BOULDER ? Sophomore middle hitter Allie Griffin had a match-high 21 kills to lead the University of Colorado to a 30-22, 30-21, 32-34, 30-19 Big 12 Conference victory over Iowa State Saturday night at the Coors Events Conference
Center.
The Buffaloes improve to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12. Iowa State falls to 7-7, 0-4 in league play.
Griffin showed that Wednesday night's career-best 27 kill performance against Texas A&M was no fluke, by leading all players with 21 kills against the Cyclones. She also hit an outstanding .447 for the match, recording her 21 kills on 38 attempts with just four errors.
CU pulled away from Iowa State late in each of the first two games to claim victory. Game one was tied at 20, before the Buffs scored six-straight off the serve of freshman Austin Zimmerman. Griffin and senior Monique Gerlach each had a pair of kills as the Buffs outscored Iowa State 8-2 to end the game.
In game two, the Buffs led 19-17 when they once again rattled off six straight points to put the game out of reach. Iowa State hit -.053 in the second frame, recording just eight kills and 10 errors on 38 attempts.
Iowa State took advantage of numerous CU errors in game three, allowing the Cyclones to win a game in Boulder for the first time since 1995. CU held a 29-27 lead but responded with three consecutive attacking errors to put ISU up 30-29. The Buffs hit -.063 in game three with 19 attack errors and only 15 kills on 64 attempts.
"I think we had a little lapse in game three," Gerlach said. "But I think we played really well for the most part."
CU did play well in game four, getting up on the Cyclones early and cruising to a 30-19 decision. The Buffs hit .325 (19k-6e-40att) in game four, by far their best performance of the evening.
"We can't muddle through this league," CU head coach Pi'i Aiu said. "Any team in the Big 12 can beat any other team. We have to learn to play our best all the time."
Gerlach finished with 13 kills and had a team match high 15 digs. Zimmerman also recorded a double-double ending with 10 kills and 10 digs.
CU will continue Big 12 action on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at No. 7 Nebraska at 6 p.m. MST in Lincoln, Neb
