Colorado
2-1
Oklahoma
0-3
Buffs Top Sooners, Finish 2-1 In Omni Classic
August 29, 2015 | Volleyball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Anxious to forget their Friday night opener, the No. 24 Colorado Buffaloes made their Saturday one to remember in the Omni Classic.
The Buffs opened the day with a thrilling 3-2 win over ninth-ranked Florida State in a matinee match, rallying from a 2-1 deficit for the win. They then returned to the Coors Events Center for an evening match against Oklahoma and took another five-set victory.
That made Friday night's 3-1 opening loss to San Diego a little easier to digest.
“It was really a great day for for our program and these kids,” CU head coach Liz Kritza said. “To play the No. 9 team in the nation at noon, then what is basically the No. 28 team in the evening, was a great test for us. This tournament was designed to test us early and that's exactly what it did. Our players were resilient and they responded.”
The Buffs were by no means perfect — especially in the opener — but they came back in fine fashion with Saturday's wins.
“We made some mistakes,” Kritza said, “but they're willing to learn and they came back and showed a great desire to succeed. This team is going to be exciting to coach.”
After splitting the first four sets with OU — the Buffs won the second and third sets — Colorado dominated the fifth and deciding set. Colorado jumped out to a 7-3 lead, and while the Sooners managed to narrow the gap to 10-7, the Buff never let OU get closer. Colorado then reeled off a 5-1 run for a 15-8 win to claim the match. Katelyn Cuff, Gabby Simpson and Aidan Lea all had kills in the decisive stretch.
Lea was one of three freshmen to see significant playing time. Lea played a key role as a reserve, Abbie D'Agosta and Naghede Abu both started.
“It was a real interesting blend of some of our experienced players and young players who had never been in this kind of setting,” Kritza said. “It tested their backbone and they responded. They responded really, really well.”
It was Colorado's 12th five-set match against the Sooners in their long history, and the Buffs improved their record to 5-7 in those matches with the win.
After the comeback win over FSU in the afternoon, the Buffs couldn't carry that momentum into Saturday night's finale — at least not early.
Instead, the Buffs lost the opening set for the second time in three matches, as Oklahoma broke away from a 17-17 tie to outscore Colorado 8-3 down the stretch for a 25-20 win. The Buffs led by as many as three early in the set, but their last lead was a 14-13 edge before the Sooners finally took command for good. OU took an 18-17 lead on a Colorado attack error and never trailed again.
The Buffs committed six attack errors in the set — twice as many as the Sooners — and also had four service errors. Oklahoma also proved to be much more effective at the net, finishing the first set with a .440 hitting percentage while the Buffs checked in at just .242.
The Buffs finally found their footing in the second set, but not before falling behind early, as Oklahoma jumped out to a 7-3 lead.
But following a Colorado timeout, the Buffs began to rally and slowly close the gap. A Nicole Edelman kill brought the Buffs to within two, 11-9, and another Edelman kill tied the set at 12-12 a few minutes later.
Then, after the two teams traded points, outside hitter Alexis Austin served up an ace, giving Colorado a 14-13 lead — an edge the Buffs would not relinquish for the rest of the set.
Austin, who had 60 kills in CU's three matches, led the way down the stretch. The senior team captain notched a beautiful tip to give the Buffs a 21-17 edge, then added a big kill to bump CU's lead to 23-18. Oklahoma managed to come back and narrow the gap to 24-22, but the Buffs finally put the set away on a Cuff kill down the middle, with Edelman picking up the assist for the 25-22 win.
The Buffs were much more efficient on the attack in the second set, recording a .400 hitting percentage while the Sooners checked in at just .172. Austin had six kills in the set for the Buffs and Edelman added four.
Austin once again led the way for the Buffs down the stretch in the third set. In a back-and-forth match that saw the Buffs grab an early 7-3 lead before OU rallied, Colorado again took control late. An Austin block broke a 19-19 tie and sparked a 4-0 Buffs run, with D'Agosta recording an ace in the burst and Anna Pfefferle and Austin also each recording a kill.
Oklahoma momentarily stopped the run with a kill from Micaela Spann, but Austin fittingly put the game away with another kill and a 25-20 win, giving the Buffs a 2-1 edge in the match.
Austin had eight kills in the set and Pfefferle added four as the Buffs recorded a .407 hitting percentage in the third set.
But the Buffs were often their own worst enemy, halting runs with service errors or other mistakes.
“Whenever our foot is on the gas, we're unstoppable,” Kritza said. “We just have to make sure we don't let our mistakes kill our momentum.”
That was the case in the fourth set, as the survived a 7-0 Colorado run early to come back and take a 25-21 win. Sooner star Kierra Holst played a big role for OU down the stretch, recording back-to-back kills to give OU a 19-17 lead. Colorado managed to come back and tie the match at 20-20, but the Sooners then outscored the Buffs 5-1 down the stretch for the win.
The Buffs next travel to State College, Pa., for the Big Ten-Pac-12 challenge. They'll face Penn State on Friday and Illinois on Saturday.
