Buffs Vex Vikings in Season Opening Sweep

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The Colorado volleyball team (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) defeated Cleveland State (0-1, 0-0 Horizon League) in three sets (25-15, 25-17, 25-19) at Arena-Auditorium on Friday, Aug. 29. The Buffaloes open the season with a win, improving to 28-12 in season openers.

The Buffs didn't let the Vikings reach 20 points in any set and explored the depth of their new team, with 14 of 15 players seeing the floor. Colorado hit .361 overall in set two, in the leading lane the whole away outside of one tie score at 1-1.

"Really happy to start the season out with a win, especially a sweep," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Cleveland State was a tournament team a year ago, so they're definitely really well coached and have a really good system. I thought our team did a really nice job of adjusting to what [Cleveland State] were trying to do pretty early […] We were able to get several players in, getting some looks and some roles, which was nice. And I thought [Finley] ran the offense really, really well. So overall, a good start to our season."

The Buffs held the Vikings to .046 hitting, with no Cleveland State players seeing double figures in kills. The Buffs out-dug (55-42), out-blocked (5-3) and out-aced (4-1) the Vikings as well.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic reached 500 career kills. She recorded 12 kills (5e, 32att), seven digs, and two blocks and two aces.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan reached 12 kills (hitting .345) and nine digs (83% digging).
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton earned 20 digs and one assist for the Black and Gold.
Sr. S Rian Finley recorded a career-high 34 assists, four digs, one block, one ace and one kill.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne recorded five kills and three blocks, reaching 200 career blocks.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell saw six kills (0e, 14att), hitting .429, and one dig.
So. MB Maria Splawska recorded one block and one kill, and Fr. MB Olivia Grenadier recorded two kills and one block.
Fr. PIN Inés Losada scored on one ace, and Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal saw 13 digs.
For the Vikings, Julia Jozefov had 17 digs and Bryn VanVleet had nine kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Splawska opened the match with the first kill of the season (1-0). The two teams traded 3-0 runs, but four unanswered points from the Buffs led the Vikings to take their first timeout (13-9, CU). Coming out of the timeout, Colorado saw another 4-0 run after some more back-and-forth, forcing another Cleveland State timeout (19-12). Two kills from Dwinell ended the first set in the Buffs' favor, 25-15.
The Black and Gold opened the second set with Burilovic's 500th career kill. Early in the second set, Colorado went on a 5-0 run (6-1). After a Colorado timeout (11-9, CU), the Buffs continued their lead with kills from Dwinell and Burilovic (13-9). After a third 4-0 run, Cleveland State called a timeout (18-12, CU), which was answered with a kill from Payne (19-12). A late set ace from Finley (23-16) and a kill by Grenadier brought home the bacon, carrying the Buffs to the second set win (25-17).
Colorado saw a slower start to the third set. After being down by three, the Buffs responded with an eight-point run to regain the lead (10-5, CU). Back-and-forth points between the Buffs and the Vikings saw kills from Jordan, So. PIN Gwen Schiff and Burilovic, as well as blocks from Payne, Finley and Fr. S Audrey Asleson, to bring the Buffs to 19-12. A Viking service error brought an end to the set and the first Buffs sweep of the season (25-19).

UP NEXT:

The Buffaloes continue competing in the Rumble in the Rockies invite on Saturday afternoon against Tulsa. First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT, and the match will be streamed on Mountain West Network.

MATCH NOTES:

In the programs' first meeting all-time, the Buffs took the win (1-0).
The Buffaloes get their first 3-0 victory of the season and are 1-0 in three-set matches.
Colorado had more kills (41-26), digs (55-42), assists (38-26), blocks (5-3) and service aces (4-1) than its opponent.
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic reached 500 career kills, and Jr. MB Cayla Payne recorded her 200th career block.

For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.

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Team Stats

Sydney Jordan

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Audrey Asleson

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Olivia Grenadier

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Gwen Schiff

Players Mentioned

Audrey Asleson

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Olivia Grenadier

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Gwen Schiff