Losada shines as Colorado volleyball struggles offensively against West Virginia
On Sunday, the No.25 Colorado Buffaloes (16-7, 7-6 Big 12) fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers (11-11, 5-7 Big 12) in a four-set match.
It was the Buffs' second straight game without star pin hitter Ana Burilovic, who was sidelined by an injury sustained before their game against BYU.
CU drew first blood thanks to a bad set from Mountaineers setter Alexis Finnvold. Neither team could create much separation before West Virginia's 3-0 run gave them breathing room.
The Buffs waited, then struck back with a 4-0 run thanks to two powerful kills from pin hitter Ines Losada and two West Virginia errors.
The set went back and forth until Losada fired off three more kills, and two more Mountaineer errors gave the Buffs another 5-0 run, to bring the score to 20-15.
The Buffaloes seemed poised to close out the set, but West Virginia was relentless and started a 9-2 run that CU couldn't stop.
The Mountaineers closed out the set with a trifecta of kills from outside hitter Macie Smith, opposite hitter Trinity Sheridan, and middle blocker Maddy McGath, 25-23.
The second set started with more of the same, as each team filled the gap whenever the other took the lead.
The Buffs went on a 7-2 run, powered by kills from middle blocker Cayla Payne, pin hitter Sydney Jordan, and Losada, to extend their lead to 12-7.
Colorado added even more distance with a 6-0 run, helped by Mountaineer errors and two service aces from setter Jenna Ylivainio. West Virginia didn’t let the Buffs run away with the set, firing an 8-1 run to take back the lead after a few Buffalo errors.
The Buffs fought back and closed the set on a 4-1 run, capped by a Jordan kill to win 25-23.
The last two sets told a different story, as Colorado seemed unable to generate any offensive firepower.
"We gave up the lead in set one. That was a set we had control of, and we just couldn't get out of one of our rotations," head Coach Jesse Mahoney said.
"By the time we got to set three and set four, we couldn't generate enough offense. I felt like defensively we did enough to win. We just didn't have enough firepower to score enough points."
The third set followed the same pattern as the first two, with both teams using runs to build distance until the other team got on a run of their own to tie the set.
The Mountaineers led 17-15 before a strong 9-2 run, driven by four kills and an ace from Smith, brought West Virginia to match point.
An attack error from Colorado middle blocker Maria Spawaska closed the set out for the Mountaineers, 25-17.
In the fourth set, the Buffs fell flat.
The Mountaineers came out firing on all cylinders, starting with a 5-0 run that showed no signs of stopping before a kill from Losada calmed the flames.
West Virginia showed no mercy and fired off a 13-3 run to make the score 18-4. The Buffs fought back, but it was in vain; the set went back and forth until a final kill from Sheridan put the nail in the coffin and secured the Mountaineers' victory.
Losada led the Buffs with a career-high 19 kills; Payne and Spawksa added 12 and 6, respectively. Colorado hit .099 as a team.
With Colorado struggling to find consistent offensive production, Losada stepped up to keep the Buffs competitive. However, head coach Jesse Mahoney acknowledged that the team needed more contributions from its other attackers.
“The effort is there from everybody,” Mahoney said. “I thought Ines was able to score enough to keep us in it… We have to find ways for our other pins to get good looks.”
The Buffs return home to welcome the No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks (18-5, 11-2 Big 12). The game will be played Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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