Wednesday, September 19
Boulder, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado
9-3, 1-0Pac-12
3
vs
2
Utah
8-4, 0-1Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
UTAH
25
21
25
18
13
2
Colorado
21
25
13
25
15
3
Photo by: Tim Benko, Benko Photographics
Buffs Down No.23 Utah in Five Sets
September 19, 2018 | Volleyball
BOULDER, Colo. — It took numerous comebacks in sets and points in sets, but the University of Colorado women's volleyball team took down the 23rd-ranked University of Utah Wednesday night in Boulder to open the 2018 Pac-12 season. The Buffs were down in sets twice in the match as well as the fifth-set in points, but in the end the Buffs rallied to a 21-25, 25-21, 13-25, 25-18, 15-13 in the CU Events Center.
Senior Alexa Smith was the key to the Buffs success. The All-American had a match-high 23 digs, including an 11-dig second set. Her defensive resilience kept rallies alive for Colorado and was a huge part of the success. She also turned on the burners late for the Buffs, accounting for five of the team's nine kills in the final set. Entering the fifth set she only had 10 kills, but she stepped up when the team needed her most and delivered the final blow to close out the match.
The other Buff that was huge tonight in key moments was redshirt freshman Anyse Smith. Smith finished with 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .241. She was joined by Naghede Abu with eight kills and Justine Spann with seven.
The offensive generals Brynna DeLuzio and Jenna Ewert had a good night altogether. DeLuzio led the team with 21 assists, while Ewert had 19 assists. DeLuzio was second on the team with nine digs, while Ewert led the team with a pair of aces.
The front row was all over the Utes attack throughout the match, led by sophomore Lauren Dorrell and her nine block assists. The team as a whole put up 11 blocks, but the tough pressure helped ease the back row in passing. Abu was second on the team with seven block assists, while Danielle Price chipped in four.
The match was a tight one that featured 24 ties and eight lead changes, including three in the final set. Neither team hit outstanding as Utah led with a .208 hitting percentage and Colorado tallied a .161 percentage. The Utes led in nearly every statistical category, with the major factors of the outcome being the difference in serve errors and blocks. Though the Utes blocked well, CU finished the game with one more block at 11. The Colorado pressure up front continually stopped Utah and put them out of system. The Utes also committed a dozen service errors compared to the Buffs' four.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: Things started off with a 3-1 opening set in favor of the Utes. Colorado rallied back to take a 7-5 lead after a huge overpass kill to Lauren Dorrell. The teams traded points to 9-7, then the Utes were out of rotation, giving the Buffs their first three-point lead. Utah battled back to take the lead at 12-11. CU struggled to hit early, hitting just .037 while trailing 16-14. Each team continued to sideout, but when Coach Mahoney found himself trailing 22-20 he called a quick timeout to rally the team. The timeout didn't affect the outcome as the Utes rallied off the next two points to reach set-point at 24-21. Another huge Anyse Smith kill traded the final serve to the Buffs, but it wouldn't matter as the Utes won by a score of 25-21.
SET 2: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead. The Utes made a comeback to tie the match at six, but Danielle Price and Lauren Dorrell put up another block to retake the lead. The teams went back-and-forth to an 11-9 match, with the Buffs leading and hitting well in the second set. Colorado was the first to the media timeout 15 points at 15-13. The Buffs and Utes traded points, with the Buffs reaching set-point at 24-18. The team would finish the set off at 25-21. Alexa Smith was on a defensive tear, posting 16 digs through the first two sets including 11 in set two alone.
SET 3: The Utes clawed out to a lead, taking it all the way to 11-7 before the Buffs called timeout. The Utes ran off another six-straight points, forcing another Buffs timeout. The Utes rallied off another three points before another Buffs timeout was called and the run ended. At that point the damage was all but finished with a 19-9 lead. The Buffs looked dazed as Utah hit set-point at 24-11 with ease. The Utes took the set 25-13.
