Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
7-20, 2-15
Kansas State
11-17, 5-13
Wildcats Top Buffs In Three
November 21, 2009 | Volleyball
MANHATTAN, Kan. —The University of Colorado volleyball team played a very hard fought match Saturday afternoon against the Kansas State Wildcats before ultimately losing the match in three sets (25-21, 25-15, 25-16).
“Today was a tough day for this program, but as we do with every challenge, we approached it as an opportunity,” Colorado head coach Liz Kritza said. “A few players were called upon to carry a different load with a pair of our key starters being unable to play today due to injury.”
With the loss, the Buffs fall to 7-20 overall and are 2-16 in the Big 12 while KSU improved to 11-17 overall and 5-13 in the league.
Despite being shorthanded, the gritty Buffs managed to play a very competitive match with the Wildcats as they kept all three sets close for large stretches before hitting dry spells at the end of each set.
“When you encounter challenges like this as a team, you get to see players tested in different roles and really show what they are made of,” Kritza said. “Despite the tough road loss, there were bright spots today that revealed that we have some strong character, a good sign as we continue to work diligently to build this program.”
The Buffs came out slow to start the match falling behind 0-6 in the first set before getting on the scoreboard. The slow start proved to be too much to overcome in the first set as CU managed to cut the lead to two points on numerous occasions but were able to get no closer than 21-23, before eventually losing the set 21-25.
“We were able to close a lead on them later in the first set through some very solid defense and excellent effort to play within our system to put forward a competitive showing in that one,” Kritza said. “But overall we simply did not have enough today at times.”
In the second set, the Wildcats came out strong again, jumping out to an early 8-3 lead making the Buffs play catch up all game long. CU had a few rallies but eventually came up short as K-State ended the match strong to win the set 25-15.
The match clinching set proved to be the most competitive of the three early on, as it was tied 10-10 and was close throughout the rest of the game until K-State went on a 5-0 run to end the match with a 25-16 final set win.
The Buffs were led by Katie Evanyo as she recorded eight kills in the effort. Defensively Kerra Schroeder led the way with a team high 14 digs and finished with the team's only solo block. Kaitlyn Burkett and Megan Cyr shared setting duties. Burkett handed out 17 assists and Cyr added 11.
Colorado takes the floor next on Wednesday, November 25, at the Coors Events Center when it hosts Texas A&M at 7 p.m. The Buffs will close out the home portion of the 2009 season and honor their lone senior, Burkett, on senior day against the Aggies.
And don't forget to check out the latest news and highlights with head coach Liz Kritza on the Buffalo Stampede: Volleyball Edition, exclusively on BuffsTV at CUBuffs.com/volleyball. New shows air every Tuesday.
COLORADO BUFFALOES
