Buffs Win Omni Invitational With Sweep of Abilene Christian

BOULDER — The Buffs took first place in the Omni Invitational after claiming a 3-0 victory over Abilene Christian (1-5) on Sunday afternoon at Coors Event Center. The Buffs, who improve to 6-0, swept the Wildcats with set scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-20. The 6-0 start ties the best start in CU history as the Buffs also started the 2008 season 6-0.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Buffs hit extremely well with senior Stephanie Shadley leading the team in kills with 11. She recorded a double-double with 14 digs and added two blocks in her first start of the season. Junior Naghede Abu also had a solid match, recording a hitting percentage of .615 with eight kills on 13 attempts (no errors). She also led the team in blocking with five block assists.

Sophomore Justine Spann was second on the team in kills with nine and also recorded a season best 11 digs while adding two blocks and two assists. Freshman setter Brynna Deluzio continued to shine for the Buffs as she recorded 38 assists in addition to three kills and 14 digs.

SET 1: Colorado took set one with a score of 25-19. The Buffs held the lead the entire set with their strongest performance coming when a five-point run brought the team's lead to 22-15. ACU attempted to rally and scored a pair, bringing the score to 24-19, but could not capitalize and ended the set with a service error.

SET 2: The Buffs came out of the gate strong taking a 6-2 advantage and increased it to 11-4, forcing ACU to use a timeout. Colorado's defense was strong and did not allow the Wildcats to claw back into the set despite ACU getting within four points a few times near the end of the set. CU took the set 25-20 after a huge kill from redshirt freshman Lauren Dorrell.

SET 3: The final set started closely but the Buffs stayed on top for the remainder of the frame after going ahead after a 5-5 tie. The Wildcats took a timeout when Colorado went on a 7-3 run, bringing their lead to 16-10. Despite attempts to regroup and a three-point streak late in the set, the Wildcats could not capitalize and the Buffs ended the match with a 25-20 score after a kill from DeLuzio.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs did what they have done all season, holding the edge in the stats. CU hit .285 with 48 kills and just 11 errors on 130 attacks, while the Wildcats hit .213 with 42 kills and 16 errors on 122 attacks. Both teams recorded a pair of aces, while the Buffs out blocked the Wildcats 6.5-5.0. CU also held the advantage in digs recording 58 to ACU's 55.

OMNI INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Colorado
Alexa Smtih (MVP)
Naghede Abu
Brynna Deluzio

Rice
Lee Ann Cunningham
McKay Kyle

Wake Forest
Kylie Long
Caitlyn Della

Abilene Christian
Jacey Smith

NEXT UP: The Buffs will be back in action Friday, Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m. MT when they face the Penn State Nittany Lions in their first match of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge. Live stats are available at CUBuffs.com.

QUOTES:
Head coach Jesse Mahoney
On getting new players on the court and how they fit
"We played both Justine (Spann) and Steph (Shadley). They played great. It's tough because we have a lot of talented kids on our roster. The left side position is really deep on our team and I don't think there's a let up when these two are on the floor. It was good to give them an opportunity. I'm sure they enjoyed playing and they both played very well."

On the ability to play bench players that have deep experience
"With Steph in particular, you know what you're going to get. She started for us all last year and she came up big in some big wins last season. She came up big today. She led us in kills and hit .281. She provides stability and leadership. I don't believe in starters and bench players, everyone is fighting for a spot every day in our gym. I don't think anyone looks at themselves as that either. They're all working to get better and if they don't win the spot, they understand their role. And that role is to push the person in front of them and try to get the spot eventually."

On the upcoming matchups against Illinois and Penn State
"Illinois is not ranked right now, but they will be after this weekend. They've been crushing the teams that they've played. Penn State beat Stanford earlier this weekend. These are two great teams, that's why we love the Big Ten and Pac-12 challenge. It's going to be a dog fight. I think we're going to be pretty excited to get out there and play against those teams."

Senior outside hitter Stephanie Shadley
On her new mold and role with the team:
"It is good. I feel like wherever I am, it's always fun with this group of girls. We have a really awesome group this year. We have so much fun together."

On the upcoming challenge of playing both Penn State and Illinois next weekend:
"We have had success so far, but we have a lot to prepare for this weekend and a lot of areas to get better at. We really have to focus."

Sophomore outside hitter Justine Spann
On getting three sweeps to open the home season
"It was pretty cool being back here, being back in the gym. A lot of people are excited about the new display in the arena, and having the Buff fans cheering us on again after being away, it's always good."

On the upcoming challenge of playing both Penn State and Illinois next weekend
"In our practice gym, we have a competitive drive and we try to replicate teams. This week will be a test of how good we can really be."

Buffs Win Omni Invitational With Sweep of Abilene Christian

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Team Stats

Stephanie Shadley

Justine Spann

Naghede Abu

Lauren Dorrell

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Lauren Dorrell

Stephanie Shadley

Justine Spann

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Lauren Dorrell

Stephanie Shadley

Justine Spann