Sunday, October 8
Boulder, Colo.
12:00 PM
Colorado
9-4,1-1
3
vs
2
Oregon State
5-7,0-2
1
2
3
4
5
F
Oregon St.
25
21
19
25
11
2
Colorado
16
25
25
20
15
3
Morgan Riddle digs a ball vs. OSU.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Hadrych's Offense Led Buffs' Five-Set Win Over OSU
October 08, 2023 | Volleyball
BOULDER - The Colorado Women's Volleyball team (10-7, 2-4 Pac-12) won in five sets (16-25, 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 15-11) against the Oregon State Beavers (5-11, 0-6 Pac-12) here Sunday afternoon in the CU events center.
Despite losing the first set, Colorado fought hard and was able to pull themselves back up in sets two and three to secure the wins. A tough fourth set challenged the Buffs; however, they got the job done in set five and showed out when it mattered most.
The Buffs were once again led by outside hitter Lexi Hadrych in kills as she posted 18 on 33 attempts with a .424 hitting percentage.
Cayla Payne was also a leading contender in Colorado's victory, earning nine kills on 12 attempts with a .583 hitting percentage. Skyy Howard led the defensive front in blocks with a total of 11.
Ana Burilovic played an important role as she racked up four aces to help the Buffs bounce back after a tough first set and clinch the win in set two.
Colorado will look to start a winning streak as they face off against the University of Washington Huskies on Oct. 13 at 8:00 p.m. MT as well as the No.4 Washington State Cougars on Oct. 15 at 1:00 p.m. MT.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: The teams traded points evenly back and forth for the beginning of set one until the Beavers took a five-point lead of 14-9 off several Buff errors. The duo of Howard and Tabron created a block to give OSU their first error while Hadrych led Colorado with five kills; however, the Buffs were not able to return the lead as they fell to the Beavers 25-16.
SET TWO: The Buffs trailed to the Beavers' early lead in set two, but Colorado closed the gap after a four-point run and a Buff block from Howard and Dwinell to put the Buffs back within one point of OSU. Colorado regained their lead after another block from the same duo to make the score 16-15. A triple set of aces from Burilovic forced an OSU timeout, and a 6-1 scoring run for the Buffs gave them the set at 25-21.
SET THREE: Colorado posted an early lead of 9-5 after a Buff block from Simpson and Payne. The Buffs produced a four-point run to make the score 16-9 and never looked back, producing five aces throughout the set. Four Buffs produced double-digit attacks, including Hadrych, Howard, Dwinell, and Tabron. The Beavers could not respond as the Buffs took set three with a six-point win of 25-19.
SET FOUR: A close start to the set had the teams trading points but gave a slight lead to the Beavers at 10-7. Payne posted her eighth kill with a .545 hitting percentage to maintain a close score of 12-8. The Buffs posted a four-point scoring run to keep things alive and bring the score to 24-20; however, Colorado lost the set 20-25 to the Beavers.
SET FIVE: The Buffs posted important points early on while Hadrych earned her first block of the day to take a starting lead of 5-2. Colorado hung on to their lead for the remainder of the match and secured the win 15-11.
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement
"There are no bad teams in this league, and Oregon State played really well. They hit 330 for the match. That being said, we have not played a volleyball set as bad as that first set all season. And that really just comes down to me not preparing our team in the right way to play volleyball, so I will take full responsibility for that. Kudos to our team for regrouping, and in Set 2 from the middle of that set through the rest of the match I thought was perfect. Unfortunately, we gave away the first one, so we had to enter the fifth set. But we played well at the end, and I hope that we use this as a learning experience to understand some of the things we talk about day in and day out in terms of making the most of our practice opportunities. And the the knowledge that the margins on this game are really thin and when we have an opportunity to be disciplined, we need to take it. So I'm happy for the win, but we have some work to do, especially going on the road against a top 10 team (Washington St. and another top 30 team (Washington)."
Outside hitter Lexi Hadrych
On Changes Between Sets 1 & 2
"We just had to make a change because that first set was not us. And we said we have to restart our mentality. We must get the energy going because that first set does not reflect how we should play. So we just had to change our mentality about that."
On hitting over .400
"I think we got into a groove of getting good passes and good sets, and Taylor can locate us like no other. She just put it up there. I think we both did a really good job of just doing our jobs and hitting the ball."
Middle blocker Cayla Payne
On Changes Between Sets 1 & 2
"It just really was an individual game for every person in the first game. We weren't really playing together as a team. And I think, as Lexi said, a mentality change needed to happen, and it needed just to be everyone getting 1% better and doing their job, and I think we ended up doing that but still taking it to a fifth set. We didn't, you know, execute how we should have executed."
On hitting over .400
"Yeah, a big focus of mine has been hitting high hands, especially on my slides. And so with Taylor finding me and just being able to locate that set really well, it's been just easier."