SET 4: The Utes came out with two quick points and that was enough to have Coach Mahoney call an early timeout. The Buffs rallied off three-straight points to come within one at one at 6-5. The Buffs pushed to a lead at 11-10 as Anyse Smith led with 10 kills in the match. CU continued to push the lead, extending it to 16-12 before Utah called its first timeout. Out of the break CU put down another pair of points, forcing Utah to make a defensive substitution. The substitution didn't have much effect, as the Buffs kept extending its lead to 21-13. After a long replay and back-and-forth point awarding, CU took a 23-15 lead and jumped to set-point on the next rally. The Buffs hit set-point and finished out the set with an Alexa Smith kill to give her a double-double.
SET 5: The Utes came out and scored the first three points of the final set. After another long replay that kept the point to Utah, CU faced a 5-2 deficit with both points coming from service errors. The Utes made their way to the eight-point side switch with just a one-point lead. Anyse Smith had two huge kills to tie the match in back-to-back sideouts for the Buffs. The Utes retook the lead and pushed it with consecutive points to 13-11 to force a CU timeout. Out of the break a Naghede Abu kill was followed up by a Justine Spann ace, leading to a tied match at 13 each and a Utah timeout. The Buffs turned to senior captain Alexa Smith, who delivered the final two blows and closed out the victory for Colorado.
QUOTABLES:
HEAD COACH JESSE MAHONEY
On the win
"It was a strange match because in two of those sets, one was competitive, and that always makes the match have kind of a strange energy. Two really good teams, but I also think two young teams and two teams that have a little different pieces than they had the year before. You can kind of see that on both sides. When we want to be good, I think we can be really good. The last five points in the fifth set I thought was really crisp, good volleyball. When we allow ourselves to be bad, unfortunately we can be really bad. We have to continue to harp on that and work on that. I think our head is in the right place and our kids want to be good and want to be better. We just know it's going to be a process. I think we kind of escaped one tonight, and hopefully we learn from it because we have a really good team coming in on Sunday."
On the team's resiliency
"I don't think we ever felt like we couldn't win that match. We never talk about what the score is or whether we're down. We talk about the next play and talk about what we can improve on from play to play. Hopefully the cumulative effect of that has us playing better. With that being said, we gave up some loose points in the start of the fifth (set) and had to earn those back. We gave up five easy points and had to earn five tough points. That's this team in a nutshell. We can do that. I love the fact that we can earn those tough points. We just have to limit the easy ones that we give them."
On Sunday's match
"We have another great team. I don't know what USC is ranked, but I'm sure it's pretty high. I've seen them on film. They have a lot of weapons. They are very good. We'll have to play well. That is what the Pac-12 is all about. We are going to play a lot of matches against a lot of really good teams. It's a grind, but we love it. We'll take one day off then get back to the grind."
ALEXA SMITH
On the mindset in these close matches
"Utah was a great team. They showed us that we did need to keep that even keel on the court. I think mostly it's to keep staying disciplined on our side of the court and making eye contact with your teammates around you and making sure that everyone is pretty focused in in those moments."
On the impact of Naghede Abu
"Offensively and defensively she helps us so much. You saw tonight. She was putting balls away and blocking balls, even touching balls that helps our defense in the backcourt. We missed her a lot and we are really thankful to have her back."
On if she felt Utah was attacking her on defense
"I don't know if they were necessarily trying to attack me. I think I attribute (her success) to our blocking. They were getting great touches up there and I was able to work around it in the backrow."
LAUREN DORRELL
On what the defense was seeing
"It started off a little rough. We needed to execute our block calls and we had a few errors. I knew going into the second and third sets that something needed to change. In order for our defense to work, the block needs to work. We got it together. I'm glad that helped and we transitioned and played well."
On the impact of Naghede Abu
"Being so young, it's good to have such a key competent as a senior, both Lex (Alexa Smith) and Naghede. When one of them wasn't there, it's a little difficult to train with other people. Naghede is such a huge presence on and off the court. Just her energy on the court is needed for us to play well."
