No. 23 Buffs win nail-biter against Northern Colorado

Colorado finished strong in a five-set battle against the UNC Bears to stay undefeated. (Photo by Kekoa Brown/Sko Buffs Sports)

The No. 23-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (6-0) took on the University of Northern Colorado Bears (1-4) in a nail-biter match that went to the fifth set. Colorado ultimately won three sets to two to stay undefeated. It was also a special day for two Buffaloes – middle blocker Cayla Payne and libero Nikki Ott. Payne became the 10th Buff in CU Volleyball history to hit 350 career blocks while Ott had her collegiate debut.

The first set started with a CU point, but any momentum was quickly killed as UNC took control of the early set with a five-point lead. The Buffs began to reign in the Bears after a point sent the crowd to their feet. The newly invigorated Buffs quickly brought the deficit to one, but the Bears maintained a strong hold on the set, eventually leading the Buffs 21-12. 

The Buffs didn’t go down without a fight, though, as sophomore pin attacker Ines Losada put up three aces in a row, forcing a UNC timeout. The Bears came out and quickly silenced the Buffs, winning the set 25-15.

In the second set, the Buffs looked like a different team. Coming out of the interval, immediately put two on the board. The Bears tried to halt the Buffs, but to no avail. Colorado continued on a run to go up 9-3. 

With momentum clearly on the side of the Buffaloes, UNC called a timeout in hopes of reigning the Buffs in. This momentary respite turned out to be just that, as the Bears were able to bring the deficit down to three. Going back and forth, neither team could go on a run, and the Buffs always maintained at least a three-point lead. The Buffs pulled out a 25-20 win.

The Bears came to play in the third set, establishing that they may be down, but not out. The Buffs were, again, looking like a different team from the last set.

They regained a little momentum and went on several runs, but UNC held on to the lead. Colorado was unable to gain the necessary momentum and lost the set 16-25.

 The fourth set saw a reinvigorated Colorado side. Fueled by the crowd, the Buffs absolutely ran away with the lead and did not look back. The Buffs took the set 25-9, proving that they are a force to be reckoned with and forcing a fifth set.

The Buffs carried the momentum from the previous set into the final one. Feeding off the energy of the absolutely deafening crowd in the CU Events Center, Colorado jumped in front again early. Absolutely running away with the lead again. While the Buffs may have come out slow, they finished strong, taking the decisive set 15-6, and winning the match 3-2.

“Those last two sets might have been as good of volleyball as we have played, but we're going to have to be a little bit more consistent if we want to get to where we want to go this season," Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney said post-game. 

Colorado will get a much-needed break after their home stand, hitting the road to play the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, Sept. 11. The match starts at 5:30 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.