Volleyball Buffs Fall to Hurricanes in Three

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (1-1) fell to Miami in three sets (25-22, 25-11, 25-11) in a neutral match at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 31.

The Buffs played three sets against the Hurricanes, including a competitive first set, staying neck and neck with Miami the whole way. Colorado was ultimately unable to comeback in the second two sets. The team totaled 21 kills, 18 assists, 29 digs and two service aces.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OH Ana Burilovic led scoring for the Buffs with eight kills (2e, 20att, hitting .300), continuing her momentum from yesterday's match against UNT. She also had six digs.
So. MB Cayla Payne reached six kills (2e, 15att, hitting .267) .
Three Buffs had five or more digs on the night; Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton came away with seven, So. DS/L Avery Bolles had five and Burilovic managed six.
Morton had both Colorado's aces, one in the first set and one in the second.
For the Hurricanes, Ava Carney led scoring for both teams with 14 kills, and Grace Lopez had 12 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Miami took an early lead in the first set with a 5-0 run (8-3). The Buffs were able to tie it up in a 4-0 run with two kills from Burilovic and one from sophomore outside hitter Lily Dwinell (12-12). The Hurricanes managed another 3-0 run and gained a four-point lead to bring the score to 20-16. Colorado closed the gap, getting within one (23-22) but Miami took the first set, 25-22.
The Buffs struggled early, unable to defend a Hurricane 5-0 run (7-4). Miami forced both Colorado timeouts on an 8-0 run (20-10) and took the second set, 25-11.
Though the Buffs saw big kills from Payne and Burilovic, the third set mirrored the second with Miami taking an early lead off a 4-0 run (8-3). The Hurricanes ran away with it on another 4-0 run (16-6) and took the third set, 25-11.

UP NEXT:

The Buffaloes finish off the North Texas Invitational on Sunday against Rutgers. First serve is set for 12 p.m. CT/11 a.m. MT. This match will not be streamed, but fans can follow along with the live stats at cubuffs.com under the match on the Volleyball page.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs fell in their inaugural meeting with the Hurricanes, falling to 0-1, and splitting their matches so far this weekend.
Colorado gets their first 3-0 loss, moving to 0-1 in three-set matches on the 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.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Sydney Jordan

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne