Buffs Rattle Rams in Fort Collins

Thursday, September 19

Fort Collins, Colo.

6 PM

Colorado

7-4,0-0Big 12

Colorado State

3-6,0-0Mountain West

Colorado

Colorado St.

September 19, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

This is Colorado’s best performance against CSU on its home turf since a sweep in 2021

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (7-4) defeated the Colorado State Rams (25-23, 18-25, 32-30, 25-20) at Moby Arena in Fort Collins on Thursday night.

After splitting the first two sets, the Rams and the Buffs reached the 30-point mark in set three. Colorado showed grit and determination, taking the third set, 32-30, and earning the win in the last set, 25-20. The Buffs won in four sets, marking its best performance in Fort Collins since sweeping the Rams on Sept. 18, 2021.

"[They are a] really good team in a really tough environment – it's tough to get wins here," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Whoever won that third set was going to win the match […] We had some really good performances. [Morton] coming back was really good and [Simpson] was really good."

Colorado out-killed (60-56) and out-aced (7-4) Colorado State and had them out of system on 63% of its serves.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OPP Lily Dwinell had 13 kills (1e, 26att, hitting .462) on a 50% kill percentage and two blocks on the night. Totaling 14.0 points, this is Dwinell's third match with double-digit kills and fourth with double-digit points.
So. OH Sydney Jordan recorded 17 kills, nine digs and one block, finishing with 17.5 points against CSU. This is Jordan's sixth match this season with double-digit kills and seventh with double figure points.
So. MB Cayla Payne had nine kills and five blocks (one solo) for the Black and Gold, earning 12.0 points. This is Payne's seventh match with double-digit points.
So. DS/L Avery Bolles had 10 digs for the Buffs, her fifth match in the 2024 season ending in double-figure digs and dug 72% of the balls hit at her. She also notched four aces.
So. OH Ana Burilovic had 15 kills, five digs and three blocks against the Rams, totaling 17.5 points. This is Burilovic's 10th match this season with double-digit kills and double-digit points.
Jr. MB Bella Simkus had six kills on eight swings and zero errors on the night (hitting .750).
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton reached 13 digs, seeing her sixth match of the season with double-figure digs. She also passed the ball in system 64% of the time.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson set 51 of the Buffs' kills and had a dig and a block.
Fr. DS/L/S Katie Salonga recorded an ace and a dig while serving the Rams out of system on 76% of her serves.
For the Rams, Malaya Jones had 16 kills, Kennedy Sanford had 10 kills and Kate Yoshimoto had 16 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Neither team could shake the other, as both the Buffs and the Rams were unable to score more than two points in a row for most of the first set (20-20). Colorado went on a 3-0 run to with a kill from Jordan, forcing a Rams timeout. With another two kills, the Buffs closed out set one, 25-23.
Following a Morton ace, the Buffs went on a 4-0 run early in the second, with kills from Burilovic and Dwinell, as well as a Bolles ace (6-2). CSU then went on a 6-1 run to gain a three-point lead, and then scored four-straight (19-13, CSU). Despite kills from Jordan and Burilovic – and a Salonga ace – the Buffs fell in set two (25-18).
Colorado fought hard against the Rams throughout set three, seeing 21 ties and eight lead changes. After going on two 4-0 runs, the Rams were brought back to reality when the Buffs went on a 3-0 run with a kill from Dwinell and a Bolles ace (15-13). When scores reached the 20s, both teams went back-and-forth for quite some time, each reaching 30 points, with Buff kills from Dwinell and Jordan and another Bolles ace. Colorado battled in its last 10 points and took the third, 32-30.
The teams exchanged 3-0 runs to begin the fourth – the Buffs on back-to-back kills from Jordan (6-5). Colorado out-played CSU, earning two points to every one for a stretch and gaining a four-point lead (16-12). The Bovines exchanged blows, but the Buffs had the last say, taking set four on a kill from Payne, 25-20.

UP NEXT:

With the first match behind it, the Colorado Volleyball team looks toward its second match against CSU on Friday, Sept. 20, in the Battle for the Golden Spike. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT on Friday, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links to watch the match are available at CUBuffs.com.
Mahoney on tomorrow's match: "Let's win in Boulder. Let's double it up. That's been tough to do in this series, but I think we can do it this year."

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado moves to 19-27 all-time against CSU and 1-1 in four-set matches.
The Buffs achieve the first four-set win over the Rams in Fort Collins since 1994 and best performance since a sweep in 2021.
This is Colorado's second win over a Mountain West team 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.