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Volleyball vs #14 Arizona
- Thread starter cmgoods
- Start date
For what they're worth- my notes:
1) As recently as Friday's ASU match, CU had just a few too many ugly/ loose points (way too many roll shots and dinks going down, hitting errors off ASU free balls, etc.) that made a VERY close match a loss. Today, on the other hand, was probably the least number of loose points I've seen the Buffs give up in a LONG time, and was probably the key to victory.
2) Defensively, kudos to Cierra Simpson (with an awesome 23 digs in 3 sets) and quite a few others with some great defensive efforts. The Buffs aren't elite defensively yet, but less and less balls are hitting the ground every year, and hopefully will continue to improve week to week and match to match. (For those not familiar with volleyball stats, the leader of the Pac 12 is averaging 4.55 in digs per set this year, so Ms. C. Simpson's 7.67 average today was monster!)
3) Both sides of the serve game were great for the Buffs.
The serve receive game only had one or two shanks. AZ started off targeting Alexis Austin almost any time they could, and she did fine with her returns. The big surprise to me was that Kelsey English was I believe the only one who got playing time as a Defensive Specialist today, and did a very solid job.
On the Buff's serve, it gave AZ MAJOR issues all match. Especially, Cierra Simpson's serve seems to be getting flatter and flatter every match, and gave both ASU and AZ fits this weekend. At different times, I'd say every other Buff server also caused AZ problems at various points of the match. (As often with serving stats, the 3 aces and 6 errors listed for the Buffs do NOT tell the story of how effective the serving was, with AZ's relatively low 57% sideout % being a truer indication.)
4) Offensively, Alexis Austin was simply un-stoppable (.583 with 15 kills, 2-1/2 blocks). Taylor Simpson also had 15 kills, and although she "only" hit .212 today (better than her average last year, but she's averaging .316 so far this year), it was just a few errors away from a great day, and based on the eye test she still looked like (next to MAYBE Ms. Austin and AZ All-American honorable mention Maddie Kingdon on the other side of the net (although CU held her to .104 today!) ) to be as good as anyone playing offensively today, while still providing solid defense.
5) I believe CU won the block stat for the 1st time in a conference match this year (8-6), and also had many solid deflections that simplified the defense's subsequent pass. With the Buffs starting a freshman and lightly used sophomore in the middle, and a freshman and somewhat lightly used senior on the right-side, it will be fun to see how the block develops for the Buffs as the year goes on, as it looks based on height, hops, and quickness, we have the potential if the young ones continue to develop their technique, vision and anticipation, to end up with an intimidating "wall" up front sooner rather than later.
Anyway, awesome afternoon at the Keg- Go Buffs!
1) As recently as Friday's ASU match, CU had just a few too many ugly/ loose points (way too many roll shots and dinks going down, hitting errors off ASU free balls, etc.) that made a VERY close match a loss. Today, on the other hand, was probably the least number of loose points I've seen the Buffs give up in a LONG time, and was probably the key to victory.
2) Defensively, kudos to Cierra Simpson (with an awesome 23 digs in 3 sets) and quite a few others with some great defensive efforts. The Buffs aren't elite defensively yet, but less and less balls are hitting the ground every year, and hopefully will continue to improve week to week and match to match. (For those not familiar with volleyball stats, the leader of the Pac 12 is averaging 4.55 in digs per set this year, so Ms. C. Simpson's 7.67 average today was monster!)
3) Both sides of the serve game were great for the Buffs.
The serve receive game only had one or two shanks. AZ started off targeting Alexis Austin almost any time they could, and she did fine with her returns. The big surprise to me was that Kelsey English was I believe the only one who got playing time as a Defensive Specialist today, and did a very solid job.
On the Buff's serve, it gave AZ MAJOR issues all match. Especially, Cierra Simpson's serve seems to be getting flatter and flatter every match, and gave both ASU and AZ fits this weekend. At different times, I'd say every other Buff server also caused AZ problems at various points of the match. (As often with serving stats, the 3 aces and 6 errors listed for the Buffs do NOT tell the story of how effective the serving was, with AZ's relatively low 57% sideout % being a truer indication.)
4) Offensively, Alexis Austin was simply un-stoppable (.583 with 15 kills, 2-1/2 blocks). Taylor Simpson also had 15 kills, and although she "only" hit .212 today (better than her average last year, but she's averaging .316 so far this year), it was just a few errors away from a great day, and based on the eye test she still looked like (next to MAYBE Ms. Austin and AZ All-American honorable mention Maddie Kingdon on the other side of the net (although CU held her to .104 today!) ) to be as good as anyone playing offensively today, while still providing solid defense.
5) I believe CU won the block stat for the 1st time in a conference match this year (8-6), and also had many solid deflections that simplified the defense's subsequent pass. With the Buffs starting a freshman and lightly used sophomore in the middle, and a freshman and somewhat lightly used senior on the right-side, it will be fun to see how the block develops for the Buffs as the year goes on, as it looks based on height, hops, and quickness, we have the potential if the young ones continue to develop their technique, vision and anticipation, to end up with an intimidating "wall" up front sooner rather than later.
Anyway, awesome afternoon at the Keg- Go Buffs!
Last edited:
CUSoccerfan
Member
And soon we get Joslyn Hayes back. More firepower !!
CUSoccerfan
Member
We didn't exactly dominate Arizona, all sets were close, but a sweep is a sweep. They ARE a fun team to watch, and I totally agree with you re Coach Kritza. She was handed a dead program with one good player, a freshman. It took a while, but we are no longer the doormat in what is a very strong conference. Just missed the Sweet 16 last year, and this team is better.
Not dominant, but as a spectator, it seemed only the third set was close. That situation, in which we were down by two late in the set, has been where the team has struggled this season. A key time out and a Taylor Simpson ace, and suddenly the Buffs had regained the lead, and just as importantly FINISHED.
I'd like to think that it was a pivotal moment for this team.
I watched from Iowa on television. There is a slight delay with what gets posted on Twitter by Brian Howell or the Volleyball twitter feed. I knew they had won each set before it happened on tv.
Alexis Austin was outstanding all weekend. She had a good match on Friday and a great match yesterday.
Alexis Austin was outstanding all weekend. She had a good match on Friday and a great match yesterday.
Usually the delay isn't really noticeable, but this time it was a few points behind.