Buffs Reverse Swept By CSU

Thursday, September 14

Boulder, Colo.

7:00 PM

Colorado

6-2,0-0

Colorado State

5-4,0-0

Colorado St.

Colorado

CU huddles after a Rams' kill.

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

September 14, 2023 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Courtney Huck, Assistant SID

BOULDER — The Colorado Women's Volleyball team (6-3) fell in five sets (25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 13-15) to the Colorado State Rams (6-4) Thursday night in the CU events center.

It was a back-and-forth battle between the two rivals, as the Buffs took the first two sets, but the Rams bounced back and completed the reverse sweep to complete their first win in Boulder since the 2019 season, which was also in five sets.

Outside hitters Lexi Hadrych and Maya Tabron once again led CU in kills. Hadrych had 16 kills with a .256 hitting percentage, and Tabron had 15 kills while also hitting .256.

Despite the loss, the Buffaloes posted a season-high 17 blocks with first year Cayla Payne posting a career-high six of her own, while team leader Skyy Howard tallied five on the night. Howard led the team with a .478 hit percentage, with 13 kills on 23 total attacks.

Malaya Jones played a big role for CSU, registering 21 kills for the Rams and nine digs to come roaring back from an 0-2 deficit.

Arizona transfer Emery Herman made her presence felt on the court tonight, logging a double-double with 52 assists and 14 digs.

Colorado will get another crack at Colorado State tomorrow night in Fort Collins, where the winner will claim the Golden Spike trophy for the 2023 season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SET ONE:

CSU jumped out a 9-5 lead off several Buff errors, getting four points in a row. From there, the Rams maintained their lead until the Buffs went on a three point scoring run to get within one at 17-18, forcing CSU to use their first timeout.

The Rams' offense proved tough for the Buffs to stop early in the set, with CSU hitting over .300 at one point, but the Buffs made their comeback with several key defensive stops late in the set. By the time the Buffs had a 22-20 lead, CU was hitting .259 while CSU was attacking at .258 — the first time CSU had a lower attack percentage than the Buffs in the set. CU held their lead and ended the set 25-23.

SET TWO:

In the second set, blocking made a huge impact in CU eventually winning the set 25-23. Once again, the Rams took an early lead, with their largest lead coming at 7-2. From there, the Buffs responded and slowly chipped away at the lead to get within one at 7-8.

The Buffs earned back-to-back blocks to take their first lead of the set, and cause CSU to use a timeout at 15-13. The Rams managed to gain a small lead late in the set, but three Buff blocks in the span of six points gave CU set point at 24-23. A CSU ball handling error handed Colorado the set at 25-23.

SET THREE

All of the third set proved to be a point-for-point battle, and the largest lead margin didn't come until the end of the set when the Rams were up 24-20. A CSU service error extended the Buffs' life, but a CU hitting error gave the Rams their first set win of the night.

SET FOUR:

The Rams continued their momentum into the fourth set, taking a 10-6 lead and causing the Buffs to take their first timeout. CU responded immediately with a Tabron kill. CSU kept their lead until Hadrych's 12th kill of the night tied things up 12-12. The Buffs earned their first lead at 15-14 with a block from Tabron and Payne.

CSU recovered quickly with a three-point run that was ended by their own serving error. Colorado St. maintained their lead and got to 21-20 until a solo block by Hadrych, followed by a setter dump by Taylor Simpson put the Buffs within one with a Rams' lead at 21-20, causing CSU to utilize their first timeout. The Buffs evened things up at 21-21 with an ace from Avery Bolles. The two teams traded points until a Buff error, followed by a CSU kill, ended the game 26-24.

SET FIVE

The fifth set continued to be an intense battle between the two squads. A crucial challenge came from the Buffs on an out-of-bounds call that had originally gone in CSU's favor. The overturned call tied the teams at 7-7, and the Buffs responded with a Hadrych kill to lead by one as the teams switched sides.

CSU responded with a vengeance though with outside hitter Annie Sullivan earning two of the Rams' next three points. CU used their first timeout, and Hadrych ended the scoring run with her 16th kill of the night with the Buffs barely trailing at 10-9. The two teams fought hard until the end of the match when a CSU kill and a CU hitting error ended the set 15-13, and CSU walked away with the five set victory.

QUOTES

Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening statement

"That's a really good team, and I thought they played really well. We didn't deserve to win the first two sets with the way we played. Given the fact that we were up 2-0, it's frustrating to be swept in three. We had essentially three positions at a zero or negative [hitting percentage] and you can't win matches that way. We have to find a way to generate points that aren't just our lefts because as the match went on, they slowed down our left side attackers. We were slow to make adjustments as a staff, and I don't think we put our players in the best position down the stretch, especially in that fifth set. All that being said, I still feel like we have a lot of talent on this team. We have three losses, and I don't feel like we've played particularly well in any of those three. We know that we can play better. So that's a positive. It's a quick turnaround, and it's going to be in a really hostile environment [tomorrow at CSU]. If we don't get in the right mental state for tomorrow, it's going to be a struggle for us.

On the adjustments for tomorrow

"We have defensive blocking systems and defensive systems, and we try to put our players in positions to be successful. I think we can do a little bit better job of that. I think we can execute those things a little bit better. They hit .280 and I don't feel like that's representative of how good a defensive team we can be. We know what's coming for the most part. They made a couple changes and we'll have to adjust to that but we'll be good to go."

Outside hitter Maya Tabron
On what she felt went well in the match and what needs to improve tomorrow

"I would say learning to adapt. The first two sets we didn't play our best, but we still were able to snag wins. Then, after that, they started doing stuff that we expected, but we weren't executing our systems enough to actually earn those points back. Tomorrow, resetting, saying we're gonna play better, we're gonna do better as a team energy wise, and we're going to execute better technique-wise on the court are all crucial."

Middle blocker Skyy Howard
On what she felt went well in the match and what needs to improve tomorrow

"I think this was more us than them. They did a lot of things that we expected them to do, and we just didn't execute our systems. I'm upset because I think we've prepared well this week. I think the energy was good in the gym. The energy was good with the whole team, and it just sucks to see that we couldn't execute what we had been working on and what we had expected to be coming. We know what's coming. We have to come in the right mindset tomorrow and lock in."

On how she'll shake off the loss and prepare for different result

"I think we need to use this as an opportunity. We are lucky that we get to play them again. That wasn't just one time, so I feel like we need to prove what Colorado can do."