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Buffs Win Pac-12 Opener Against Utah

11-2 (1-0)

I'm really proud of what this program is doing. As I'd mentioned in the past, I met Liz Kritza at a MBB game a couple years ago (her seats were next to mine) and came away extremely impressed. This year may or may not end up with a winning record considering the upcoming schedule, but I believe that we're going to see big things from her program. This is one area where I've preached patience with a coach and I'm glad to see it paying off.

The Buffs will wrap up their four-match homestand on Saturday, Sept. 22 against California (6-5). The match will start at 7 p.m. and will be streamed online as part of the Pac-12 Digital Network.
 
Really fun match to watch and great to have a bunch of loud students there cheering the team on.

It was just an all-around good team effort. Only once when Utah put a run together did you see a cluster of errors creep into the Buffs game. But the best part was they pulled it back together and got back on track rather than letting it get to them like we saw too often last season.
 
Just for giggles I went back and looked back at last years results vs. Utah. We lost 0-3 both times we played them. Granted Utah could be rebuilding completely, but that is still a very impressive turnaround. Nice job!
 
Just for giggles I went back and looked back at last years results vs. Utah. We lost 0-3 both times we played them. Granted Utah could be rebuilding completely, but that is still a very impressive turnaround. Nice job!

Not so. Utah is not rebuilding. Last season they had 4 players who started in all matches. Of those 4, 3 have returned. The one that graduated was only #5 on the team in kills per set. All 4 players who were better than her in kills have returned. They also had 4 players who started between a third and a half of their matches. Of those 4, 3 have returned. Also their libero, who was their leader in digs last season, has returned. So basically the core strength of Utah's team is back again this season.

Compare that to the Buffs .... Last night they started 3 freshmen. Of the other 4 (3 starters plus the libero) only 2 (the middle blockers) were starters last season and one of those was playing a different position last season. The Buffs best player from last year (Kerra Schroeder) is out for this season with an ACL/MCL tear.

So Utah returned a lot more collegiate experience than the Buffs had.................which of course makes it an even more satisfying victory last night !!!!!!!!
 
Bebe - how tough is this Cal team we're playing next? 6-5 record doesn't impress, but when we're talking about volleyball, the state of California and a major conference program I have to assume that there's a lot of talent there.
 
BeBe (or anyone else) help me out a little with my volleyball knowledge. Why does the one person on the floor wear a different jersey. I am going to assume that this is the libero that you referred to in your post. What is their role, and I assume that there can be only one of them on the ice at once?
 
Yes the Libero is the player in the opposite color jersey. There can be only one libero on the team at a time. I have only seen a team change who is the libero at the end of a game, never during a game, but I'm not sure if thats a rule or just common practice.

There are a whole bunch of rules about what the libero can and cannot do but basically they are in the game for their defense....receiving serve and digging kill attempts. They also serve. Most, if not all, teams use the libero to replace the middle blocker when she would rotate into the back row. The libero entering and leaving the game does not count as a substitution so you will see middle blocker just leave the court and libero come in in her place. Then, after 3 more rotations, the second middle blocker rotates back to serve (libero can only serve in place of one MB), the libero leaves the court and the first middle blocker comes back into the front row. On the next rotation, the second middle blocker goes out and the libero comes in. So you will see one rotation where the libero is not on the court. The other five rotations, the libero is playing back row.

This is a really key player because starting off with a good pass makes it much easier for the setter and hitter to do well. A bad pass is what we want the OTHER team to do, not us. ;>)
 
Bebe - how tough is this Cal team we're playing next? 6-5 record doesn't impress, but when we're talking about volleyball, the state of California and a major conference program I have to assume that there's a lot of talent there.

Cal is a bit of an enigma. They have a bunch of talent on the roster, but have been dealing with several injuries. Earlier in the non-conference, Cal beat a ranked Hawaii team in Hawaii, a very tough place to play. But then they lost to San Francisco 0-3 in their last non-conference match.

Last season, in the second go-round of conference games, the Buffs played Cal pretty well here in Boulder. It was a 3-1 Cal win but the set scores were 23-25, 25-20, 15-25, and 20-25. Any time set scores are within a couple of points, the game was pretty competitive. So except for the third set, it was a decent match for the Buffs. Cal was ranked in the top 10 and the Buffs 0-16 in conference matches at the time.

Coming off the win over Utah the Buffs should be feeling pretty good. I would think this is a match where the Buffs have a shot at pulling off the upset. Hopefully they get another decent, loud crowd supporting them like they had last night.
 
Wow, very impressive considering they have already equaled their conference wins from last year.
 
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