Buffs fall to Rams for second night in a row

Colorado pin attacker Sydney Jordan lays the hammer during the Buffaloes' four-set loss to Colorado State on Friday. (Photo by Brody Rector/Sko Buffs Sports)

The Colorado Buffaloes (9-2) hosted the Colorado State Rams (6-4) on the back end of the Battle for the Golden Spike on Friday, where the Buffs were once again bested by their in-state rivals 3-1.

Colorado began the game with revenge on its mind, losing the first point but finding a quick lead after a 4-0 run. CU would hang onto this momentum throughout the first set, closing the opener 25-11. Unfortunately, the rest of the game wouldn’t fall the Buffs' way. 

“I was excited about the way we started the match, I thought we had great energy,” head coach Jesse Mahoney said. “We were doing a lot of things we prepped for, and I thought we played well enough to win set four and get it to set five, we just didn’t quite execute.”

In that first set, Colorado opened up hitting .385 and playing with extraordinary efficiency. Junior Ana Burilović led the team early, tallying four kills on 12 total attempts. However, the second set found the Buffaloes in a hole early. CSU took a 5-1 lead and would suffocate CU for the remainder of the set, winning 25-21 and tying up the series at one a piece.

“I thought Ana was great tonight, but we needed some other kids to score a little bit more at some key times,” Mahoney said. “We just had some errors at the wrong points in the matches.”

The third set saw the Buffs in a similar situation as the second, down early once again at 5-1. Colorado clawed their way back after a series of errors by the Rams, tying the set at 14 and forcing Colorado State into a timeout. 

The Rams would strike first after the break, and the two teams went back and forth until the Buffaloes fell apart late, handing CSU a 25-21 third-set victory. The Rams closed the set on a 3-0 run and would take a 2-1 lead in the match. 

Colorado sensed defeat, battling back by finally grasping a lead early in the fourth. The Buffaloes went up 9-2, sparked by back-to-back service aces by junior hitter Sydney Jordan. CU would hold onto its lead until CSU sparked another furious 3-0 run, tying the set at 18. 

The Buffs responded with two points, forcing the Rams into a late-set timeout. Colorado State came out of the break stronger than Colorado, winning the final set 26-24. 

Redshirt Junior Rian Finley led the team with 41 assists, combining that with a couple of sneaky kills from mid-court and two service aces. 

Maria Spławska was a rock on defense with four blocks and four digs. 

“It sucks to lose, especially back-to-back, especially at home,” Mahoney said. “This team is still hungry and feels like they can compete at a high level.”

The Buffaloes fall to 9-2 on the year and will resume play with their Big 12 opener on Thursday against the BYU Cougars (11-0). First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).