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2022 NCAA Tournament thread- VOLLEYBALL (1st round match in Waco vs. the Rice Owls; Thursday, 12/1, 3:30 PM MT)

AztecBuff

AztecBuff

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(I will, fates willing, update this thread and thread title with more information as we learn who the future Buff opponent(s) is/ are.)

With it considered a sure thing the volleyball team, with its now #44 RPI, will be selected to the NCAA Tournament, thought I'd start this thread now as the Tourney Selection Show is scheduled for this (Sunday) evening live on ESPNU beginning at 5:30 PM MT. '

As used to be true for basketball, 64 teams are selected and put into the bracket, with the eventual Champion having to win 6 matches to "hoist the trophy". The 1st 2 rounds of the tournament are set up to played this coming Thursday to Saturday, with ~1/2 of the teams playing their 1st 2 rounds Thursday and (for those who advance) Friday, while the other half will play their 1st 2 rounds Friday and (if they advance) Saturday.

Now, hope they get a solid selection shot, and then earn some W's!

NCAA's interactive bracket (Usually gets filled in as the selection show progresses) - https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/volleyball-women/d1/2022

More general info (rough schedule, final 4 locations, selection process, etc.) on the tourney - https://www.ncaa.com/news/volleybal...ament-bracket-schedule-di-womens-championship

Note - I can't remember how it goes for required video coverage. I THINK I remember hearing in past seasons that there's a rule that schools hosting the 1st 2 rounds were required to provide free video streams or TV coverage of all the matches they're hosting, but then for some reason I seem to recall not being able to watch every Buff tourney match. (I guess we shall see.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Links with more info on the Buffs' opponent(s):

1st round (Rice):
Roster - https://riceowls.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster?path=wvball
Stats - https://riceowls.com/sports/womens-volleyball/stats/2022?path=wvball
Schedule/ results for this season - https://riceowls.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule/2022
Their preview article for the match with the Buffs - Not available as I type this.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media links (will be filled in as info becomes available):

1st Round:
Matches' notes -

Live stats - http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=437533

Live Video - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/1a35daea-8647-476c-9433-e996f792f9e3
 
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As I've mentioned previously in regular season threads, the Volleytalk forum has a diligent poster named Trojansc who does bracketology threads weekly throughout the season, and they released their final estimates a few hours ago (https://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/92050/final-2022-bracketology). They seem to consider the Buffs safely in (thankfully, not even considered one of the very nervous "last 4 in"), although also not close to being one of the 32*** seeded teams.
(Looks like it could be (???) a rare year when CSU is NOT selected, as Trojansc has them as the 1st team JUST missing the tourney. Although, I wonder if the fact their long-time VERY successful coach is retiring might influence the committee a little?)

I'd assume it's almost impossible to be very close in guessing the EXACT seeds or entries, or where teams like the Buffs, who won't be seeded themselves and have no other anticipated seeds within 400 miles of them, may end up travelling to. However, for entertainment purposes only wanted to note that Trojansc in his last analysis is GUESSING the Buffs end up in Minneapolis (which actually happened one time before). If his GUESS comes to be true, they'd 1st be facing off against one of the regional #7 seeds, Iowa State, in the 1st round, with the winner of that match probably facing off against regional #2 (and overall #7) seed Minnesota in the 2nd round (assuming the Gophers didn't suffer a BAD upset to, probably, a small conference auto-qualifier).

***For those who've followed the volleyball brackets in the past, there's been a significant change this year. In prior years, only the top 16 teams (each of whom hosted the 1st 2 rounds in their sub-region) were seeded. And, the committee seemed to sometimes make those seedings heavily based on geography, trying to minimize travel. (For example, the Buffs have often been placed in a group with CSU WHENEVER POSSIBLE, with either the Buffs or Rams hosting, especially if one of the other Colorado teams (usually DU and/ or Northern Colorado) were also in the tourney.) For the 1st time THIS year, there will be 32 seeds, which I'm assuming (???) will have to lessen (but maybe not totally eliminate?) the geographical concentration aspect of the selection.?.
 
Yes, the Buffs went to Minneapolis in 2013. I went, too. That's within driving distance. We played Iowa State and beat them in 5 sets. Then we took Minnesota to 5 sets, but lost.

There may be a trip to Minneapolis in my near future.

It was fun watching **** Nebraska lose at home two nights in a row.
 
Off topic from the thread title, but still BIG Congrats to Ms.'s Hart and Parker!




