Colorado Comeback Falls Short at Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – The Colorado volleyball team (7-7, 0-2 Big 12) fell to the Utah Utes in five sets (23-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 9-15) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center Sunday afternoon as the Buffaloes wrapped up their first Big 12 road trip of the season.

After dropping the first two sets to the Utes (12-1, 2-0 Big 12), Colorado responded by winning the next two, forcing a fifth and final set to determine the match. It was a back-and-forth start, however the Utes came out on top while producing its best offensive set of the match..

"Utah is a very good team," head coach Jesse Mahoney stated after the match. "I was really happy with how we battled back after a rough first two sets to take it to a fifth. I felt like we had our chances in the fifth but passing broke down a little bit, and we had some defensive system struggles."

"We're 0-2 in conference play, but we have to understand how close we are to 2-0. We just have to be a little more consistent and a little more disciplined in what we're doing, but I liked the response our team showed today."

Despite the defeat, Colorado had three players with at least 14 digs and the team combined for 11 total blocks at the net. The Buffs also saw solid production from a couple of players off the bench.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OH Kendall Meller came off the bench to put together her best match ever as a Buff, recording 11 kills (2e, 26att) while hitting a team-high .346 hitting percentage. She also had three blocks and two digs on the defensive side.
So. OH Ana Burilovic led both teams with 18 total kills (7e, 44att, hitting .250). She added three aces, 14 digs and three blocks to earn her sixth career double-double (kills-digs).
Sr. S Taylor Simpson generated 46 kills for the Buffs while notching seven digs, one block (solo) and one ace.
So. OH Sydney Jordan finished with 12 kills, 15 digs and one block (solo). It is her third career double-double performance.
So. MB Cayla Payne had nine kills, one dig and five blocks.
Jr. DS/L Emma Torstenson impressed off the bench with seven total digs.
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton recorded 14 digs to go along with her single ace.
For the Utes, Kamryn Gibadlo led the team with 16 kills and Kamry Bailey had a solid outing with 12 kills and 17 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Utes came out of the gates swinging in set one, forcing an early Colorado timeout as the Buffs trailed 1-5. Shortly after, CU decided to talk it over once again while facing a 4-8 deficit, leaving no timeouts left for the Black and Gold. Utah led by eight at one point, but the Buffs responded with a 6-1 scoring run to come within three, 18-21. Colorado put together one final push late in the set, but it wasn't enough as the Utes took set one, 25-23.
In set two, both teams fought back-and-forth to an 8-8 start before the Utes scored three straight to take the lead, 11-8. Utah then extended its lead to six at 18-12 to force a Colorado timeout. Out of the break, the Buffs tried to gain some momentum with a kill from Payne followed by an ace from Burilovic. CU was unable to halt Utah's offensive attack as the Buffs dropped set two, 16-25.
Jesse Mahoney successfully challenged a call early into set three resulting in a 5-3 Buffs lead. After the Buffs went up 12-9 with an ace from Morton, the Utes stormed back with five straight points, making it 12-14 to Utah. Colorado showed resiliency with a 5-0 run of its own to force a Utes timeout. Late in the set, Utah tied things up at 23 all before back-to-back kills from Burilovic gave the Buffs the set, 25-23.
The Buffs took a commanding 6-2 lead in set four, forcing a Utah timeout. After the timeout, Meller's fifth kill of the set put Colorado up by five, 12-7. Unlike the third set, the Utes were unable to produce scoring runs, opening the door for CU. Colorado capitalized on the opportunities with help from the bench and won the set, 25-18.
The Buffs tied the fifth set at 3-3 following Burilovic's 17th kill of the match. After a pair of unsuccessful challenges by Colorado, the Utes took an 8-4 advantage at the media break. The Buffs started to come back down the stretch with three unanswered points as Utah called a timeout while leading 11-8. The Utes were able to fend off the CU comeback bid and take the final set, 15-9.

UP NEXT:

Colorado will return home to Boulder for a tough match against the Big 12 leading Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday, Oct. 3. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links to watch the match are available at CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado moves to 14-18 all-time against Utah and 3-13 vs the Utes in Salt Lake. The Buffs are now 3-3 in five-set matches this season.

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

Kendall Meller

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Sydney Jordan

Kendall Meller

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Emma Torstenson

Players Mentioned

Sydney Jordan

Kendall Meller

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Emma Torstenson