Colorado wins 5-set thriller over Cincinnati
Halloween spirit was alive in the CU Events Center as the Colorado Buffaloes (15-5, 6-4 Big 12) beat the Cincinnati Bearcats (10-9, 3-6 Big 12) in a 3-2 thriller.
Senior middle blocker Cayla Payne put down her 750th career kill in a nine-kill game along with six blocks. She came up when it mattered, recording two kills and two blocks in do-or-die time during the fifth set.
Senior attacker Ana Burilovic led Buffs’ attackers with 22 kills.
“Ana's always important,” said head coach Jesse Mahoneyafter the match.
Senior attacker Sydney Nolan led all attackers with 24 kills for the Bearcats, a performance the Buffs struggled to match.
“I don't think we simulated it in practice as well as we needed to, so we had to catch up fast,” Mahoney said. “In the fifth set, I think we slowed her down and got some transition opportunities when it really mattered, but she's a great player.”
Nolan had 11 kills in the first two sets, and 11 in the final three, only recording two in the fifth.
Sophomore attacker Ines Losada had nine kills and two aces, making her impact felt.
The Buffs began the game giving frights to the Bearcats, hitting .667 with 15 kills and only one error. Payne put down four kills while Burilovic led all attackers with five. With the exception of a brief 5-3 lead for Cincinnati, Colorado led the whole first set, taking home the 25-17 win. Its defense also stepped up, only allowing the Bearcats to hit .111, forcing seven errors and recording two blocks.
The second set was much closer, with both sides going on multiple runs that swung momentum. The Bearcats eventually pulled away with a 4-0 run that helped them to a 22-18 lead. The Buffs got to work, scaring the Bearcats with a 3-0 run that brought the score back within two. Nolan then put down her 11th kill of the match to give the set to the Bearcats, 25-23.
The third set was much of the same, with the two teams going back and forth continuously, but the Buffs had a 7-3 run after a 10-10 tie and started to pull away.
Six Cincinnati errors helped the Buffs the rest of the way, as they held on for a 25-20 third-set win.
The fourth set was a nightmare set for the Buffs. They were blown out 25-8, their worst performance in any set this season.
“It really felt like a couple of different matches because there were so many swings in momentum,” Mahoney said. “We put ourselves in a hole with a ton of service errors, and we got aced 10 times.”
Many of the starters were pulled during the fourth set as Mahoney tried to give them rest to reload for the fifth.
“I started taking players out in that fourth set, just to give them a breather,” Mahoney said. “I think that was good for [Burilovic]; she didn't really like it, but I think that was good for her.”
Catching their breath certainly helped the Buffs, as they came out swinging.
Burilovic began with two kills, giving Colorado a 3-0 lead. Cincinnati responded with a 4-0 run of its own. The teams traded runs, with neither side getting out to more than a two-point lead. Losada put down a strong kill and an ace to give the Buffs a 13-11 lead before senior pin attacker Lily Dwinell put down a kill of her own to give the fifth set to the Buffs, 15-12.
“I don’t think anyone was happy after that fourth set,” said setter Jenna Yilvanio.
“I think it came from us, because we just wanted to win so badly,” said middle blocker Maria Splawska.
Colorado’s next match will be at home on Sunday, Nov. 1, when it hosts the Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-13, 0-9 Big 12). First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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