"
BOULDER — Opposite Sterling Parker and middle blocker Meegan Hart of Colorado's women's volleyball team were selected for the 2022 Academic All-District Team by College Sports Communicators.

To be eligible for the academic team, a qualifying student-athlete must have a minimum 3.5 overall grade-point average and play in at least half of all season competitions. A true freshman or a transfer student in their first season isn't eligible for selection.

Parker, a psychology major from Martinez, Calif. boasts a 3.880 cumulative GPA. In addition to majoring in psychology, Parker has earned a certificate in critical sport studies along with minors in sociology and sports media. This season, Parker has earned 232 kills with a .216 hitting percentage. Parker has also achieved 36 total blocks this year.

Hart, a graduate student in organizational leadership, has a 3.838 GPA. The middle blocker from St. Charles, Ill. has been named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week two times this season. Currently, Hart is fifth in the NCAA for hitting percentage at .432 and 42nd in blocks per set, averaging 1.26 each set with 129 total blocks so far this season.

Voting for the Academic All-America women's volleyball teams ends December 6th, and selected student-athletes will be announced later next month.
"
 
Looks like the Buffs are heading down to Waco, where they'll start action this Thursday at 3:30 PM MT facing off against the tough and #5 regionally seeded Rice Owls. (They were ranked #20 in the NCAA in the latest (11/20) poll, and won the Conference USA tourney last Sunday after finishing 2nd in the regular season with a 13-1 conference record.) The winner of that match will face off against the winner of #4 regional seed Baylor vs. Stephen F Austin match, which is scheduled to begin after the Buffs' match (at 6:00 PM MT).

The 2nd round match is also scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM MT.

The winner of the 2nd round match will most likely be headed to Louisville, Kentucky, as the #1 regional seed on the Buff's portion of the bracket is the NCAA #4 ranked Louisville Cardinals.

Go Buffs!

 
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Article after their selection -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2022/11/27/volleyball-punches-ticket-to-ncaa-tournament.aspx

"
BOULDER — For the 21st time in Colorado volleyball history, the Buffs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA announced Sunday night that CU will head to Baylor University in Waco, Texas to play fifth-seed No. 20 Rice (26-3) in the first round on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m. MT. The last time the Buffs reached the NCAA tournament was in 2018, when setter Brynna DeLuzio was a sophomore.

"We've had great success at Baylor before, so it's exciting to be back," DeLuzio said. "We're all really excited about our seeding and who we're matched up against, so we're ready for Waco."

In 2017, CU was selected to play at Baylor in the first two rounds and made it to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating James Madison in the first round and No. 12 seeded Baylor in the second round.

"Obviously we're excited to be in the tournament, no matter where we ended up," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "It was a little anxiety inducing as we were selected in the last quadrant. We're happy to play a great first round opponent and will hopefully have an opportunity to play in the second round as well. It'll be a nice bookend for Brynna. The last time she was [in the tournament] was a long six years ago.

In the other first round match-up, No. 17 Baylor (23-6), which earned a four-seed, will host Stephen F. Austin State University (26-4) Thursday night at 6 p.m. MT.

The winners of Thursday's matches will play on Friday for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Regional competition in Louisville, Ky.

"I'm proud of our team, happy that all their work has paid off, and that we're still playing," Mahoney stated. "There's not a lot of teams that are and we're happy to be one of them."
"
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Initial bracket in Acrobat format - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2022/11/27/2022_Bracket.pdf
 
Preview for Thursday's 1st rounder -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2022/11/28/volleyball-buffs-to-face-no-20-rice-in-ncaas-first-round.aspx

"
BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's volleyball is headed to Waco, Texas for their first round match of the NCAA tournament against No. 20 Rice Thursday at 3:30 p.m. MT.

The appearance marks the 21st time that the Buffs (20-10, 12-8 Pac-12) have been in the NCAA Tournament. The last time CU played in Waco at Baylor University for the post-season was in 2017. That year, the Buffs won their first two matches and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to No. 5 Nebraska.

The last time Colorado made it to the NCAA tournament was in 2018 when the team lost in the first round to South Carolina in five sets.

No. 20 Rice (26-3, 13-1 C-USA) has seven prior NCAA appearances, with this year's appearance being the fifth in the span of five years.

The Owls are led in kills by fifth year middle blocker Anota Adekunle. Adekunle has an impressive .426 attack percentage and is averaging 3.15 kills a set. On the defensive front, she also leads the team in blocks and has 92 total blocks on the year.

