Buffs Fall To Utah In Five

SALT LAKE CITY - The Colorado women's volleyball team (16-15, 8-12) fell to Utah (11-19, 6-14) in five sets (26-24, 16-25, 25-18, 26-28, 11-15) in their final regular season match.

Senior outside hitter Maya Tabron lead the team in kills with 15, but Lily Dwinell and Alexia Kuehl also achieved double-digit kills with 13 and 10 respectively. Kuehl set a personal season high in kills while also achieving a .471 attack percentage.

Middle blocker Skyy Howard also had an impressive day with nine kills and nine blocks.

Libero Morgan Riddle set a new career high in digs with 21. She now leads the team in the most digs earned in a single game this season.

Although each set was close between the two squads, Utah ultimately had slightly better stats than the Buffs to take the match. Utah earned 60 kills compared to the Buffs' 57 and the Utes had 10 aces versus CU's six. Colorado struggled to shut down the Utes' Lauren Jardine who achieved 20 kills to hit .224.

With the completion of the regular season, Colorado will wait for the NCAA's selection show on Sunday at 4 p.m. MT to learn if their season will continue.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SET ONE: The two teams traded points evenly until Utah went on a three-point run to lead 14-11. Colorado went on a six-point serving run with Tabron on the end line to lead 18-17. The two teams battled back and forth until Utah regained a two-point lead at 22-20 as Colorado utilized its first timeout. Utah reached set point first at 24-22, but the Buffs held off the Utes' victory with a four-point run to win the set 26-24.

SET TWO: Utah took an early 10-4 lead when CU called their first timeout. The Buffs responded with a kill from Alexia Kuehl to trail 10-5, but Utah quickly sided-out. Utah extended their lead to 20-11. Colorado was unable to close the lead as Utah won the second set 25-16.

SET THREE: Colorado took an early 11-6 lead by hitting .333 while holding Utah to a .000 attacking percentage in the beginning of the set. Utah got within one point at 15-14, but the Buffs quickly expanded their lead to 22-15, forcing Utah to use their first timeout. CU close out the set 25-18.

SET FOUR: The Buffs jumped to a 4-0 lead with Taylor Simpson on the serving line, causing Utah to call its first timeout early. CU went on another four-point serving run with Avery Bolles at the end line, expanding their lead to 14-7 by the time the Utes ended the run. Back-to-back blocks from Utah and a Colorado attack error caused the Buffs to use their first timeout at 14-11. Tabron ended the run with her 12th kill. Two consecutive aces from Utah tied the teams at 17-17. A Utah attack error and a Colorado pair of kills put CU up 20-17. The two teams battled back and forth before Utah closed out the set 28-26.

SET FIVE: The fifth set continued to be an all out battle, with six ties taking place throughout the course of the set. Utah had a one-point advantage as the teams switched sides at 8-7. The Utes expanded their lead to 11-8 before a kill by Tabron ended the run. Colorado forced a Utah attack error for the Utes to use their first timeout with a 11-10 lead. Utah responded after their timeout with three consecutive kills to lead 14-10. A kill from Skyy Howard held off match point, but Utah closed out the match 15-11.

Team Stats

Maya Tabron

Lily Dwinell

Alexia Kuehl

Skyy Howard

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Skyy Howard

Alexia Kuehl

Morgan Riddle

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Skyy Howard

Alexia Kuehl

Morgan Riddle

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron