BOULDER – The 22nd-ranked Colorado volleyball team (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) fell to No.8 ASU (22-3, 13-1 Big 12) in five sets (25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 15-12) at CU Events Center on Saturday, nov. 15.
The buffs went down 2-0 early to the Sun Devils, but fought back in two powerful, gritty sets to force a fifth. the match featured 25 tie scores and six lead changes, with CU maintaining the lead for much of set five. The Black and Gold fell narrowly in the fifth set, 15-12.
“I was realy happy with our week, just in general, from what we did in practise and what we did on Thursday [against TCU],” head coach Jesse Mahoney stated. “This was some really good volleyball on both sides, obviously, but certainly on our side. all season, we’ve fought really hard, and our backs have been against the wall [before].we’ve found a way to respond, and we did that today. We didn’t quite get over the finish line, and they just had a player that we knew was coming. We couldn’t stop it. But I’m really happy with where we are as a team heading into the last third of our season.”
The Buffaloes out-blocked (16-10) and out-aced (8-4) the Sun Devils. Colorado hit .607 in the third set while holding ASU to .167 hitting in the third.
KEY PLAYERS:
* Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic matched her season-high in aces with five. She also tallied 28 kills, hitting .382 (7e, 55 att), five digs and three blocks, including two solo blocks. This is her 12th match this season with 20 or more kills.
* So. MB Maria Splawska matched her career-high in blocks with nine. She also recorded six kills, hitting .667 (0e, 9att), two digs and one assist.
* Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell recorded a career-high in blocks with eight. She also saw five kills,seven digs,one ace and one assist.
* Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan tallied her sixth double-double of the season, 12th of her career, with 12 digs and 10 kills. She also tallied two blocks (one solo) and one assist.
* Sr. S Rian Finley recorded 41 assists, eight digs, two aces and one kill.
* Jr. MB Cayla Payne scored 13 kills, hitting .444 (1e, 27att), four blocks (one solo block) and two digs.
* Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton recorded six digs and five assists.
* So. DS/L/S Katie salonga tallied four assists and one dig.
* Fr. S Audrey Asleson recorded three assists and one dig, and So. PIN Gwen Schiff saw one block.
* For the Sun Devils,Noemie Glover recorded 31 kills and 10 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
* The Buffs a
Colorado Buffaloes Volleyball Falls to Arizona state in five-Set Thriller
TEMPE, ariz. – The No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team suffered a hard-fought 3-2 loss to Arizona State on Sunday, November 17, 2023, at the CU Events Center. Colorado moves to 17-12 overall and 9-9 in conference play, while Arizona State improves to 15-14 and 7-11 in the Pac-12. The match, played before a season-high crowd of 2,736, was a back-and-forth battle that saw both teams trade sets.
Set-by-Set Recap:
* Set 1: Arizona State took the first set 25-22. Colorado responded with a kill from Splawska after the first timeout (19-17, ASU). Three unanswered points by the Buffaloes forced a second ASU timeout (23-19, ASU). A Burilovic kill, assisted by asleson, brought the Buffs within striking distance, but Arizona State ultimately closed out the set.
* Set 2: Arizona State secured the second set 25-22.
* Set 3: Colorado rallied to win the third set 25-18. The teams initially traded points, with key kills from Payne, Dwinell, and Burilovic (10-10). A solo block by Payne and a Payne-Burilovic block forced an ASU timeout (12-10, CU). Burilovic continued her strong performance with a kill and an ace, alongside a Splawska-Dwinell block, extending Colorado’s lead (19-13, CU). Two more kills from Burilovic sealed the set for the Buffaloes.
* Set 4: Colorado won the fourth set 25-21. The Sun Devils started strong with four unanswered points, but a kill from Payne halted their momentum (15-14, CU). A Burilovic ace prompted an ASU timeout (18-16, CU). Payne delivered a crucial kill for set point, and a solo block by Burilovic finished the set.
* Set 5: Arizona State edged out Colorado 15-12 in the decisive fifth set. Burilovic opened with a kill (5-3, CU), and Colorado went on a four-point run, including two aces from Finley (9-5, CU). Arizona State mounted a comeback, tying the score at 12-12 after a Colorado timeout. Despite a battle, Arizona State secured the final three points to win the match.
Key Statistics:
* Colorado recorded 16 blocks to Arizona State’s 10.
* The Buffaloes had 8 aces compared to the Sun Devils’ 4.
* Burilovic led the Buffs in scoring with a dominant performance throughout the match.
* Payne and Splawska also contributed significantly with key kills and blocks.
Match Notes:
* Colorado now holds a 13-16 all-time record against Arizona State.
* this was the Buffaloes’ first 3-2 loss of the season,moving their record in five-set matches to 6-1.
* The attendance of 2,736 was the largest crowd for a Colorado volleyball match this season and the 17th largest in program history. It was also the largest crowd at the CU Events Center since September 16, 2022.
Up Next:
The No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes will conclude their conference road trip with matches at West Virginia on November 19th at 4:00 p.m. MT and at Cincinnati on november 21st at 4:30 p.m. MT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+,with live stats available on CUBuffs.com.
Sources:
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