BOULDER ? Colorado dropped a three-game match to No. 8 Texas, 21-30, 30-32, 22-30, on Saturday night at the Coors Events Center in front of a season-high crowd of 1,408. Amber Sutherland led CU with 16 kills and Mallori Gibson had 10 kills.
“I think Texas did some real nice things that we weren't ready for and I think we have to be ready all of the time,” head coach Pi'i Aiu said. “Our kids kind of thought that some of the balls they were hitting were going down and they didn't.
“I think we played better this time than the first time we played them.”
The Buffs hit .193 on the night, recording just 45 kills. Texas hit .325 with 55 kills. Lauren Schaefer added eight kills and Alex Buth tallied six. The Longhorns were led by Ashley Engle with 15 kills. Engle left the match in the second game due to an injury, but came back in the third.
With the loss, CU falls to 12-8 overall and 8-5 in the Big 12. The Buffs are currently tied for fourth in the Big 12 standings with No. 16 Missouri. CU also fell to 8-3 at the Coors Events Center.
Texas held CU to a .054 attack percentage in the first game. The Buffs recorded 12 kills but also recorded 10 errors on 37 swings. The Longhorns hit 15 kills and just five errors on 39 attacks. Sutherland led CU in the game with five kills and four digs.
Colorado led for most of the second game, but was unable to close it out as UT won 32-30. Gibson hammered eight kills and Sutherland tallied seven as the Buffs collected 22 kills and hit .378.
“We had our opportunities in the end (of game two) for sure,” Aiu said. “I can think of a couple of mistakes that we made, but Texas made a couple of mistakes too.”
In the third game, CU struggled out of the gate. CU hit .108 with 11 kills. Sutherland recorded four kills, while Gibson and Schaefer added a pair each.
Colorado picked up 35 digs in the match, 12 coming from Callie Webster. Sutherland missed another double-double with seven digs.
The Buffs stay at home for a match against Kansas State on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start.
--COLORADO VOLLEYBALL--