The Owls have also found offensive powerhouses in their pair of outside hitters, Sahara Maruska and Danyle Courtley. Maruska has notched 299 kills this season while Courtley has 288. Both are averaging 2.74 kills a set.

Colorado's offense is currently led by outside hitter Maya Tabron. Tabron has 353 kills this season with a .227 attack percentage. Last week, she earned consecutive double-doubles to close out Pac-12 conference play with 10 kills and 13 digs against Arizona and 14 kills and 12 digs against Utah.

Closely trailing Tabron in kills is Colorado's other outside hitter, Lexi Hadrych. Hadrych has notched 341 kills this season for a .235 attack percentage, and she earned 20 kills to hit .395 against Arizona last week.

Middle blocker Meegan Hart is another staple in the Buffs' offense and is currently eighth in the NCAA in hitting percentage at .432. She's 49th in the NCAA in blocks per set at 1.23 and has posted 135 blocks so far this season. CU's other middle blocker, Alexia Kuehl, is averaging 1.10 blocks per set and has earned 121 blocks this year. The 6-7 middle averages 1.67 kills a set and has a .299 attack percentage.

Jill Schneggenburger has also contributed strongly both offensively and defensively for the Buffs. The 6-0 hitter has earned 242 digs this season, only trailing CU's libero, Katie Lougeay, who has 366. Schneggenburger has earned 136 kills this season.

Distributing the offense are setters Taylor Simpson and Brynna DeLuzio. Simpson has earned 867 assists and 214 digs while DeLuzio has 230 digs and 313 assists this season. DeLuzio is a six year graduate student, and she is the only player on the roster that's been to the NCAA tournament as a Buff. Her first tournament appearance took place in Waco in 2017 as a freshman.

The game will be shown on ESPN+. If the Buffs advance to the second round, they'll face the winner between No. 17 Baylor and Stephen F. Austin. That match will be shown on ESPN+ Friday at 6 p.m. MT.
"
 
Congrats to Ms. Hart on being named to the Pac 12 All-Conference team, and Ms. Hadrych for earning Honorable Mention- https://cubuffs.com/news/2022/11/29/volleyball-two-buffs-awarded-all-pac-12-honors.aspx

"
BOULDER — Middle blocker Meegan Hart and outside hitter Lexi Hadrych were both honored with 2022 Pac-12 Women's Volleyball year-end accolades. Hart was selected as an All-Pac-12 team member, and Hadrych earned honorable mention.

The conference honors were determined based on voting by the Pac-12 head coaches, and head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.

Hart has played a crucial role in the Buffs' offense and defense all season long. The 6-2 middle blocker from St. Charles, Ill. ranks eighth in the NCAA for attack percentage with a .432 average and has the highest hitting percentage of any player in the Pac-12. Hart has tallied 272 kills this season, a single season career-high, and earns 2.47 kills a set.

On the defensive side, Hart has proven difficult for her opponents to hit past. Hart is ranked 49th in the NCAA in blocks per set at 1.23 and has posted 135 blocks so far this season, another single season career-high.

This marks the first time Hart has made the All-Pac-12 team. In 2020, she was awarded with a Pac-12 honorable mention.

Hadrych, awarded a Pac-12 honorable mention for the first time in her career, is second on the Buffs in total kills with 341. The outside hitter has a .235 hitting percentage and is averaging 3.19 kills per set. Hadrych has notched at least 20 kills in three matches this season, most recently against Arizona where she earned 20 kills and hit .395.

Hart and Hadrych will both look to increase their stats further in their first round NCAA tournament match against No. 20 Rice Thursday at 3:30 p.m. MT.
...
"

Full Pac 12 release with all of this season's honorees - https://pac-12.com/article/2022/11/29/pac-12-announces-2022-womens-volleyball-postseason-honors
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 
So Brynna said that since she's been at CU forever, she was on the team that last played in the NCAA tournament. Planning on shopping at Magnolia.

Hope they have fun and win!
 
buffgal said:
So Brynna said that since she's been at CU forever, she was on the team that last played in the NCAA tournament. Planning on shopping at Magnolia.

Hope they have fun and win!
Click to expand...
tangent, but I highlighted the word 'Magnolia' in your post > right clicked > Search Google for 'Magnolia' (using Chrome)

and the first results it displayed was the store. I expected to have to refine my search and add the word 'store' but it looks like Google is accounting for the context from which I searched a specific word (or that brand is doing some hella SEO work).
 