Despite losing the first set, Colorado fought hard and was able to pull themselves back up in sets two and three to secure the wins. A tough fourth set challenged the Buffs; however, they got the job done in set five and showed out when it mattered most.
The Buffs were once again led by outside hitter Lexi Hadrych in kills as she posted 18 on 33 attempts with a .424 hitting percentage.
Cayla Payne was also a leading contender in Colorado's victory, earning nine kills on 12 attempts with a .583 hitting percentage. Skyy Howard led the defensive front in blocks with a total of 11.
Ana Burilovic played an important role as she racked up four aces to help the Buffs bounce back after a tough first set and clinch the win in set two.
Colorado will look to start a winning streak as they face off against the University of Washington Huskies on Oct. 13 at 8:00 p.m. MT as well as the No.4 Washington State Cougars on Oct. 15 at 1:00 p.m. MT.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: The teams traded points evenly back and forth for the beginning of set one until the Beavers took a five-point lead of 14-9 off several Buff errors. The duo of Howard and Tabron created a block to give OSU their first error while Hadrych led Colorado with five kills; however, the Buffs were not able to return the lead as they fell to the Beavers 25-16.
SET TWO: The Buffs trailed to the Beavers' early lead in set two, but Colorado closed the gap after a four-point run and a Buff block from Howard and Dwinell to put the Buffs back within one point of OSU. Colorado regained their lead after another block from the same duo to make the score 16-15. A triple set of aces from Burilovic forced an OSU timeout, and a 6-1 scoring run for the Buffs gave them the set at 25-21.
SET THREE: Colorado posted an early lead of 9-5 after a Buff block from Simpson and Payne. The Buffs produced a four-point run to make the score 16-9 and never looked back, producing five aces throughout the set. Four Buffs produced double-digit attacks, including Hadrych, Howard, Dwinell, and Tabron. The Beavers could not respond as the Buffs took set three with a six-point win of 25-19.
SET FOUR: A close start to the set had the teams trading points but gave a slight lead to the Beavers at 10-7. Payne posted her eighth kill with a .545 hitting percentage to maintain a close score of 12-8. The Buffs posted a four-point scoring run to keep things alive and bring the score to 24-20; however, Colorado lost the set 20-25 to the Beavers.
SET FIVE: The Buffs posted important points early on while Hadrych earned her first block of the day to take a starting lead of 5-2. Colorado hung on to their lead for the remainder of the match and secured the win 15-11.
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement
"There are no bad teams in this league, and Oregon State played really well. They hit 330 for the match. That being said, we have not played a volleyball set as bad as that first set all season. And that really just comes down to me not preparing our team in the right way to play volleyball, so I will take full responsibility for that. Kudos to our team for regrouping, and in Set 2 from the middle of that set through the rest of the match I thought was perfect. Unfortunately, we gave away the first one, so we had to enter the fifth set. But we played well at the end, and I hope that we use this as a learning experience to understand some of the things we talk about day in and day out in terms of making the most of our practice opportunities. And the the knowledge that the margins on this game are really thin and when we have an opportunity to be disciplined, we need to take it. So I'm happy for the win, but we have some work to do, especially going on the road against a top 10 team (Washington St. and another top 30 team (Washington)."
Outside hitter Lexi Hadrych
On Changes Between Sets 1 & 2
"We just had to make a change because that first set was not us. And we said we have to restart our mentality. We must get the energy going because that first set does not reflect how we should play. So we just had to change our mentality about that."
On hitting over .400
"I think we got into a groove of getting good passes and good sets, and Taylor can locate us like no other. She just put it up there. I think we both did a really good job of just doing our jobs and hitting the ball."
Middle blocker Cayla Payne
On Changes Between Sets 1 & 2
"It just really was an individual game for every person in the first game. We weren't really playing together as a team. And I think, as Lexi said, a mentality change needed to happen, and it needed just to be everyone getting 1% better and doing their job, and I think we ended up doing that but still taking it to a fifth set. We didn't, you know, execute how we should have executed."
On hitting over .400
"Yeah, a big focus of mine has been hitting high hands, especially on my slides. And so with Taylor finding me and just being able to locate that set really well, it's been just easier."
Team Stats
ORE
COL
Kills
71
53
Errors
25
17
Attempts
135
125
Hitting %
.341
.288
Points
81.0
80.0
Assists
68
48
Aces
2
9
Blocks
8.0
18.0
Game Leaders
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
11
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Players Mentioned
Volleyball: Splitsies! | This Week in Colorado Volleyball - Oct. 21, 2025
Tuesday, October 21
Volleyball: No. 24 Colorado vs. West Virginia Highlights - October 18, 2025
Saturday, October 18
Volleyball: Colorado vs. Utah Highlights - October 15, 2025
Thursday, October 16
Volleyball: Home Again, Home Again | This Week in Colorado Volleyball - Oct. 14, 2025
Wednesday, October 15