UP NEXT: The Buffs have one of the longest stretches between weekly opponents with four days until they play the University of Southern California. No.14-ranked USC comes to town Sunday at 1 p.m. in the CU Events Center. USC swept rival UCLA Wednesday night in a top-25 battle of 14th and 17th ranked teams in the nation, respectfully
Senior Alexa Smith was the key to the Buffs success. The All-American had a match-high 23 digs, including an 11-dig second set. Her defensive resilience kept rallies alive for Colorado and was a huge part of the success. She also turned on the burners late for the Buffs, accounting for five of the team's nine kills in the final set. Entering the fifth set she only had 10 kills, but she stepped up when the team needed her most and delivered the final blow to close out the match.
The other Buff that was huge tonight in key moments was redshirt freshman Anyse Smith. Smith finished with 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .241. She was joined by Naghede Abu with eight kills and Justine Spann with seven.
The offensive generals Brynna DeLuzio and Jenna Ewert had a good night altogether. DeLuzio led the team with 21 assists, while Ewert had 19 assists. DeLuzio was second on the team with nine digs, while Ewert led the team with a pair of aces.
The front row was all over the Utes attack throughout the match, led by sophomore Lauren Dorrell and her nine block assists. The team as a whole put up 11 blocks, but the tough pressure helped ease the back row in passing. Abu was second on the team with seven block assists, while Danielle Price chipped in four.
The match was a tight one that featured 24 ties and eight lead changes, including three in the final set. Neither team hit outstanding as Utah led with a .208 hitting percentage and Colorado tallied a .161 percentage. The Utes led in nearly every statistical category, with the major factors of the outcome being the difference in serve errors and blocks. Though the Utes blocked well, CU finished the game with one more block at 11. The Colorado pressure up front continually stopped Utah and put them out of system. The Utes also committed a dozen service errors compared to the Buffs' four.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: Things started off with a 3-1 opening set in favor of the Utes. Colorado rallied back to take a 7-5 lead after a huge overpass kill to Lauren Dorrell. The teams traded points to 9-7, then the Utes were out of rotation, giving the Buffs their first three-point lead. Utah battled back to take the lead at 12-11. CU struggled to hit early, hitting just .037 while trailing 16-14. Each team continued to sideout, but when Coach Mahoney found himself trailing 22-20 he called a quick timeout to rally the team. The timeout didn't affect the outcome as the Utes rallied off the next two points to reach set-point at 24-21. Another huge Anyse Smith kill traded the final serve to the Buffs, but it wouldn't matter as the Utes won by a score of 25-21.
SET 2: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead. The Utes made a comeback to tie the match at six, but Danielle Price and Lauren Dorrell put up another block to retake the lead. The teams went back-and-forth to an 11-9 match, with the Buffs leading and hitting well in the second set. Colorado was the first to the media timeout 15 points at 15-13. The Buffs and Utes traded points, with the Buffs reaching set-point at 24-18. The team would finish the set off at 25-21. Alexa Smith was on a defensive tear, posting 16 digs through the first two sets including 11 in set two alone.
SET 3: The Utes clawed out to a lead, taking it all the way to 11-7 before the Buffs called timeout. The Utes ran off another six-straight points, forcing another Buffs timeout. The Utes rallied off another three points before another Buffs timeout was called and the run ended. At that point the damage was all but finished with a 19-9 lead. The Buffs looked dazed as Utah hit set-point at 24-11 with ease. The Utes took the set 25-13.
SET 4: The Utes came out with two quick points and that was enough to have Coach Mahoney call an early timeout. The Buffs rallied off three-straight points to come within one at one at 6-5. The Buffs pushed to a lead at 11-10 as Anyse Smith led with 10 kills in the match. CU continued to push the lead, extending it to 16-12 before Utah called its first timeout. Out of the break CU put down another pair of points, forcing Utah to make a defensive substitution. The substitution didn't have much effect, as the Buffs kept extending its lead to 21-13. After a long replay and back-and-forth point awarding, CU took a 23-15 lead and jumped to set-point on the next rally. The Buffs hit set-point and finished out the set with an Alexa Smith kill to give her a double-double.
