Buffs Fall To No.11 Oregon

BOULDER – Colorado women's volleyball lost to No.11-ranked Oregon in a hard-fought 3-1 match (23-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-22) here Friday night that marked its second loss of the season.
 
The 24th-ranked Buffs (10-2, 1-2 Pac-12) lost in four sets to the Ducks (12-1, 3-0 Pac-12) who stay undefeated in conference play after the team combined for a total of 15 blocks.
 
Colorado was led by Jenna Ewert, Maya Tabron, and Jill Schneggenburger who each had a double-double in the match. Ewert had 38 assists and 11 digs while Tabron had a team-high of 13 kills with 15 digs. Schneggenburger added 11 kills and 13 digs of her own.
 
Brynna DeLuzio continued her remarkable success this season after earning 23 digs. Her performance marked her fourth match this season with at least 20 digs. She was one dig shy of her six digs per set average in conference play.
 
For the Ducks, Abby Hansen had a great showing with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Hansen also led in blocks earning eight of the team's total 15. Brooke Nuneviller and Taylor Borup combined for a total of 25 kills in the match.
 
It was a heavy defensive battle with Oregon being held to .199 hitting while CU was held to .120.
 
Colorado will be looking to bounce back on Sunday, Oct. 3rd, at noon when it takes on Oregon State.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: Colorado jumped off to an early 6-3 lead with several different players getting kills. Oregon shortened the gap with back-to-back kills to make the score 6-5. The Buffs went on a four-point scoring run to make it 10-5 before Oregon called their first timeout of the match. Out of the timeout, the Ducks ended Colorado's scoring run before CU continued their early success leading 14-9. Oregon rallied back to bring the score within two at 14-12. Colorado Head Coach Jesse Mahoney lost a game challenge that led to a 15-14 score just before Tabron picked up her third kill of the match giving the Buffs a 16-14 lead. The Ducks went on a five-point scoring run forcing a CU timeout with the score at 16-19. Oregon's Borup got her third kill of the match leading to a 21-17 Ducks lead and another Colorado timeout. The Buffs stormed back to make it a two-point match at 23-21 before Oregon called a timeout. After the timeout, CU continued their scoring run to tie it up at 23 all. The Ducks sent the ball out of bounds creating a Colorado set point. The Buffs finished the set with a six-point scoring run after Kuehl got her second kill ending the set 25-23. Tabron led Colorado with four kills and a .300 hitting percentage. DeLuzio had a team-high seven digs in the set.
 
SET TWO: Oregon started the set with a quick 5-2 lead before going on a three-point scoring run forcing a CU timeout with the Ducks leading 8-3. The Buffs made the score 9-6 after Meegan got her third kill of the match. Borup got her eighth kill of the match giving her a hitting percentage of .316 while Oregon held an 11-6 lead over CU. The Ducks went up 17-10 before the Buffs called their first timeout of the set. Tabron picked up her eighth kill as Colorado trailed 19-12. Lewis got her fifth kill of the match putting her at a .300 hitting percentage as the Ducks led 21-14. Oregon sent the ball out of bounds making the score 23-16. The Buffs committed an attack error setting up an Oregon set point. Lewis ended the set at 25-16 with her sixth kill of the match. Murphy led the Ducks with 12 digs after the set.
 
SET THREE: Schneggenburger started the set with her fifth kill giving her an impressive hitting percentage of .500. Tabron gave the Buffs a 3-1 lead after getting her ninth kill. CU took a 7-2 lead after a successful game challenge. After the challenge, the Ducks went on a four-point scoring run making it a one-point game at 7-6. Colorado went on a short scoring run of their own before Borup cut the gap to just one point again at 9-8 with her ninth kill of the match. The game was tied at 10 all after the Buffs sent the ball wide on an attack error. Hansen picked up her fourth block of the match giving the Ducks a 14-13 lead and forcing a Colorado timeout. After another successful CU game challenge, the match was tied once again at 15 all. Both teams were trading kills as the tie continued to 19 before Oregon took a 21-19 lead forcing Colorado's second timeout of the set. Hansen gave the Ducks a 22-19 lead after her ninth kill while hitting .600. Ewert got a kill to cut the CU deficit to 23-22 which led to an Oregon timeout. Borup led Oregon to a set point after getting her 11th total kill. Mutiri earned her sixth kill of the match giving the Ducks a 25-23 win in set three. By the end of the set, Murphy still led Oregon with 19 digs while DeLuzio led Colorado with 16 digs.
 
