Buffs Defeat Beavers In Five Sets

Corvallis, Ore. - The Colorado women's volleyball team (14-10, 6-7) defeated the Oregon State Beavers (9-14, 4-8) in five sets (17-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 15-9) Friday night.

The Buffs' offense played a huge role in tonight's win, with Maya Tabron, Skyy Howard, and Ana Burilović leading the way for Colorado as all three of them earned double-digits in kills.

Junior setter Taylor Simpson also played an important role in tonight's win, recording 44 assists.

Tabron was the top contender for the Buffs, producing a season high of 18 kills in 44 attempts to hit .318, as well as earning 12 digs and four blocks. Howard posted 12 kills in 21 attempts to hit .476 while also recording an incredible 12 blocks. As a team, CU recorded 55 kills while achieving a .270 hitting percentage.

"Great to get a road win in the Pac-12 against a team that has been peaking recently," said head coach Jesse Mahoney. "Our ball handling and block came alive in set 4, and we were dialed in for set 5. We had a lot of great performances but this might have been Skyy's best as a Buff!"

The Buffs will look for another win on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. MT against the No.7 Oregon Ducks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SET ONE: An early block from Howard kept the Buffs within a point of the Beavers at 3-2. Oregon State held an early lead for the beginning of set one; however, CU fought hard and remained within two points. The Beavers went on a 3-0 scoring run to take a lead of 16-12, forcing a CU timeout. The Buffs came back from that to go on a 3-0 scoring run, bringing the match to 18-15 off of a block from Simpson to force an OSO timeout. Colorado played strong for the remainder of the set, but still fell to the Beavers 25-17.

SET TWO: The Buffs jumped to an early lead of 3-2 before losing their lead as a tip from the Beavers tied the match at 3-3. The teams traded points evenly until Oregon State gained a slight lead. Howard's fifth kill of the match kept the score within two at 11-9. A kill from Burilović tied things up at 13-13 to force a timeout from the Beavers. A Buff block from Tabron and Cayla Payne kept things alive before a kill from Tabron gave Colorado a late lead of 21-20. The Buffs did not look back as they took set two 25-23.

SET THREE: It was a tight battle with an early lead from the Beavers at 5-4. The Buffs fought back and went on a 3-0 scoring run to tie things up at 11-10. Howard earned another kill to keep the lead alive at 13-12. The Beavers went on a 3-0 scoring run, forcing a timeout by Colorado, however; the Buffs bounced back to stay within two at 18-20 late in set two. Colorado continued to fight, but ultimately fell to Oregon State 25-21.

SET FOUR: The Beavers jumped to an early lead of 3-1 before Colorado quickly bounced back to tie things up at 3-3 off of an Oregon State service error. A kill from Burilović gave the Buffs the lead at 8-7. An ace by Simpson kept the lead alive with a score of 13-11, followed by a 3-0 scoring run and a block from Howard with a continued lead of 15-11. Colorado did not stop there as they continued to increase the lead to 17-11, forcing a timeout by the Beavers. A 3-0 scoring run gave the Buffs the win in set three at 25-18.

SET FIVE: Colorado stayed strong through the beginning of set five with an early lead of 8-3. Although Oregon State went on a 3-0 scoring run, Colorado did not back down and increased the lead to 10-5. Tabron's 18th kill of the match brought the lead to 14-9, leading to a win by the Buffs at 15-9.

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Team Stats

Maya Tabron

Skyy Howard

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Players Mentioned

Ana Burilović

Skyy Howard

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron

Players Mentioned

Ana Burilović

Skyy Howard

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Maya Tabron