Buffs sweep Texas Tech to extend winning streak
The Colorado Buffaloes (16-5, 7-4 Big 12) took a 3-0 sweep against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-14, 0-10 Big 12) on Sunday afternoon. Colorado had a strong first set and finished strong in the third after a rocky second.
The Buffaloes had won two straight heading into this game, as they defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats at home on Oct. 29 and the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.
Despite this, Colorado only received 88 points on the most recent AVCA rankings, which put them out of the top 25 for the first time this season.
Colorado was heavily favored in this game as Texas Tech had lost 21 straight sets over seven games and was 0-9 in conference play.
Colorado took care of business in the first set, winning 25-18. CU’s play in the first set was highlighted by Cayla Payne’s four kills and Jenna Ylivaninio’s 11 assists. The Buffaloes were spread out on attacks, as Ana Burilovic and Lily Dwinell finished the set with three kills each. Colorado shot .429 with 12 kills and five errors.
The first set was closely contested at points. The Red Raiders climbed out of an 18-12 hole, scoring four straight to force a Buffaloes timeout. Out of the timeout, Colorado did not look back. The Buffs went on a 7-2 run to take their largest leads of the set at 24-17 and 25-18.
The Buffs took the second set 27-25. Colorado and the Red Raiders went back and forth, but the Buffs managed to break away in the win-by-two section.
With the game locked at 25, Ylivainio got a cross-court assist to Cayla Payne, who killed the lob into the center of Tech’s defense. Following a Texas Tech timeout, Red Raiders hitter Aviya Russo made an error on a kill to secure the Buffaloes’ second-set victory.
“Proud of our team for getting back in there in that second set,” said Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney following the victory.
Colorado had a worse set than the first, as they shot .361 with 13 kills and 12 errors. Burilovic tacked on five kills this set, which led the team.
Colorado started hot in the third set, as they took a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Their largest lead of the set was at the 24-11 mark, and their longest run was seven points. Burilovic had another great set, as she took home five kills and ended her afternoon with a total of 13.
On the day, Ylivainio had a quality start, as she finished with 31 assists. Payne and Dwinell followed with ten and seven kills, respectively. The Buffaloes demonstrated their skill, as they outscored Texas Tech by a total of 77-55.
The Buffaloes will face off against the No. 9 BYU Cougars on Thursday, Nov. 5. Colorado lost to the Cougars in four sets on Oct. 22. The start of the game is set for 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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