Colorado
3-1,0-0Pac-12
Northern Colorado
1-3,0-0Big Sky
Buffs Sweep Northern Colorado on the Road
August 31, 2023 | Volleyball
GREELEY – The Colorado Women's Volleyball team (3-1) swept the Northern Colorado Bears (1-3) 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 for their first win away from the CU Events Center this season.
Coming off a tournament win last weekend at home, the Buffs earned their third win and sweep of the 2023 campaign. It marks the fourth straight win against the in-state opponent and the first ever in Greeley.
The graduate transfer from North Carolina, Skyy Howard, put her skills on display all night long. Howard posted a season-high 10 kills, but started the match with a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage for her first nine kills. She ended the night with a .909% hitting percentage on 11 total attempts and four blocks, leading the team in that category for the third-straight match.
Howard tied the school record for single-game hitting percentage of .909, going for 10 kills in 11 total attacks. She is just the second Buff to reach the .900 club in a single-game, joining Alyssa Valentine who did it during the 2011 season, also recording 10 kills in 11 attempts. Skyy's single-game hit percentage is now currently the third-highest across the nation to start the 2023 season.
Team leader in kills for the 2022 season, Maya Tabron, had a .391% hitting percentage with 11 kills, tying a season-high. First year Avery Bolles set a season and career-high in service aces with four on the night. Taylor Simpson contributed 23 assists to the Buffs' standout win.
"Any win on the road is a good win, and a sweep is even better," head coach Jesse Mahoney commented after the match. "In each set, we had a couple of very good serving runs that created some separation, and we were able to hold the lead at the end of each set. Skyy was really efficient when we got her the ball, and Maya was steady in all phases. We have a quick turnaround now for a very good Xavier team."
CU returns home to play Xavier tomorrow night at 7 p.m MT in their first match of the Colorado Classic. They will square off against Charlotte Saturday night at 6 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE:
After being down 4-8 early in the set, CU scored 10 of the next 12 points and never looked back. Howard was superb, earning five kills in just as many attacks along with a block. The Buffs out-hit the Bears with a .462 hitting percentage compared to UNC's .360 attack percentage.
SET TWO:
It was a back-and-forth battle for the two teams, until Colorado pulled away thanks to back-to-back aces from Bolles, who extended the lead to three at 12-9. Despite having the same amount of kills as UNC in the set, CU was able to notch a win by minimizing their hitting errors. They out-hit UNC with a .385 attack percentage compared to the Bears' .308 percentage.
SET THREE:
Colorado scored five consecutive points to make it 9-4 early in the third set, in large effort to some mistakes from the Bears, a kill from Tabron, and service ace from CU libero Morgan Riddle. Tabron led the team with four kills. Lexi Hadrych closed out the set at 25-22 with a pair of kills, giving the Buffs their third consecutive sweep over their last three opponents.
