Spikers Fall To No. 8 Washington In Four

Friday, November 18

Boulder, Colo.

8:00 PM

Colorado

13-14, 5-12Pac-12

Washington

23-4, 13-4Pac-12

Washington

Colorado

November 18, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Final Stats: UW 3, CU 1

By: Alejandra Zepeda, SID Student Assistant

BOULDER—Colorado put up a fight against No. 8 Washington on Friday night and was able to push the game to four sets, but in the end, fell short, 3-1 (25-23, 25-13, 21-25, 25-15).

Sophomore Alexa Smith led the way for the Buffs with 14 kills and nine digs while Washington's Crissy Jones led the Huskies with match-highs of 18 kills and 22 digs. With the loss, CU falls to 13-14 overall and 5-12 in the Pac-12 while UW improves to 23-4 and 13-4 in Pac-12.

WHAT HAPPENED: Playing without Gabby Simpson, the Buffs played at a high level for what head coach Jesse Mahoney called "80 percent of the match," and chalked up the Buffs struggles to "some rotation issues." Along with Smith, senior Cierra Simpson led the Buffs' defense recording a team-high 18 digs.

SET 1: Early in the first set Colorado and Washington had nine score ties. The Huskies' breakthrough came after a 4-0 run to lead the game at 14-9, prompting CU to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Buffs recorded a 5-1 run to tie with Washington at 14 points. UW, however, did not want to give the set away and in turn had a 6-3 run to take the lead at 20-17. From there, the Huskies jumped to a 24-20 lead. The Buffs rallied a three-point run to bring the set within a point. On the last play of the set, UW recorded a kill to win the set 25-23.

SET 2: Continuing from the momentum of the last set, UW quickly took the lead at 7-3. From there, UW recorded five points with no answer from the Buffs (12-4). CU tired to cut the lead, but was overpowered by the Huskies. When Washington was leading 18-9, Colorado called their first time out in an attempt to rally. UW then cruised to a second set win 25-13.

SET 3: Early in set three, the Huskies took an 8-4 lead. Colorado responded with a 5-2 run to knot the game at nine points. CU then pushed its lead to 18-15, prompting a timeout from Washington. The Huskies were able to cut down CU's lead but Colorado did not want to give up the set. Katelyn Cuff's kill sealed the third set for the Buffs (25-21).

SET 4: The Buffs kept their momentum from the previous set and jumped to a 7-3 lead, forcing an UW timeout. Washington recorded a 6-2 run after the break to tie the score at nine points after which CU called a timeout. The Huskies were able to jump ahead afterwards (18-14) before Colorado used its second timeout. UW took charge of the rest of set four and defeated the Buffs 25-15.

TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .188 with 47 kills and 20 errors on 144 attacks, while Washington hit .294 with 65 kills and 20 errors on 153 attacks. CU recorded 44 assists to UW's 61. The Huskies out-dug with 70 to CU's 59. Colorado had four blocks while Washington recorded 10.

NOTABLE: The Huskies now lead the all-time series against the Buffs, 11-3, and UW takes its first match in Boulder since 2012. In 2013, the Buffs knocked off the top-ranked Huskies and then in 2014, CU beat No. 2 Washington in five at the Coors Events Center … Washington improves to 12-1 on the road this season … CU falls to 9-5 at home this season … Cuff hit .556 with five kills on nine swings with no errors … Kiara McKibbin added 23 assists and four digs while Marie Zimmerman had 13 assists and six digs.

NEXT UP: Colorado hosts Washington State for Senior Day on Sunday at Noon before traveling for the last pair of conference matches, at Arizona State on Wednesday Nov. 23 then at Utah on Friday, Nov. 25 to close out the regular season.

QUOTABLE:
COACH JESSE MAHONEY
On Today's Match
"We played 80 percent of the match at a really high level. We have some rotations where we struggled to side out, and we had gotten stuck in set two. In set two we got stuck in that, missed 10 or 11 points, kind of our season in a nutshell. We would play really well, and then would play really bad."