AMES, Iowa ? The University of Colorado (5-5, 1-4 Big 12) fell 26-30, 28-30, 21-30 to the Iowa State Cyclones (9-6, 3-2 Big 12) on Wednesday night at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The Buffs started out with a 10-3 lead in the first game, but the Cyclones quickly struck back and narrowed the lead to 14-13. Iowa State took a 17-14 lead before the Buffs got back on the board. Colorado got within one at 20-21, but the Cyclones retained the lead and extended it to 25-22, causing CU to use its second timeout of the game. Once again the Buffs got within one, but ISU rallied back and took the game 30-26.Colorado hit just .091 with 12 kills and eight errors on 44 attacks.
The Cyclones got off to a quick start in the second frame, taking a 7-3 advantage. Colorado came back and tied it up at 13 on a block by Allie Griffin and Lara Bossow. The game went back and forth until ISU took a 23-20 lead. Once again the block combination of Griffin and Bossow evened the score at 27, but the Buffs couldn't hang on and fell 28-30. Colorado hit .128 in the game, this time tallying 16 kills.
The third game started off with CU taking a 3-1 lead, but Iowa State quickly jumped back and took at 5-4 lead. The Cyclones increased it to 13-6 before CU called a timeout. ISU increased its lead to 20-10, causing the Buffs to use their second timeout. CU gained momentum and brought the score to 20-25, forcing ISU to call a time out. The Cyclones came back to finish off the match at 30-21. Colorado hit just .047 with 12 kills and 10 errors on 43 attempts while ISU hit .222.
Ashley Nu'u tied a career-high with 11 digs in the effort. She added two kills, 35 assists, three block assists and one ace. Griffin notched 11 kills, nine digs and three blocks while Amber Sutherland recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs. Colorado hit just .146 in the match. The Buffs recorded 41 kills, three aces, 49 digs and nine blocks, while the Cyclones collected 48 kills, five aces, 49 digs and 13 blocks.
The Buffs are back in action against Kansas on Oct. 1 at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The Jayhawks are receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
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