Colorado
Iowa State
Spikers Impressive In 3-1 Victory
October 22, 2002 | Volleyball
AMES, Iowa - Despite losing their first game against the Cyclones in six years, the University of Colorado volleyball team (11-9, 5-5 Big 12) defeated a much-improved Iowa State University squad (9-13, 0-10 Big 12) 28-30, 30-21, 31-29, 30-20 here Wednesday night at the Hilton Coliseum. The win gives the Buffs their first winning streak (more than one in a row) for the first time in a month, when they won their sixth-straight against No. 17 Texas A&M Sept. 21.
Junior Monique Gerlach had an impressive match after being benched early in the first game, but came back with a vengeance. She is attempting to be the quickest player in program history to reach 1,000 kills. With 17 kills against Iowa State, she has 919 kills in 71 matches and needs 81 more in the next five matches to take the record away from Sarah Lodge, who reached 1,000 in her 77th career match. Gerlach also hit .303 and had a season-high 12 digs and three blocks defensively in the match.
"It seems that right now, we go as Monique goes," CU head coach Pi'i Aiu said. "She didn't play well early in the match and we dropped the first game, and then she came out in game two and played really well and won the next three. It's not only her, but we struggle when she doesn't play well.
Freshman Maragda Santillana continued her strong play of late, recording 12 kills and three blocks in the match. The Barcelona, Spain, native 60 kills, 22 blocks in her last five matches. Senior Meghan Barkman has also improved her play of late, as her 16 kills gives her five straight matches with 10-plus kills, and she added a season-high 11 digs in the match.
Senior Sara Fredrickson came off the bench for the Buffs and tied her career high with 11 digs and added three blocks to a solid defensive effort. Senior Elizabeth Gower continued her all-around good play as she barely missed a triple double for the third time in 2002 with nine kills, seven digs and 43 assists.
"We had a strong defensive effort," Aiu said. "We scrapped well and had four players with double-figures in digs, and we'll need more of that as the season progresses."
The Buffs got off to a slow start in the first game, falling 30-28 despite a good try at a late-game comeback. The Buffs were led by freshman Maragda Santillana in the game, who tallied five kills, while senior Meghan Barkman had four of her own. Senior Kim Taskey led the defensive charge with five digs, but the effort wasn't quite enough for a CU victory.
Game two saw the Buffs remain a little sluggish. Gerlach returned strong to the game with the score tied at 18 apiece. Gerlach recorded seven kills and a solo block in the game, meaning she was responsible for eight of the last 12 CU points, as CU took the game 30-21.
The Cyclones rebounded and were again impressive in game three. Six Buffs recorded at least two kills in the game while Gerlach (five kills, eight digs) and Barkman (four kills) led the way. The Buffs found themselves down 24-20 and 29-27 before scoring four straight to get the 31-29 victory.
CU didn't have too much trouble in the fourth game, taking the win 30-20. The Buffs were Gerlach and Barkman, who combined for nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the game. Gower also had a solid offensive game, with four kills on eight attacks for a .500 percentage to go with her 11 assists.
The Buffs will look to continue their win streak with a critical match-up with Kansas State visiting the Coors Events Center Saturday in a 7 p.m. first serve. The Wildcats knocked off the Buffs in Manhattan Oct. 13 in four games.
