The Colorado Buffaloes finished the Buffs Invitational tournament in first place with a record of 2-1. The tournament was played at the CU Events Center and consisted of the Colorado Buffaloes (6-4), UC Irvine Anteaters (5-4), California Golden Bears (7-3) and Wyoming Cowgirls (6-2).
The Buffs started off the tournament against UC Irvine, where both teams got into what was a hard-fought game. UC Irvine took two of the first three sets, but the Buffaloes kept their heads up. Throughout the game, there were nine lead changes as well as 20 ties. CU eventually forced a fifth set, which they won narrowly with a score of 15-13 in the final set. Sophomore Cayla Payne led the team this game as she totaled 14 kills, three digs, and seven blocks, which included her 100th career block.
After a difficult battle on Friday night, the Buffs returned to the CU Events Center on Saturday where they faced off against the California Golden Bears. This time the Buffs dominated. The Buffs swept the Golden Bears 3-0 and were led by sophomore outside hitters Ana Burilović and Sydney Jordan who combined for a total of 27 kills, four aces and nine digs.
Sunday afternoon, the Buffaloes faced off against the Wyoming Cowgirls. The Buffs got off to a quick start where they won the first set by a score of 25-20. The Buffs competed in the next three sets as they were able to get more digs (48-44) and more aces (5-4) than the Cowgirls did. Paige Lauterwasser led the Cowgirls offense as she recorded 11 kills in this game, and was later named to the All-Tournament team. The Cowgirls also had a .301 hitting percentage in the win. It was their first time surpassing the .300 mark this season. However, the Buffs were defeated by the Cowgirls with a score of 3-1. Senior setter Taylor Simpson led the team in this game as she had 32 assists and nine digs against the Cowgirls.
Colorado was still able to finish the Buffs Invitational in first place, as well as with three All-Tournament team selections and the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Buffaloes’ senior setter Taylor Simpson finished the Buffs Invitational with 122 assists and 21 digs. She was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Jordan and Payne were also named to the All-Tournament team. Jordan, an outside hitter, finished the tournament with 37 kills and 23 digs. Payne, a middle blocker, finished the tournament with 27 kills and 10 blocks.
The Buffs will face Colorado State (3-5) twice in the next week, with the first being on Thursday in Fort Collins (6 p.m. MT) and then at the CU Events Center on Friday (7 p.m. MT). The match on Thursday will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network while Friday’s will be on ESPN+.
Cover photo by Remi Krupinski/Sko Buffs Sports
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