Buffs Defeat Golden Bears In Four

BERKELEY, Calif. - The Colorado women's volleyball team (16-14, 8-11) defeated the University of California Berkeley (16-14, 5-14) in four sets (25-10, 16-25, 25-19, 25-23) here Wednesday.

Maya Tabron led Colorado to their win with 17 kills in 32 attempts to hit .375. Skyy Howard was the only other Buff to hit double-digit kills with 10 in 18 attempts, hitting .500. Lexi Hadrych led CU in blocks with four while also earning nine kills, and Taylor Simpson recorded 40 assists.

As a team, the Buffs earned 52 kills with a .235 hitting percentage, while California hit a close .212, recording 41 kills.

"Great road win today, even though we weren't always at our best," said head coach Jesse Mahoney. "We had some great runs from the service line and made defensive plays at crunch time when it mattered. Looking forward to turkey tomorrow and a trip to Utah."

Colorado will look for another win on the road against Utah on Friday at 3:00 p.m. MT.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE: The Buffs jumped to an early lead of 7-2 to force California's first timeout. A mid-set 5-0 scoring run increased Colorado's lead to 16-7 off of Tabron's fourth kill of the match. The Buffs didn't slow down there, despite another timeout by the Bears, as two service aces from Avery Bolles brought the lead to 23-9 with a 4-0 scoring run. CU went on to take set one 25-10.

SET TWO: Colorado started things off with an early lead of 3-0; however, the Bears responded with their own 5-0 scoring run to take their first lead of the match at 5-3. Colorado struggled to regain their advantage as California took control of the set, increasing their lead to 11-6 and forcing the Buffs' first timeout. Colorado was unable to overcome the Bears as they fell in set two 16-25.

SET THREE: Similarly to the first two sets, the Buffs started things off with a 3-0 lead. Colorado regained their advantage, going on a 4-0 scoring run off of an ace to increase the lead to 13-5. Two service errors by CU brought it to a three-point set at 15-12. Colorado fought strong and kept their lead intact at 21-16 late in set three off of a pair of kills from Lily Dwinell and Hadrych. Back-to-back kills from Cayla Payne closed out set three for the Buffs at 25-19.

SET FOUR: The fourth set remained close the entire time and consisted of 14 ties between the two opponents. The teams traded points evenly back and forth at 3-3 until California took over with a 3-0 scoring run to take the advantage at 5-3. Payne's fifth kill of the match tied things back up at 7-7. After neither team gained more than a one point lead, California went on a 3-0 scoring run, putting the Buffs at a 3-point deficit at 19-16, forcing a timeout by Colorado. CU responded with a 3-0 scoring run to get back within one at 21-20. An error by the Bears gave Colorado the lead at 23-22 as the Buffs went on to take set four 25-23.

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Team Stats

Maya Tabron

Skyy Howard

Lexi Hadrych

Lily Dwinell

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Lexi Hadrych

Skyy Howard

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Lexi Hadrych

Skyy Howard

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron