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) have 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, and 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…
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