SET 5: The Utes came out and scored the first three points of the final set. After another long replay that kept the point to Utah, CU faced a 5-2 deficit with both points coming from service errors. The Utes made their way to the eight-point side switch with just a one-point lead. Anyse Smith had two huge kills to tie the match in back-to-back sideouts for the Buffs. The Utes retook the lead and pushed it with consecutive points to 13-11 to force a CU timeout. Out of the break a Naghede Abu kill was followed up by a Justine Spann ace, leading to a tied match at 13 each and a Utah timeout. The Buffs turned to senior captain Alexa Smith, who delivered the final two blows and closed out the victory for Colorado.
QUOTABLES:
HEAD COACH JESSE MAHONEY
On the win
"It was a strange match because in two of those sets, one was competitive, and that always makes the match have kind of a strange energy. Two really good teams, but I also think two young teams and two teams that have a little different pieces than they had the year before. You can kind of see that on both sides. When we want to be good, I think we can be really good. The last five points in the fifth set I thought was really crisp, good volleyball. When we allow ourselves to be bad, unfortunately we can be really bad. We have to continue to harp on that and work on that. I think our head is in the right place and our kids want to be good and want to be better. We just know it's going to be a process. I think we kind of escaped one tonight, and hopefully we learn from it because we have a really good team coming in on Sunday."
On the team's resiliency
"I don't think we ever felt like we couldn't win that match. We never talk about what the score is or whether we're down. We talk about the next play and talk about what we can improve on from play to play. Hopefully the cumulative effect of that has us playing better. With that being said, we gave up some loose points in the start of the fifth (set) and had to earn those back. We gave up five easy points and had to earn five tough points. That's this team in a nutshell. We can do that. I love the fact that we can earn those tough points. We just have to limit the easy ones that we give them."
On Sunday's match
"We have another great team. I don't know what USC is ranked, but I'm sure it's pretty high. I've seen them on film. They have a lot of weapons. They are very good. We'll have to play well. That is what the Pac-12 is all about. We are going to play a lot of matches against a lot of really good teams. It's a grind, but we love it. We'll take one day off then get back to the grind."
ALEXA SMITH
On the mindset in these close matches
"Utah was a great team. They showed us that we did need to keep that even keel on the court. I think mostly it's to keep staying disciplined on our side of the court and making eye contact with your teammates around you and making sure that everyone is pretty focused in in those moments."
On the impact of Naghede Abu
"Offensively and defensively she helps us so much. You saw tonight. She was putting balls away and blocking balls, even touching balls that helps our defense in the backcourt. We missed her a lot and we are really thankful to have her back."
On if she felt Utah was attacking her on defense
"I don't know if they were necessarily trying to attack me. I think I attribute (her success) to our blocking. They were getting great touches up there and I was able to work around it in the backrow."
LAUREN DORRELL
On what the defense was seeing
"It started off a little rough. We needed to execute our block calls and we had a few errors. I knew going into the second and third sets that something needed to change. In order for our defense to work, the block needs to work. We got it together. I'm glad that helped and we transitioned and played well."
On the impact of Naghede Abu
"Being so young, it's good to have such a key competent as a senior, both Lex (Alexa Smith) and Naghede. When one of them wasn't there, it's a little difficult to train with other people. Naghede is such a huge presence on and off the court. Just her energy on the court is needed for us to play well."
UP NEXT: The Buffs have one of the longest stretches between weekly opponents with four days until they play the University of Southern California. No.14-ranked USC comes to town Sunday at 1 p.m. in the CU Events Center. USC swept rival UCLA Wednesday night in a top-25 battle of 14th and 17th ranked teams in the nation, respectfully
Team Stats
UTAH
COLO
Kills
62
53
Errors
27
27
Attempts
168
161
Hitting %
.208
.161
Points
79.0
67.0
Assists
58
49
Aces
7
3
Blocks
10.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S/L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballGolden Spike Series Preview | GTK Ana Burilović | This Week in Colorado Volleyball | Sept. 16, 2025
Tuesday, September 16
Colorado vs. Denver Highlights | September 14, 2025
Sunday, September 14
Colorado vs. Toledo Highlights | September 13, 2025
Sunday, September 14
Colorado vs. Arkansas Highlights | September 12, 2025
Saturday, September 13