Buffs Fall to Mountaineers in Four

Wednesday, October 23

Boulder, Colo.

7 PM

Colorado

10-10,3-5Big 12

West Virginia

8-11,2-6Big 12

West Virginia

Colorado

October 23, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Junior libero Emilea Stepaniuk led the team with a career high 12 digs

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (10-10, 3-5 Big 12) fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers (8-11, 2-6 Big 12) in four sets (20-25, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25) at CU Events Center on Wednesday night.

In the teams' inaugural meeting, CU took set two with a huge effort from So. MB Cayla Payne and So. OPP Lily Dwinell, 25-23. The Buffs also out-hit the Mountaineers in set one .440-.308. West Virginia took the other three sets, securing its victory over CU, 3-1.

This is Colorado's sixth match of the season with more team blocks than the opponent (11.0). It is also the sixth match this season with double-digit team blocks.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. DS/L Emilea Stepaniuk had a career high 12 digs, digging 64% of the balls hit at her, and topping her last career high of 10 at Oregon last season (Nov. 5, 2023).
So. MB Cayla Payne finished with 10 kills (2e, 19att, hitting .421) and five blocks. This is Payne's seventh match with double-digit kills and 13th with double-digit points.
So. OPP Lily Dwinell recorded 12 kills (3e, 23att, hitting .391) and four blocks. She also picked up two digs, and this is her ninth match with double figures in kills.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson recorded her fourth double-double of the season, eighth of her career, with 30 assists 11 digs.
So. OH Ana Burilovic had 10 kills and led the team in aces with three, keeping the opponent out of system on 69% of her serves. She also had three digs and two blocks (one solo). This is her 17th match with double-digit kills.
So. DS/L Avery Bolles forced the opponent out of system on 75% of her serves, recording two aces, and Jr. DS/L Emma Torstenson had an ace (serving 75% out of system) and passed in system 55% of the time.
Sr. MB Bella Simkus had three blocks (one solo) and a dig, and Fr. DS/L Katie Salonga served the opponent out of system on 64% of her serves.
For the Mountaineers, Hailey Green led both teams with 19 kills and Lauren DeLo had 13 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs were slow out of the gate in the first set as the Mountaineers went on a 4-0 run early (7-5, WVU). Colorado saw kills from Simkus and Payne to keep the Buffs in the set after another West Virginia 3-0 run (13-9, WVU). CU gained some momentum in the middle of the first set, matching the Mountaineers point for point, with kills from Payne, Jordan and Burilovic (19-15, WVU). West Virginia was able to respond with another 3-0 run (22-15, WVU), but the Buffs kept the Mountaineers on their toes with another point-for-point series (24-19, WVU). Despite a strong effort from Colorado and kills by Dwinell and Payne, West Virginia's defense secured the first set for the Mountaineers, 25-20.
Colorado was ready to fight back in the second set, beginning with two 3-0 runs to take the lead (7-3, CU). Kills from Simpson and Payne kept this momentum going, with a powerful kill from Dwinell leading another 3-0 run for the Black and Gold, (13-8, CU). The Mountaineers were not ready to surrender the set, responding with a 6-0 run (17-17), but the Buffs came out on top with another 3-0 run, (20-17, CU). The teams continued this battle to the end, with a solo block from Burilovic bringing the Buffs to a second set victory, 25-23.
West Virgina came out strong for the beginning of the third set, but a kill by Dwinell ended the Mountaineers' serving streak. Back-to-back kills from Burilovic concluded another 3-0 run for the Buffs (4-3, CU). Payne and Dwinell were able to stop a comeback from West Virginia, powering forward into the set (5-4, CU). Blocks from Jordan, Simkus and Simpson kept Colorado in the game, with a kill from Jordan closing the gap (13-11, WVU). While the Buffs continued to fight the Mountaineers point-for-point, West Virginia ultimately took the set, 25-17.
The Buffs and the Mountaineers began the fourth set with a back-and-forth showdown until the Mountaineers scored four-straight (15-10, WVU). The Buffs saw kills from Payne, Jordan and Burilovic as well as a Simpson-Simkus block, but weren't able to come away with it and dropped the set, 25-17.

UP NEXT:

The Buffs will play one more match at home this week against No. 21 BYU on Friday at CU Events Center. First serve against the Cougars is set for 7 p.m. MDT on Oct. 25. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, and links to watch the match are available at CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado moves to 0-1 all-time against West Virginia in the inaugural meeting between the Buffs and the Mountaineers.
CU moves to 10-7 against unranked opponents this season.

Under ninth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, Colorado earned a winning record in the 2023 season (16-15) and went 8-12 against Pac-12 opponents. A significant win for the Buffs took place against 17th-ranked Arizona State last year. The Buffs took down the Sun Devils in three sets, completing the sweep and earning CU's only win against a ranked opponent in the 2023 season. Colorado also swept Arizona (Oct. 20) and Washington (Nov. 19) and finished seventh in the Pac-12.

For more information on the Colorado volleyball team, please visit cubuffs.com/vb. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffsvb on Instagram, X, and Facebook.