BOULDER ? Junior setter Ashley Nu'u tallied a career-high 70 assists as she lead the University of Colorado over Baylor 30-15, 24-30, 30-26, 30-32, 15-8 tonight at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo. The Buffs improved to 6-6 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12; while the Baylor Bears fall to 9-8 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12.
Colorado took off to an 8-5 lead in the first game, but Baylor evened the score at 8-8. The Bears went up 12-10, but three consecutive kills from senior Allie Griffin put the Buffs in control. CU added six more points before allowing Baylor to get the ball back and went up 19-12. The Buffs continued to put points on the scoreboard and took a 28-15 advantage and finished off the match 30-15. CU hit .667 in the frame with 23 kills and held the Bears to .167.
Baylor got off to an 8-2 lead in game two; which caused CU to call a timeout. The Buffs continued to fight back, but the Bears increased their lead to 19-11. CU got within five points, but couldn't stop the Bears. Baylor finished the game 30-24. This time, Baylor hit .257 with 16 kills and held CU to a .079 hitting percentage.
The Buffs got off to an 8-5 start in the third game and forced a BU timeout at 12-7. The Bears continued to close the gap and forced a Colorado timeout at 16-13. CU came out of the timeout strong and continued to put points on the board. A kill from Nicole Carr and an ace from Lara Bossow allowed the Buffs to go up 18-13. Griffin followed up with a kill and Carr combined with Lynsey Mann for a block, forcing BU to use its second timeout of the game. Baylor got back in the game and got within one point at 23-22. A Lauren Schaefer kill gave the Buffs a two point lead and CU pulled away with the game at 30-26.
Colorado got off to a slow start in the fourth game as Baylor took a 5-0 lead. The Buffs fought back and tied the game up at 28. Baylor took the next point, but CU fought off the first game point with a kill from Carr. The Bears took the next two points and the game at 32-30.
The final game saw Baylor take a 4-2 advantage. CU tied things up at 4-4 and a kill by Nu'u gave Colorado a 5-4 lead. Colorado extended its lead to 9-6 and would not look back as the Buffs stampeded to a 15-8 victory to win the match. CU hit .538 in the fifth game with seven errors on 13 attacks and tallied zero errors. Baylor hit .056.
“It's a good win to have and we need it,” Colorado Head Coach Pi'i Aiu said. “This is a nice win to get and we have to start winning some of these at home. It's tough on the road in the Big 12.”
Griffin led Colorado with 22 kills and hit .286. Sophomore Amber Sutherland tied a career-high with 20 kills and picked up a career-best 17 digs. Nu'u directed Colorado to a .273 hitting percentage with a career-high 70 assists. She added seven kills with no errors on 10 attempts to hit .700 and tallied seven digs.
“Ashley's done a great job; it's a real hard thing to play and to keep working hard with that competition and Ashley does it,” Aiu said. “Her work ethic has stayed where it needs to be. She doesn't have anyone behind her. She's still has a lot of learning to do, but she's done a great job.”
The Buffs head to Lubbock, Texas to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-7, 2-4 Big 12) on Saturday, October 8 at 6 p.m. MT.
