No. 21 CU swept by unranked Cincinnati Bearcats

Colorado Buffaloes volleyball suffered its worst loss of the season in Cincinnati, as the Bearcats made quick work of them. (Photo via CUBuffsVB/X)

The No. 21 Colorado Buffaloes (22-7, 12-5 Big 12) were swept by the Cincinnati Bearcats (15-11, 7-9 Big 12) in their last away game of the regular season. This is the first time the Buffs have ever lost to Cincinnati, and it is their third time being swept this season.

It was an ugly loss for the Buffs on the road, with a hitting percentage of .106 across the three sets, their second-worst this season. The Bearcats dominated across the board, out-hitting the Buffs 48-29 and out-digging them 54-31.

The offense struggled to produce and pass effectively as the team looked ill-prepared against the underdog Bearcats. Ana Burilovic highlights the Buffs’ offensive struggles, getting a season-low six kills on 41 attempts with six attacking errors to cancel out her hitting percentage.

On defense, they were unable to contain junior outside hitter Sydney Nolan, who had 19 kills on 32 attempts for a .531 hitting percentage.

"A disappointing result," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "A match where Cincinnati did everything right, and we couldn't get going. We've been a really good defensive team this year – We haven't let anyone hit for those kind of numbers. We just couldn't slow them down for whatever reason, and we lost some discipline once we got down."

The Buffs looked sluggish to start the game at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. After going back and forth to start the set, the Bearcats went on a seven-point streak that a CU timeout could not stop.

Miscommunications and errors added up against the Buffs, and they were never able to get within four of Cincinnati's large lead. A 4-2 run by the Bearcats would put them at set point, and an ace by Lilly Gillespie would take the first set for Cincinnati, 25-15.

The second set appeared different, as after the Bearcats took the first two points, CU went on a six-point run with five straight kills, three of which by Maria Spawska. Cincinnati would take a timeout and come back ready, scoring three in a row in a 5-3 run to make it 9-7 Buffs.

The Bearcats went streaking again, scoring nine in a row to take a 16-9 lead. The large deficit would once again prove insurmountable, as the Buffs only scored seven points in the rest of the set. Another dominant 6-1 stretch by the Bearcats would end the second set 25-16, Cincinnati.

After two sets of difficult play, the Buffs were staring down the barrel of defeat. The Bearcats dominated again from the start, leading 8-4 after scoring on six kills, with half coming from sophomore setter Andi Spies. More pressure would lead to a CU timeout with Cincinnati up 10-5.

The teams would then trade points, but Cincinnati held a firm lead that they would never release, as the third set had zero lead changes. Late in the set, the Buffs closed the gap to five to make it 21-16, but a four-point run by the Bearcats would end the comeback attempt.

Back-to-back kills by Nolan in the four-point stretch ended the set 25-16 to give the Bearcats the sweep.

CU will look to get back in the win column in its last game of the season against BYU (19-8, 7-8 Big 12) on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. In its last match against BYU on Sept. 25, CU took the game in four sets (25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21). The game will be held at the CU Events Center and will be streamed live on ESPN+.