Buffs Fall to Rams in Four

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (9-2, 0-0 Big 12) fell to Colorado State (6-4, 0-0 Mountain West) in four sets (25-11, 21-25, 21-25, 24-26) at CU Events Center on Friday, Sept. 19.

The Buffaloes played nonconference in-state rival Colorado State in the Battle for the Golden Spike. Colorado won the first set by 12 points and played three more close sets with the Rams but ultimately lost in four.

"I thought that it was a good, competitive match," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "I was excited about the way we started the match. We had great energy, and we were doing a lot of the things we had prepared for. We played well enough to win set four, and I felt like we could have got it to five, we just didn't quite execute on some things."

Colorado out-hit (50-49), out-assisted (46-43), out-dug (57-53) and out-aced (9-7) Colorado State. The Buffaloes held the Rams to .000 hitting in the first set.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic recorded a season-high 22 kills, as well as four digs, two blocks and one ace.
Sr. S Rian Finley saw 41 assists, six digs, two kills, two aces and one block.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton led the match in digs with 19. She also had two assists.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan saw eight digs, seven kills and three aces.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne earned seven kills, four blocks, including one solo block, and two digs.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell recorded nine kills, six blocks, one dig and one assist.
So. MB Maria Splawska earned four blocks, four digs and two kills.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal saw 13 digs and one assist.
Fr. MB Olivia Grenadier saw one block and one kill.
So. DS/L Katie Salonga recorded three aces, and Fr. S Audrey Asleson recorded one assist.
For the Rams, Brenna Rowland and Maria Brun recorded 10 kills each.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Colorado Buffaloes started the first set with an overpass kill from Grenadier (1-1). Colorado went on a 4-0 run, which saw three kills from Jordan, polluting the Rams' energy (9-4, CU). Another set of four unanswered points forced a Rams timeout, but the Buffs came back to the court to continue their run with a Burilovic kill (17-6, CU). Back-to-back aces from Salonga helped form a 12-point lead over CSU (20-8, CU). The Black and Gold ended the set with a 14-point lead (25-11, CU).
Colorado saw a slower start to the second set, but a kill from Burilovic tied the score (7-7). Another Burilovic kill put an end to a run from CSU. Following a four-point Colorado State run, CU called their first timeout (14-9, CSU). An ace from Salonga fixed the momentum for Colorado (16-12, CSU). An ace from Burilovic put the Buffs within two (19-17, CSU). A tricky setter dump from Finley held off the win for the Rams, and a Splawska-Dwinell block forced a CSU timeout (24-21, CSU). Ultimately, the Buffaloes were unable to continue looting points, and Colorado State took the second set (25-21, CSU).
The Black and Gold saw another slow start to the third set and called an early timeout (10-3, CSU). Colorado came back from the timeout to get back-to-back kills from Payne and Jordan (11-7, CSU). CU continued their comeback with a solo block from Payne (14-13, CSU). Colorado State was forced to call a timeout when Colorado tied the score (14-14). Colorado called its own timeout after the Rams went on a three-point run (21-18, CSU). The Buffaloes continued to battle, seeing kills from Burilovic and Dwinell, but the Rams took set three (25-21, CSU).
Set four saw a change in energy as Jordan scored back-to-back aces for the Buffs (3-0, CU). Colorado saw four unanswered points from the Rams with a pair of blocks from Dwinell and Payne (7-1, CU). A kill from Finley put CU at double the points of CSU (12-6, CU). The Buffs called a timeout as the Rams attempted to even the score (13-11, CU). Kills from Splawska kept Colorado in the lead (15-12, CU). CSU was forced to call a timeout after two Colorado points (21-19, CU). Colorado called its own timeout and returned to the court to tie the set with a Burilovic kill (23-23), but the Rams won the final set, 26-24 (CSU).

UP NEXT

The Buffs open conference play on the road next week against BYU and Utah. Colorado's match against the Cougars is Sept. 25, and first serve is set for 6 p.m. in Provo, Utah. The Black and Gold will also take on the Utes at 1 p.m. on Sept. 27 in Salt Lake City. The matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.
MAHONEY ON THE TEAM: "This team is still hungry and feels like they can compete at a high level because they have done it […] We just have to continue to do it."

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 19-30 all-time against the Rams.
Colorado had more kills (50-49), digs (57-53), assists (46-43) and aces (9-7) than Colorado State.
The Buffaloes got their first 3-1 loss of the season and are 1-1 in four-set matches.

For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Audrey Asleson

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Olivia Grenadier

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Players Mentioned

Audrey Asleson

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Olivia Grenadier

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga