http://www.cubuffs.com/news/2017/12/27/volleyball-2017-in-review.aspx
BOULDER - After a 20-year absence, Colorado returned to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16, advancing to the third round in Jesse Mahoney's second year as head coach.
The Buffs finished the conference season on a strong note, winning seven of their last 10 to finish fifth in the rugged Pac-12 and earn their NCAA berth.
CU opened the postseason with a sweep of James Madison, then delivered one of its best performances of the year by knocking off host Baylor (ranked No. 18 at the time), 3-0, to advance to the Sweet 16. Colorado then fell to old Big 12/Big 8 rival Nebraska — who went on to win the NCAA championship — but the Buffs still finished with a 24-10 record, the third-most wins in program history and the most since 1993.
The Buffs had plenty of other individual and team highlights:
Volleyball Notes
- Colorado finished the year ranked No. 19 in the final AVCA poll.
- Junior Alexa Smith was named to the All-Pac-12 first team while four other Buffs — junior Naghede Abu, freshman Brynna Deluzio, senior Joslyn Hayes and junior Frankie Shebby — were named to the honorable mention squad.
- Smith was named to the AVCA All-Pacific South Region first team while Deluzio was the region's Freshman of the Year, along with earning honorable mention all-region team honors.
- Smith also earned AVCA second-team All-America honors and Deluzio was an honorable mention selection. Deluzio then was named to the VolleyballMag.Com All-Freshman Team and the PrepVolleyball.Com All-Freshman team.
- Colorado finished the season with five wins over ranked opponents, including a season sweep of Oregon and a five-set win at Colorado State. The victory at CSU was the Buffs' first at Moby Arena since 1995.
- The Buffs recorded a 24-10 overall record. The 24 wins in the most in school history since 1992 when they finished the season with 25 wins.
- CU tied for fifth in the Pac-12 Conference with a 12-8 record, the best mark since joining the league in 2011.
- During the season, the Buffs recorded six wins against ranked opponents, tying the most for a single season.
- One of those ranked wins was a 3-0 sweep of Southern California in Boulder, which was CU's first ever against the Trojans.
- CU swept the series against four Pac-12 Opponents this season, the most since joining the league. Those teams were: Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and Oregon State.
- The Buffs advanced to their 19th NCAA Tournament and advanced to the sweet 16 for the first time since 1997.
- The wins in the first and second rounds for the Buffs mark just the second time CU has earned two straight wins in NCAA play and the win against No. 18 Baylor in the second round was the first road win in 15 tries. What makes that weekend even more impressive is the fact CU swept both matches.
Sport Supervisor Matt Biggers On Volleyball In 2017
- Awards
- Brynna DeLuzio became the first Buff to earn the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor four times. She was also the first Buff named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and was named the AVCA Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year. In addition to those awards, she was named an honorable mention selection for the All-Pac-12 and all-region teams.
- Alexa Smith was named to the AVCA All-Pacific South and All-Pac-12 teams. She led the Buffs in kills and points.
"How can you only pick one favorite memory from a season like we had? Answer: you don't. So I am expanding the question to my three favorite moments of the year which I will do in chronological order because there is no way to separate them in my mind.
"First, was going up to Ft. Collins and beating CSU on the road in front of an always raucous volleyball crowd in Moby arena after being down two sets to start the match. This win was the first for CU since 1995 and ended Coach Hilbert's amazing perfect record vs. in-state teams at Moby, which now stands at 51-1. More importantly, this was one of the first glimpses of the resolve that helped defined this year's CU volleyball team that will turn back up all season long.
"The next memory that stands out, is a play during our home match vs. Washington in which we swept the #11 Huskies. This play once again showcased the "never quit" attitude and effort of this team. The play unfolded after a block by Naghede Abu and Emily Demure on the right side. Naghede then popped the ball up after trickling off their block. As the ball went to the right off the court, Emily was able to get a hand on it and keep it alive. Out of nowhere, and literally right next to the scorer's table, Rachel Whipple hits it back over her head at an extremely harsh angle to keep it inbounds and back over the net. As this miraculous save was made, a Washington hitter tried to attack the ball as it came back over only to get it stuffed by a Frankie Shebby block to win the point. This play supercharged the great crowd at the Coors Events Center, and the team, and helped lead them to a very critical win.
"My last favorite memory, is how well the team came out in set 1 vs. Baylor to set the tone for the match. It is probably the best set I had seen them play all year, where passing, serving, attacking, blocking and digging were operating on all cylinders. This dialed in performance continued throughout the match and led to one of the greatest victories this program has had in decades, returning them to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years."
