Colorado
Stanford
Buffs Fall to No.4 Stanford
September 24, 2023 | Volleyball
CU drops their first conference match.
BOULDER – The Colorado Women's Volleyball team (9-4) dropped Sunday's match to No. 4 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
The Buffaloes didn't back down from the Cardinal, putting up at least 20 points in each set. Outside hitter Lexi Hadrych led the team in kills with 10, while CU's other outside hitter, Maya Tabron, was right behind her with nine. Hadrych also led Colorado with three blocks.
Skyy Howard had a .444 hitting percentage on her way to five kills, and she continues to lead the Buffs on the year in hitting percentage.
It was Stanford's Kendall Kipp who paved the way to a 3-0 sweep for the Cardinal. She had 18 kills while hitting .379 on the afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE:
The Cardinal jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead before the Buffs responded and got within two at 10-12 off a Stanford hitting error. CU used their first timeout of the match at 20-15 after a CU hitting error. The Buffs sided out with a Tabron kill, her third of the first set.
The Buffs got within a two-point margin again, trailing 20-22 after an ace from Avery Bolles and a kill from Howard, causing the Cardinal to use their first timeout of the set. Stanford responded with back-to-back kills to put them at set point before taking the set 25-20 with an ace.
SET TWO
Colorado took their first lead of the match at 4-3 off a kill from Hadrych. The Buffs managed to extend their lead to 7-4 with Taylor Simpson at the service line before a kill from Elia Rubin ended the Buffs' run.
Cayla Payne earned back-to-back blocks to put the Buffs up 12-8. Stanford responded with two kills and their own block to put the Cardinal within one, causing CU to use their first timeout. Hadrych earned a kill after the timeout to end Stanford's run for a 13-11 CU lead.
The Cardinal tied up the set with their own pair of blocks before getting an ace to take their first lead of the set at 14-13.
The Buffs and the Cardinal were neck-in-neck the rest of the set, with four ties. Stanford managed to break away to reach 23-20 after winning a challenge that resulted in an ace for the Cardinal. A kill from Hadrych held the Cardinal at set point, but Rubin ended the set 25-21 in favor of the Cardinal.
SET THREE
Like the other two sets, the two teams remained close throughout the game. Stanford took an early lead at 5-3 before the Buffs tied it 5-5 with a Tabron kill and a Stanford attack error.
The Cardinal took back their lead, but the Buffs remained within a two to three point range throughout the first half of the set. Stanford earned their largest lead of the game at 16-11. A kill from Alexia Kuehl ended the Cardinal run.
The Buffs got back within two points to trail 15-17. However, Stanford maintained control and extended their lead to 19-15 for CU to call their first timeout. A kill from Hadrych on an out-of-system play put the Buffs at 16-20.
Stanford was able to keep their lead through and took the set 25-20 with a final kill from Sami Francis to end the match.
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
Opening Statement
"First of all, Stanford's obviously a very good team and favored to get to the Final Four. So we knew today's match was going to be a challenge. But those are the types of matches that I think athletes really enjoy when you have to be competitive. You have to play your best, you get to see a measuring stick of where you're at, and I was really proud of our efforts and execution. I thought we played a lot of really good volleyball, and the little things on the margins, you can't get away with against a team like that. And that was really the difference. I thought certainly, the second set and even a little bit into the first set, we were doing a lot of good things until the endgame, and they just kind of pulled away. I am encouraged that we're playing better volleyball today than earlier in the preseason. And we have to trust that process and continue to improve because there's 80 more matches left, and we've got a long road. We got to continue to head in the right direction."
On moving forward and playing in LA
"I think every match in this conference is is hard. Whether it's on the road or whether they're at home against a Top 10 team or Top 20 team. That was the only bright spot that came out of this match. We know what we need to do; when we don't do it, we lose the point against Stanford. There are some other teams we played early in the season where we could not execute our system and still win the point. So seeing that comparison is a positive that came out of it. Our serve and pass game was great this weekend, and it must be good on the road. Even though Stanford passed exceptionally well, I like what we're doing from the service line. I feel better this week than last week about where our team is, and I think our team should also feel that way. And we'll need some confidence going up against the LA schools, that's for sure."
Outside Hitter Maya Tabron
On the feeling on the court
"The difference I would say is that Stanford just commands the court. They know what they're doing. They have a lot of returners. They just bring this energy that is hard to match, and they play well to support it. I think on our side of the net, we didn't do the best job actually matching that, so the next time we're moving on to the rest of the Pac-12 we're going see a lot of teams like that too. We need to go into the mindset that we can meet them even if they are a top five Top 25 team."
Preparing for this weekend on the road
"With traveling, it's really tough to go and play somewhere else. So it's going to be kind of a big reset today and tomorrow for recovery. I think on the court we just need to practice to be more disciplined, like Skyy said earlier, we need to fall back on our technique, and keep pushing through practices like that. Then as soon as we get to the LA games, we have to make it click."
Middle blocker Skyy Howard
On the feeling on the court
"Bouncing off [what Maya said] I think they're a very steady team and are very steady with their play with what they're doing. I think that we were up and down a little bit just with what we were doing, not necessarily energy but with technique and stuff. I feel like once we figure that out in terms of how we can be steady in our game and not let the other side of the court affect how we play and what we do, then I think this is a good start. I think they showed us a lot that needed to be shown as well as allowed us to put some good things into play."
Preparing for this weekend on the road
"I think just really focusing on this weekend and practice. I think being competitive with each other is going to be a big thing for us not to be surprised by anything else that gets us. I think us pushing each other is really going to help us this upcoming weekend."
