Colorado drops Big 12 opener to Utah
Skids are hard, and the Buffs seem to be in one.
The No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes (9-2, 0-1 Big 12) fell in a three-set sweep to the Utah Utes (9-3, 1-0 Big 12) on Friday.
Senior pin attacker Lily Dwinell reached 300 career blocks in a five-block match.
"It's a little hard to focus on that after the game,” Dwinell said after the match. “But I am happy to be someone that this team can rely on and go to in games.”
The first set was a close one, featuring eight total ties. Utah forced set point, ahead 24-22, but the Buffs rallied to force the set into a deuce. The Utes won 26-24 on an ace from setter Izzy Mogridge.
Colorado dominated the early parts of the set, getting out to an early 7-1 lead with two kills from senior attacker Ana Buriliovic. The Utes began chipping away at the lead, capped with a 5-0 run that featured two kills from Colorado-native Ashley West to tie the set 15-15. Both teams went back and forth, but the Utes pulled away at the end with a 25-22 second-set win.
Utah used its two-set lead as a cushion to ride to a 25-17 third-set win, securing the sweep in a set the Buffs failed to lead in even once.
Burilovic finished with eight total kills, while senior hitter Cayla Payne put down a team-leading nine.
"I thought they scouted us really well and had two blockers up on almost every one of our swings," said Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney.
As a team, Colorado hit just .083, matching its season-low, and had a season-low 26 team kills. The Utes had 48 team kills, out-dug, out-aced and out-matched the Buffs.
“We got some work to do,” Mahoney said. “The lucky thing is we have a really talented group, and I think we are really motivated to get good. I know we can get better as the season goes on."
Colorado’s next match will be in the CU Events Center on Sunday, Sept. 27, when it hosts the Arizona Wildcats at 1 p.m. MT (5-6, 0-0 Big 12) (ESPN+).
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