Buffs Sweep Scarlet Knights in The Super Pit

Sunday, September 1

Denton, Texas

11 AM

Colorado

2-1,0-0Big 12

Rutgers

1-2,0-0Big Ten

Colorado

Rutgers

September 01, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (2-1) swept the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (25-12, 25-17, 25-16) in a neutral match in the North Texas Invitational at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas, on Sunday, Sept. 1.

After a difficult loss to the Miami Hurricanes yesterday, the Buffaloes bounced back in heroic fashion and flipped the script on the Scarlet Knights. In an hour and 14 minutes, Colorado sealed the deal in three sets, not letting Rutgers breach 20 points in any set.

"I'm really proud of our team for bouncing back from a tough loss against Miami," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Rutgers played Miami tough and swept North Texas, so I appreciated the mentality that we came into today's match with. Our biggest change was from the serving and defensive standpoint – Sarah Morton in particular, Avery, Ana and Katie. Taylor was fantastic, as she always is, at distributing the ball, especially when went weren't in system."

Sophomore outside hitter Ana Burilovic and sophomore middle blocker Cayla Payne were named to the North Texas Invitational All-Tournament team. Colorado out-killed (31-29), out-aced (8-5), out-dug (27-22) and out-blocked (15-4) Rutgers in the match. The Buffs hit .375 overall, holding the Knights to .071, and led the whole way in sets one and three.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OH Ana Burilovic led both teams with 13 kills (2e, 24att, hitting .458) and had five digs – digging 71% of the balls hit at her – and a block. This is her second game this weekend with double-digit kills and third game leading scoring for the Buffs.
So. MB Cayla Payne totaled nine blocks (three solo) for Colorado, and she had four kills (1e, 9att, hitting .333) and one dig.
Mahoney on Burilovic and Payne: "I thought Ana was out best pin attacker this weekend, especially today, she did a really nice job. Cayla, when we can pass and deliver her the ball, is one of our most physical players. We just have to ball handle a little better to make sure we get it to her."
Sr. S Taylor Simpson recorded 23 assists and the team reached a 50% kill percentage when Simpson set the ball.
So. OH Lily Dwinell ended the match with five blocks, three kills (1e, 6att, hitting .333) and a dig. She also hit .667 on first ball attacks.
So. OH Sydney Jordan had five kills for the Buffs (2e, 13att) and led the team in digs with eight. Jordan had the Knights out of system 80% of the time on her serve.
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton totaled five aces, including three during the third set, contributing to a big Buffalo run. She also had a 19% ace percentage (28 total serves) and kept the opponent out of system 52% of the time on her serve.
Jr. MB Bella Simkus reached three kills with no errors, hitting .600 on the night.
So. DS/L Avery Bolles recorded two aces, five digs and a kill. On her serve, Bolles had the opponent out of system 60% of the time.
For the Knights, Avery Jesewitz led scoring with eight kills and Ally Borellis had five digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Colorado came out of the gate strong, starting on a 4-0 run with a Morton ace and two Payne-Dwinell blocks. The Buffaloes went on to score eight-straight, taking an 11-point lead with kills and blocks by Payne and kills from Burilovic. The Knights tried to temper the Buffaloes but to no avail – CU took the first set, 25-12.
The second set started tighter than the first, with Rutgers taking its only lead of the match, 5-3. The Knights were quickly stopped by a Buffalo 4-0 run, with kills by Jordan and Bolles, and a freshman defensive specialist Katie Salonga ace (7-5, CU). Colorado scored another seven-straight to leap-frog ahead of Rutgers with help from three Burilovic kills in a row and a Morton ace, 16-8. The Knights battled back as best they could, but the Buffs took it, 25-17.
The Buffaloes kept their eyes on the prize in the third set, scoring 10-straight to start, and seeing three more kills from Burilovic, three more blocks for Payne and two more Morton aces. Colorado proceeded full steam ahead, never allowing a lead fewer than six points after the first 10 points were scored (20-14). Three Rutger errors in a row added to the Buffs advantage, and they won the third set, 25-16.

UP NEXT:

The Buffaloes will return home host Buffs Classic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Georgia, Fresno State and Washington, respectively. First serve against Georgia is set for 7 p.m. MT at CU Events Center on Sept. 6. All tournament matches will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links to watch are available at CUBuffs.com.
Mahoney on playing in Buffs Classic: "Georgia and Washington are both big and physical, they can match us in physicality for sure. They're well coached and starting off their seasons well. Fresno State is returning quite a few pieces from their tournament team from last year, so it'll be a good challenge."

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado improves to 2-0 all-time against Rutgers. This is the Buffs first sweep of the Scarlet Knights.
The Buffs end the weekend, 2-1, and move on to their home season opener next weekend.
CU gets it's second win, moving to 1-0 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.