Washington Pushes Through Colorado in Four

SEATTLE, Wash. — Things began in the favor of the University of Colorado women's volleyball team Friday evening in Seattle, but the tides turned as No.13-ranked Washington powered its way past No.23 Colorado in four sets (23-25, 25-20, 20-25, 16-25).

It was a tale of two halves, all beginning with a first set dropped by the Buffs. Colorado had a lead late in the opening set and let that slip from them, but they rallied back to take the second set in a tight-niche match. The first half tale was summed up as a tight battle with more than a dozen CU blocks compared to six Washington aces. Both teams had similar kills, attacks and digs, with CU owning less attack errors with less attack attempts.

The second half was a turn for the home squad. CU added just three more blocks in the next two sets combined, while Washington went off for 18 kills in each set with CU mustering only 13 kills in both sets combined. The Huskies' serving and Colorado's passing was the major difference, as Washington put down a dozen aces and consistently put the Buffs out of system and scrambling. Washington had 23 more kills that CU in the final two sets and 25 more attack attempts, virtually pounding the ball through CU's blocks for the win.

Despite the loss, numerous Buffs came out early in dominant fashion. Danielle Price had nine blocks through two sets, while Alexa Smith had nine kills. Both would only be allowed to add a single more tally to their respective stat lines the rest of the match. Brynna DeLuzio finished with a team-high 15 assists while Jenna Ewert added 13.

Defensively, Anyse Smith joined Price with six block assists while Alexa Smith added five and Naghede Abu and Lauren Dorrell chipped in four blocks apiece. In the backrow, Justine Spann had a team-high 10 digs, with DeLuzio finishing just a dig shy from a double-double.

Washington's outside weapons were part of the difference, with Sam Drechsel earning 18 kills from the outside and Kara Bajema with 16. The Huskies defense was also putting a lot of the CU attacks back in the air effectively, led by Shayne McPherson with 18 digs and Bajema with 11.

"I'm definitely proud of the effort we put out, especially in the first three sets," said Head Coach Jesse Mahoney. "I feel like the first set could have gone either way, we gave up 11 points in serve/pass and outhit Washington and found a way to lose that one. That being said, when the ball was in play I thought we did really good things, especially blocking wise in the first several sets. Sets three and four Washington got into a real groove offensively and we struggled to slow down their attack on the right side. I thought we served well enough to get them out of system, just didn't convert on some transition opportunities that we had. It's a really good team in a really good home environment and we will learn from it and move on to Washington State."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SET 1: The Buffs came out and found themselves down 4-2 early in the first set. A run of five-straight points was sparked and led to a 7-4 CU lead while forcing a Washington timeout. Each team opened with serving troubles with six service errors in the first 14 points. It was a quick change as Washington put down back-to-back aces to tie the match at 11 apiece. Serving was the story of the beginning of the match, with 40 percent of all points coming from service errors through the first 25 points. Washington went on a four-point run to take the lead 17-15 and force a CU timeout. A pair of blocks tied it back up at 18 apiece, and a kill later forced the Huskies into a timeout. CU came out swinging, taking a 22-20 lead. The Huskies clawed back to tie the match at 23 apiece. A net violation from setter Brynna DeLuzio gave Washington set point, with Washington finishing it off one point later. Washington closed out the set on a four-point run.

SET 2: CU took the lead at 2-1 off of a crazy ricochet save to keep the point alive. Washington took five-of-six points to retake the lead at 7-5. CU went on a run of its own to take a 9-7 lead in a back-and-forth match. Alexa Smith was quickly beginning to state her dominance with eight kills. The Buffs were also hitting outstandingly with nine kills, no errors and a .692 hitting percentage. CU was also flexing up front with eight blocks thus far. A 15-12 lead led to a Huskies timeout. Washington tied it back up at 15 apiece, but CU was on a mission to tie up the set and took an 18-16 lead. The Huskies stormed back again, taking the lead in a 19-18 second set. Like the rest of the set, that didn't last long with a mirage of CU blocks and a new leader at 21-19. The Buffs extended their lead to 23-20. Colorado reached set-point one play later, finishing it off with an Anyse Smith kill.

SET 3: The Buffs jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the third set. Washington's Samantha Drechsel led the Huskies back into it and to a 9-7 lead. She led the match with 11 kills. Washington scored five of the next six points for a 14-9 lead. UW continued to rally, pushing the lead to 20-14. Washington hit set-point at 24-18, closing out the set at 25-20. The Buffs struggled with only seven kills in the set and a hitting percentage of .130. Washington mustered up 18 kills and a .333 hitting percentage with Drechsel going off for eight kills in the set.

SET 4: Washington started off to a quick start with a 5-1 lead. The Dawgs continued to pound the ball with a 11-5 lead. Aces and kills were the difference, with Washington tallying eight more aces and 15 more kills than CU. The Huskies continued to power their way through the Buffs, leading 16-9 before CU called a timeout. Washington reached match-point at 24-16, finishing off the Buffs on the next point.

UP NEXT:
The 23^rd ranked Buffs head to Pullman, Washington, to take on the team ranked right ahead of them in Washington State. The match is set for 12 p.m. (PT) and will be streamed on Pac-12 Plus. The Cougars won tonight in a five-set match against No.25 Utah in a match Washington State took the first two sets in. The Cougars are led by a veteran lineup that features five seniors and two juniors.

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Team Stats

Alexa Smith

Naghede Abu

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Lauren Dorrell

Jenna Ewert

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann

Players Mentioned

Naghede Abu

Brynna DeLuzio

Lauren Dorrell

Jenna Ewert

Danielle Price

Alexa Smith

Anyse Smith

Justine Spann