FORT COLLINS, Colo. ? Dre Downs recorded 29 kills as Colorado State University knocked the University of Colorado out the NCAA Volleyball Championships for the third year 30-26, 24-30, 19-30, 27-30 here tonight at Moby Arena at Fort Collins, Colo. The early exit for the Buffaloes is the second straight time CU has lost in the first round.
“It's disappointing again for us to have our season end here again,” Colorado Head Coach Pi'i Aiu said. “But I think we had a great season overall.”
“She (Dre Downs) had a really good night,” Aiu said. “We got stuck in a bad rotation at the end of the match that we've had trouble getting out of all year with her in the front row. Dre had a great match.”
Colorado started the match strong, hitting .464 in the first game, but dropped to a .148 hitting percentage in game two. The Buffaloes hit .214 and .159 in the third and fourth sets, respectively. CU finished the match at .236 while the Rams collected a .309 attack percentage.
Sophomore Amber Sutherland wrapped up a stellar year by leading CU with 14 kills. Seniors Allie Griffin and Nicole Carr played in their final matches for the Buffs. Griffin added 13 kills and hit .345, while Carr tallied five kills and picked up a match-high 13 digs.
The Buffaloes took their first lead of the game at 7-6 and extended it to a five-point advantage at 15-10. Colorado hung on to the momentum and increased the lead to 18-12, forcing CSU to use a timeout. The Rams scored the next eight points and took the lead at 20-18. CU went on a 5-1 run to get back on top at 24-21. Freshman Lauren Schaefer collected two kills in the run for the Buffs. Once again, the Rams tied it up at 26, but a CSU service error gave the Buffs the advantage. CU finished the game at 30-26 with a kill from Griffin.
CU took an early 7-4 lead in game two, but CSU stormed regained the lead. The Buffaloes battled back to tie it up at 20. The two teams exchanged points until the Rams took a 24-23 lead. CSU finished the game on a 6-1 run at 30-24.
The Rams took the first four points before CU was able to put a point on the board in the third set. CSU pulled out to an 8-3 advantage. Colorado scored the next four and forced CSU to take a timeout at 8-7. The Rams pulled out to a eight-point lead at 16-8 and finished the game 30-19. CSU hit a match-high .528 with 22 kills, while Colorado tallied a .214 hitting percentage and notched 12 kills.
Colorado took a 3-0 lead to start the fourth game, but fell behind at 3-4. The Buffaloes regained the lead at 14-3 after three consecutive CSU attack errors. CU extended its lead to 24-21, but the Rams got within one at 26-25. CSU finished the game with the next four of seven points.
“It just started slipping away,” Sutherland explained about game four. “Things were just not going our way.”
The Buffaloes finished the season at 15-13 overall. CU was 10-10 and finished fifth in the Big 12.
