Buffs Fall to Cougars in Four at Home

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (10-11, 3-5 Big 12) fell to the 21st-ranked Brigham Young Cougars (13-6, 6-3 Big 12) in four sets (13-25, 19-25, 25-22, 23-25) at CU Events Center on Friday night.

The Buffs competed hard with the Cougars, falling just a half a block behind on the defensive end (14.5) and taking set three, 25-22. CU saw improvement over the course of the match, and nearly forced a fifth set, but BYU came away with it, 3-1.

"In sets three and four we played well enough to win, but we made some critical errors down the stretch, and BYU is a very good team, being big and physical," head coach Jesse Mahoney said after the match. "We played some new kids tonight, tried to get out of the hole we were in for the first two sets, which I thought was a success. We are still making some mistakes we need to clean up if we want to win matches like that, but the last two sets were a step in the right direction."

This is the 14th match this season that the Buffs have out-aced the opponent (8-4), and CU kept BYU out of system on the serve 67% of the time. This is Colorado's seventh match with double-digit blocks.

KEY PLAYERS:

Fr. MB Maria Splawska had a career high four blocks and three kills in her debut.
Coach Mahoney on Splawska: "[Splawska] is a really good player that's played in a lot of high-level international competition, played in the junior national team in Poland. Unfortunately, we didn't have her for most of August, so she's having to work her way into our systems and getting comfortable. The best thing that she does is block, and I thought she did a nice job of that tonight. […] It was good to have her come in and provide a spark."
So. OH Kendall Meller finished the night with five kills and a career high seven blocks.
So. OPP Lily Dwinell had 10 kills and two blocks. This is her 10th match of the season with double digit kills. She also picked up one ace.
So. MB Cayla Payne recorded nine kills and eight blocks (one solo), and Sr. S Taylor Simpson had 36 assists and eight digs.
So. OH Ana Burilovic recorded 13 kills and picked up three aces. This is her 18th match with double digit kills, and she had BYU out of system on 79% of her serves.
Coach Mahoney on Burilovic: "The best thing Ana did tonight was serve. She had 13 kills and was good in two sets, but she did a really nice job from the service line. […] She definitely got them out of system. She did a really nice job there, and we need that from her."
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton finished with 11 digs. This is her 13th match of the season with double digit digs.
For the Cougars, Brielle Kemavor led both teams with 14 kills and 12 blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Colorado started the match strong but were met by a steady defense from the Cougars. Colorado saw blocks from Dwinell, Payne and Burilovic to put an end to BYU's point streak (7-2, BYU). Despite a strong BYU offense, powerful kills from Payne, Jordan, Dwinell and Burilovic kept the Buffaloes in the game. After a timeout at 18-8, the Black and Gold came back to the court with momentum, seeing a block from Payne and Simpson to put Colorado on a 4-0 run (18-12, BYU). CU's energy forced the Cougars into another timeout. Despite strong efforts from the Buffs, BYU took the first set, 25-13.
Set two began with a season debut for freshman Maria Splawska, making her first kill at 9-8, and bringing the Buffs to an early lead. After a timeout at 15-10, the Buffs were able to break through the Cougar defense with a kill from Meller. The Buffs saw a kill from Payne to keep the flow, with a kill from Meller completing a 3-0 run for the Buffaloes (20-18, BYU). Colorado responded to a strong BYU offense with a double block from Splawska and Meller but ultimately fell to the Cougar offense in the last few points of the second set (25-19).
The Buffs arrived in the third set determined to change the game, with a powerful kill from Burilovic starting off the set (1-0). The Buffs saw a power-duo block from Meller and Payne to set the tone of the match (2-1, CU). After a thrilling rally from both teams, Dwinell ended the series with a kill (11-8, BYU). The Buffs then forced BYU into a timeout after a 4-0 run, 11-10, BYU. A service ace by Dwinell tied the set at 12-12, followed by a Burilovic-Payne block bringing the set back up to a tie at 13-13. Another kill by Burilovic brought CU to the lead (15-13). The Buffs forced another timeout at 17-14 then returned to the court just as strong, continuing their 4-0 run with a kill from Burilovic (19-14, CU). A sneaky attack from Dwinell brought the Buffs back up to the lead 21-20. Back-to-back kills from Dwinell and Splawska brought the Black and Gold to victory in the third set, 25-22.
Following an exciting comeback set for the Buffaloes, both teams went point-for-point to begin a competitive fourth set matchup. Two striking blocks from Splawska and Meller earned a Buffalo lead, 9-7. A kill from Payne marked the start of a 4-0 run for CU (11-11). Back-to-back kills from Dwinell put a stop to the Cougar defense, with the Black and Gold taking the lead (16-15). The Buffs saw a powerful solo block from Dwinell at 18-16, forcing the Cougars into a timeout. The two teams continued a back-and-forth showdown in the final moments of the fourth set, with a kill from Payne bringing the Buffs back into the lead, (21-20). After a resilient fight from both teams, the Buffaloes fell in the final moments of the fourth set, 25-23.

UP NEXT:

Colorado makes its second trip to Texas to battle currently No. 18 TCU on Wednesday and No. 23 Baylor on Friday. With Halloween between the two matches, first serve against the Horned Frogs is set for 5:30 p.m. MT on Oct. 30 and for 6 p.m. MT on Nov. 1. The matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ and links to watch are available at CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

This is Colorado's seventh match with double-digit blocks.
This is the Buffs' fourth match against a ranked opponent this season, all four being conference opponents.

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.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Cayla Payne

Kendall Meller

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Kendall Meller

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Kendall Meller

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson