria Mutiri have 107 and 106 kills each. Oregon is also 13th in the nation in opponent hitting percentage led by being ninth in the nation at 2.8 blocks per set. Karson Bacon is second in the nation with a .471 hitting percentage while Abby Hanson's 1.41 blocks per set is good for 17th in the nation.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
The Beavers are 2-10 after starting with a five-set win against Oklahoma. Since they have losses against LSU, Houston, Penn State, Iowa State and a five-set loss at Moby against CSU. Their one other win came against Southern Illinois Edwardsville, but they have since lost four straight without winning a set.
The Beavers are led by Grace Massey who is second in the Pac-12 at 4.81 digs per set. The team is hitting just .155 led by Lindsey Schell with 2.95 kills per set with 124 total. Schell also leads the team with 36 total blocks.