No. 23 Colorado falls to No. 11 Arizona State on the road
It started sweet but ended bitter.
The No. 23-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (11-4, 2-3 Big 12) fell in four sets to the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils (12-3, 3-1 Big 12).
Senior defensive specialist Peyton Neal recorded the 1,000th dig of her career with a six-dig night.
Senior hitter Ana Burilovic led the Buffs’ attack with 15 kills while senior Lily Dwinell added 10. Sophomore Ines Losada had three of the team’s five aces.
Senior Cayla Payne had 10 blocks, with senior setter Jenna Ylivainio adding a career-high eight herself.
"We did enough tonight on the serving and defensive side to give ourselves an opportunity to win this match," head coach Jesse Mahoney said after the game.
Losada’s service helped the Buffs build a late first-set lead, including a 4-0 run that gave them a 19-13 advantage over the Sun Devils. The Buffs reached set point at 24-19, but the Arizona State attack made it hard to close it out. Eventually, Burilovic put a kill down to take the set, 25-23.
The Buffs raced out to a quick 4-0 run in the second set before a 5-0 run helped the Sun Devils get back on track.
The two teams matched pace, with neither side building more than a two-point lead until Burilovic found an opening in the defense to take a 14-11 lead.
Arizona State responded with a 7-0 run led by four kills from attacker Una Vajagic. Colorado responded with a 4-1 run to close the lead at 19-18. Three kills from Aniya Clinton powered a 5-0 run that helped the Sun Devils win the second set 25-19.
The two teams matched pace again, but the Sun Devils took a 12-8 third-set lead. That lead eventually grew to 19-11 with six attack errors on the Buffs.
Burilovic had back-to-back kills to help Colorado close the gap, but the swelling score in the middle phases did them in as they fell 25-18 and went down two sets to one.
The fourth set was a run-and-gun affair, with both sides having multiple 3-0 runs or better, but the Sun Devils got out to a 19-14 lead as they looked to close the game.
A 5-1 run for the Buffs cut Arizona State's lead to 20-19. The Buffs had a set point at 25-24, but two kills from Aniya Clinton and an attack error gave the Sun Devils the fourth set and the game.
“We had enough in-system looks, but couldn't put the ball away at a high enough rate,” Mahoney said.
Colorado’s next game will be at the CU Events Center on Sunday, Oct. 11, when they host the Kansas State Wildcats (9-4, 1-4 Big 12). First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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