Buffs Fall to Rams in Four

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (7-5) fell to the Colorado State Rams (21-25, 25-20, 25-27, 17-25) in CU Events Center on Friday night.

In similar fashion to Thursday night, the teams split the first two sets, with CU taking set two, 25-20. The third set was close once again, but the Rams grabbed the set and ran away with the match in set four, 25-17.

"I thought [CSU] played really well tonight," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Certainly, serve and pass [was] better than they did last night. That was really the big difference, and we couldn't get production out of players that we rely on to get production out of from an offensive standpoint. And we struggled defensively, even though I think we were in the right places. We just weren't making plays, unfortunately."

The Buffs out-aced the Rams 6-1 – two of those coming from Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton – and had them out of system 63% of the time.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. MB Bella Simkus had nine kills on 14 swings with zero errors (hitting .643) for the Buffs. She also managed one dig.
So. OH Sydney Jordan had a double-double, her second of both the season and her career, with 10 kills and 11 digs. She also had one block and a 65% dig percentage.
So. MB Cayla Payne recorded seven kills (2e, 17att) and six blocks (one solo). She also had one dig.
So. OH Ana Burilovic led the team in scoring with 16 kills. She also managed six digs, three blocks and an ace, keeping the opponent out of system on 83% of the time.
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton notched two aces for the Black and Gold, keeping the Rams out of system on 63% of her serve, and reached nine digs.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson had 41 assists, an ace, two digs and a block.
So. OPP Lily Dwinell saw five kills and three digs, and So. DS/L Avery Bolles had 10 digs for CU, along with an ace, an assist and a 61% dig percentage. Bolles also had CSU out of system on 93% of her serves.
For the Rams, Malaya Jones led both teams with 22 kills and Emery Herman had 16 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs saw three aces their first nine points of set one, including one on a 3-0 Colorado run (9-6). The two teams exchanged points until the Rams went on a 4-0 run to take the lead (17-14, CSU). CU tied it back up by scoring three-straight with kills from Jordan and Burilovic, but CSU followed with a 3-0 run of its own. The Rams maintained a steady lead and took set one, 25-21.
Colorado went on a 4-0 run early in the second with a big Jordan-Payne block. The Buffs managed a second 3-0 run with a kill and an ace from Burilovic to take a four-point lead (16-12). CU stayed ahead with kills from Dwinell and Payne and took the second set, 25-20.
A sense of déjà vu washed over both teams in the third as the scores climbed to the 20s. The Rams took a small early lead in set three, but the two teams stayed close with neither gaining more than a three-point lead. The Buffs went on a 3-0 run with a Payne kill to take the lead late in set three (22-21). CU staved off three CSU match-points, but the Rams took it, 27-25.
The Rams took a fast lead in set four, scoring the first five points. The Buffs managed to come within three with two Payne blocks, but CSU didn't let up, taking the fourth, 25-17.

UP NEXT:

Colorado Volleyball is 2-1 in away matches so far this season. The Buffs are set to hit the road again next week with conference matches against BYU and Utah.
CU is scheduled to take on the Cougars on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT and the Utes on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT. Both matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+. Links to watch the match are available at CUBuffs.com.
Mahoney on starting Big 12 play: "We [have] to get ready for a really tough conference coming up in our first conference road trip to two really good teams. Really good teams, Arizona State, top 10. Kansas, top 10. BYU, if they're not in the top 10, they certainly can be. Utah, really good. Arizona, best start in the last 15 years. Those are just the ones I know we're playing soon. We're [going to] play eight teams that are most likely as good, if not better than the one we just lost to tonight."

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado moves to 19-28 all-time against CSU, 1-2 in four-set match and 11-11 versus the Rams at home.

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.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Sydney Jordan

Bella Simkus

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Bella Simkus

Taylor Simpson

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Bella Simkus

Taylor Simpson