SET FOUR: The Ducks started the set off with a five-point scoring run to go up 5-0. Schneggenburger got her seventh total kill to put an end to the Oregon scoring run making it 5-1. Nuneviller gave the Ducks a 7-3 lead with her 10th kill of the match. After an Oregon handling error, CU trailed by two points at 8-6. Kuehl picked up her fourth total block tying the score at 11 all and forcing an Oregon timeout. Hansen gave the Ducks a 14-13 lead as she got her seventh block of the match. Oregon went up 17-14 before CU called their first timeout of the set. The Ducks took a 20-16 lead after Bacon's seventh kill. Oregon called their second and final timeout of the set after Colorado responded with a three-point scoring run making the score 20-19. At the break, Ewert led CU with 36 assists and a .333 hitting percentage. Kuehl earned her fifth kill to cut Oregon's lead to 22-21. Hansen gave the Ducks set point after her 10th kill of the match giving her a .500 hitting percentage. Oregon won the set 25-22 after a shared block between Hansen and Mutiri. The Ducks were led by Nuneviller's 13 kills along with Borup's 12. Murphy finished the match with a total of 27 digs while DeLuzio finished with 23.
 
QUOTES
HEAD COACH JESSE MAHONEY
On The Loss
Oregon played really well. They are the best passing team in our league and really tough to get out of system. In the 6-2 they were on they've always got a lot of options. We held them to about .200. I think that's a pretty good job by us for how in-system they were. We fought throughout the match. (We) came back in the first set and played sets three and four really well. We gave ourselves opportunities to score in transition. We've got to find ways to get points out of the left side, out of the system. Everyone that we played on the left struggled a little bit. (It) doesn't mean they weren't working hard, we just have to get a little bit better. I was happy with our effort That's what the Pac-12 is going to be; it's going to be great matches every night and every afternoon. We'll find a way to get a little bit better and come back on Sunday.
 
On Losing Players This Week
We lost to two players this week – (Zoe Neverdowski) to injury and (Leah Clayton) to suspension -- and that altered our lineup. I thought Morgan (Riddle) was excellent in what she was doing replacing Zoe. Jahara (Campbell) had some good parts and some parts that are going to teach her for the future. I thought Kelley (Levaggi) was really good when she came in, towards the end of the match. (It was) not the smoothest week especially coming off a great weekend prior. That is what it is. We have really good spirit on this team, and we have a really good culture on this team. This group of kids wants to get better. We took a step backwards with results but we're going to continue to get better as a team.
 
On Injuries
Jahara had cramps. Her calf was cramping a little bit. I don't think it's a major issue. I think she'll be good to go if she's needed. Zoe's probably a good four-to-six weeks; we're hoping to have her back. It's her senior year -- we're hoping to have her back in time to get some matches in. I will tell you, it's a shame because she's playing the best volleyball of her life. We'll try to get her back in when we can. But again, I thought Morgan was excellent. We have a lot of really good players on this team. Now it's their opportunity to go out and play.
 
JENNA EWERT
On Playing With Different Combinations
We all play together every day in practice but having a different six people out on the court, different combinations are a little different during games. It takes some getting used to but it's not bad or anything. A couple more practices would have been nice. I play with them every day, so I was confident in everybody who stepped on the court.
 
On Dumping The Ball
It's a feeling of if the middle stays with me or not. I can see them in my peripherals. I do it mostly to hold them. If I feel like I'm holding them, I can jack the ball and hopefully my pin hitters have one blocker up. They have a larger portion of the court to hit to but mostly feeling where they're stepping or moving.
 
BRYNNA DELUZIO
On Playing High-Level Competition
The Pac-12 is best conference in volleyball. It gives us good opportunities to play at a high level. Our block is doing a good job of setting up. All of us are stepping into a good place to be hit. We're staying in the rallies. Oregon stayed in the rally (and) survived on a lot of plays. They were forcing us to be better. We did an okay job of that.
 
On The Week Of Practice
Besides some of the things that happened earlier in the week, we had a great week of practice. Maybe some nerves came into effect in this game. From what we saw in practice and what we saw in short spurts of this game, we have a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to that.