Burilović and Losada dominate as Buffs sweep No. 14 Kansas
The Colorado Buffaloes (17-7, 8-6 Big 12) pulled off the upset against the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (18-6, 11-3 Big 12) in a sweep.
Star pin hitter Ana Burilovic returned after missing two games with an injury sustained before the loss to BYU.
After two consecutive losses to BYU and West Virginia, Colorado came out with renewed energy against Kansas.
“It was good to see us bounce back from a rough road trip to really play with a lot of fire and a lot of energy,” head coach Jesse Mahoney said.
The Jayhawks secured the first point of the match due to an attacking error by Buffs pin hitter Ines Losada. Losada then used her powerful topspin serve to send the ball to pin hitter Kenzie Dean, who hit it deep into the student section.
The Buffs used that momentum to power a 4-0 run, taking a 6-2 lead on kills from pin hitter Lily Dwinell and middle blocker Cayla Payne, forcing Kansas head coach Matt Ulmer to call a timeout.
After CU took that slight lead, the Jayhawks didn't let the Buffs pull away by more than four points. The Buffaloes then suffered an ace from libero Olivia Hasbrook and turned that one-point lead into a 6-1 CU run on several Kansas errors, which forced Ulmer to call his second timeout of the set to slow the Buffs down.
A kill from Losada brought the Buffs to set point, and an attack error by Kansas pin hitter Taylor Stanley sealed the set 25-18.
The Buffs came out firing in the second set.
Colorado jumped out to a 4-0 lead on another run spearheaded by Losada, who added another ace with her top-spin serve.
The set was tight at 6-5 before the Buffs went on their biggest run of the game.
The Buffaloes broke the tie with a 12-1 run fueled by kills from Losada and Burilovic and repeated Kansas errors, prompting another timeout from coach Ulmer. A kill by middle blocker Reese Ptacek finally ended the run.
The Buffs rode that lead with multiple kills from Burilovic to reach set point, and a service error from defensive specialist Heidi Devers sealed the set, 25-14.
The third set was a much more evenly contested bout between the two Big 12 adversaries.
The Jayhawks used a 4-0 run to jump to an early 5-3 lead, and from then on neither team could get ahead by more than four points.
The Jayhawks and Buffaloes traded kills and went back and forth until coach Ulmer challenged a block touch on the Buffs, which was ruled in CU's favor and gave the Buffs a 22-21 lead.
Kansas’ head coach called two back-to-back timeouts in hopes of regrouping, but it was all in vain; a kill from Burilovic completed the sweep.
The Buffs were led in kills by Losada with 17, and Burilovic added 13. Losada hit at .500 while the team as a whole hit .322. The Buffaloes' defense held Kansas, one of the best offensive teams in the Big 12, to a .102 hitting percentage.
Losada continued her impressive offensive stretch against Kansas, and head coach Mahoney praised her development while emphasizing the importance of consistency.
“I mean, Ines gets better every week. Obviously, I mean, you guys know, she brings a lot of fire, a lot of energy, she hits the ball a ton, and she's on a roll,” said Mahoney.
With the NCAA tournament looming, Mahoney believes Colorado’s performance against Kansas showed what the Buffs can do when playing at their best.
“It’s good to see us playing at that level as we head down the stretch of our season,” said Mahoney.
The Buffs are set to welcome No. 23 Baylor on Sunday. The game will take place at 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
Comments