Buffs come up short in hard-fought ranked battle with Sun Devils

Colorado pin attacker Inés Losada fires a serve against No. 8 Arizona State. (Photo by Brody Rector/Sko Buffs Sports)

The No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) and No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils (22-3, 13-1 Big 12) met once again on Saturday, this time with the Buffs holding home court advantage. They hoped to capitalize, but ended the match with a shattering five-set loss against the Sun Devils (25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 15-12).

Colorado racked up 150 total attacks, 63 kills, only 20 attack errors, a hitting percentage of .287, 57 set attempts, 11 service errors, eight service aces, 44 digs and 16 blocks.

Arizona slightly outshone the Buffs with 141 total attacks, 67 kills, 25 attack errors, a hitting percentage of .298, 58 set attempts, five service errors, four service aces, 52 digs and 10 blocks.

The CU Events Center was packed Saturday afternoon, and with it came an electric home court advantage. Plenty of Sun Devil fans attended the match, yet Buff faithful silenced many of their chants.

The Sun Devils had a rough start, as a service error gave the ball immediately to the Buffs. Although the Buffs were a tad disorganized in the first set, they played much stronger defense against the No. 8-ranked team. After a 33-second rally, Colorado put the ball away and grabbed a two-point lead over the Sun Devils (10-8).

ASU struggled significantly in the first set against freshman pin attacker Ines Losada’s formidable serve. But it wasn’t just Losada’s arm that Arizona seemed weary of; it was every player on the court who knew this was a revenge game.

The Buffs were stout and communicative on defense. In the two teams’ previous match-up, the Sun Devils shut down pin attacker Ana Burvilovic, who only had 19 kills. But on Saturday, it was impossible to do so as she collected a total of 28 kills.

After the Sun Devils pulled ahead by only one point (17-16), head coach Jesse Mahoney immediately called a timeout. However, the bleeding continued for the Buffaloes as the Sun Devils went on a nine-point scoring run, eventually taking the first set 25-19.

As the Buffs transitioned into the second set, the Sun Devils resumed their strategy from the last time the two squads battled: attacking the backcourt. Be that as it may, the Buffs adapted since their last match, as they delivered the ball to more attackers than just Burilović.

Middle blocker Cayla Payne shot across the back court to deliver her signature right slot kill (8-7), followed by a block from middle blocker Maria Spławska that Arizona State simply could not return. The squads went back and forth before Sarah Morton’s pancake call, which was originally a point for the Sun Devils, was overturned. Consequently, the ball went back to the

Buffs with the Sun Devils leading 24-21. ASU quickly took the second set after a kill from hitter Noemie Glover (25-22).

“Slow starts for us are kind of normal, so we know how to turn it on after the first set,” Payne said. “Obviously, that second set was pretty close, but we’re angry, to be honest. We wanted that, we really wanted that, and we weren’t going to let that team sweep us.”

With anger as fuel, the Buffs marched into the third set. Following a messy start, a swift kill from pin attacker Lily Dwinell forced ASU into a position where they could not return the ball, getting it stuck in the jumbotron.

The Buffs began their comeback, rallying behind Payne. She brought the defense against Arizona State with two solo blocks.

Burilović brought the power as well and delivered a threatening kill (13-11), giving the Buffs a two-point lead. CU’s roll continued with a solo block from Spławska. The Buffs extended the lead and won the third set 25-18.

Ironically enough, at 6-7 in the fourth set, Burlović served an ace where two back-court Sun Devils thought the ball had gone out, even though there was plenty of room to spare.

Payne brought the pain against the Sun Devils with a monstrous kill to push Colorado’s lead back to 15-14. The CUEC crowd’s energy made a comeback as well in the fourth set, with exuberant and ecstatic reactions resuming.

Burilović delivered another ace by fooling Arizona yet again. The Sun Devils’ sidelines looked irritated by the turnaround of the game, switching gears and becoming hushed on the sidelines.

The Buffs inched closer to another set victory with a three-point scoring run up 19-16. Dwinell continued to separate the two teams after an effortless kill. The crowd thundered as a solo block from Burilović closed the fourth set for the Buffs, 25-21.

The Buffs started the fifth set strong with a duo block from Dwinell and Payne. The two squads kept each other within grasp, not giving up any room for the other to score. The Buffaloes were ready to put the game to sleep and take down the No. 8-ranked team after a three-point scoring run to lead 8-5.

Spłaskwa stopped Arizona State’s scoring with two stiff blocks. Momentum was high, and the Buffs needed only three points to defeat ASU.

It was too good to be true, however. The Buffaloes gave over two crucial points to the Sun Devils, as Arizona State took a 14-12 lead. A kill from ASU middle blocker Ella Lomigora finished off the Buffs in heartbreaking fashion.

Colorado’s next game will be Tuesday against the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown at 4 p.m. MT (ESPN+).