Chip and Joanna Gaines. The team went shopping at Magnolia yesterday.

It's very popular with some people, but even I were going to Waco, I would not go there.
 
The Buffs are up 15-14 at the media timeout, but then give up a 10 point scoring run. Rice goes up 2 sets to 1 after a 25-16 3rd set.
 
The last set and a half were NOT pretty, and the Buffs' season ends after Rice wins the 4th set 14-25, with the Owls obviously playing a BIG part in the Buff issues with some great defense, offense and serving. Best wishes to them beating the Bears (if they advance) tomorrow.

Thanks so much to the 7 departing seniors/ grad students for all their work over the years, and all the enjoyment they gave us fans. Best wishes to all the team the rest of the academic year and beyond.
 
After two very competitive sets, everything went downhill.

Hopefully, we can build on this season. Team went dancing. We lose 7 seniors. The freshmen that were red shirted and the incoming freshmen better be good. They have big shoes to fill.
 
Forgot to post the article after the last match of the season -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2022/12/1/volleyball-colorados-ncaa-tournament-hopes-ended-by-rice.aspx

"
WACO, Texas — Colorado women's volleyball fell to No. 20 Rice in four sets (26-24, 24-26, 25-16, 25-14) here Thursday night, losing in the first round in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018.

The Buffaloes (20-11, 12-8 Pac-12) lost in a tough match to the Owls (27-3, 13-1 C-USA) after suffering from long scoring runs made by Rice in the third and fourth sets.

Lexi Hadrych led CU on the offensive end with 20 total kills which ranked second among all players. She also had the best hitting percentage of anyone in the match with an impressive .405. Hadrych added three blocks on defense. Maya Tabron was one kill away from a double-double performance as she totaled nine kills and 17 digs to go along with her two blocks.

Alexia Kuehl recorded five of Colorado's nine total blocks on the defensive end, adding to her five kills. In her second time making the NCAA tournament, Brynna DeLuzio also neared a double-double with eight assists and 11 digs.
...

Colorado Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement...

"First of all, we're excited that we got the opportunity to make it to this event and we've been treated really well since we have been here. Rice is really good. Kudos to them for playing a hell of a match. I felt like the first two sets were really competitive and could have gone either way, but the third and into the fourth, they just wore us out defensively. So the loss is frustrating, but we have a special group this year and they've been through a lot. I'm proud of them for the season that they've had. We lose seven players, and those seven players meant a lot to our program."

On Rice, if they were a part of the Pac 12…

"I think [their play fits] pretty well. We finished fifth in the Pac 12. We're playing USC, UCLA and Washington in a pretty good league and a pretty deep league. So obviously, they pass well, they have a really nice system that they run and they have a setter that can do it."

On returning to the NCAA Tournament…

"Our season was a grind every match. Every match of ours was competitive in our league. Making it to this point, we had to win four of our last five games or whatever it was to get here, and it says a lot. The experience of being here and so many of our players have an opportunity to come back next season. Hopefully this experience will help."

Colorado Setter/Libero Brynna DeLuzio
Thoughts on the match and season…

"Just like [Coach Mahoney] was just saying, I'm just proud of what we've done, given the last couple of years. We kind of have this goal of being back in the tournament, and I think we've done everything in our power to get here so you know, one loss or one game doesn't define us. I think that this season was so special for this group of girls."

On leaving an impression for the returning players next year…

"Well, the younger players got to experience an NCAA tournament, which is kind of the best experience I think you get at that age and just see the grind that it takes to get here. It's a really special group of girls. The relationships that we've been able to form and having this type of chemistry that we've haven't had in a while, really leaves an imprint that this is a group of forever friends."

Colorado Middle Blocker Meegan Hart
On what changed after the second set…

"They're a great team. Defensively, they stepped up in order to get some big swings and it can get frustrating when you know you're not scoring, and you just keep trying to score and score. I think defensively, it's just the speed."

On an impression for the returning players next year…

"I'd say just not letting like past seasons define you. I think this year, whatever's happened in the past doesn't have to repeat this year. So I think about how close we are, and cherish every moment because these friendships last a lifetime, and just hold on to that. You're not going to remember 20 years from now about one ball you hit out or whatever it was; just remember the good moments and the big wins."
"




(Also, wanted to briefly note it looks like Rice lost a 5 set heartbreaker to Baylor in the 2nd round in spite of outscoring the Bears by 11 points overall.)
 
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