No. 24 Colorado upsets No. 21 Baylor in four sets
The No. 24-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (11-3, 2-2 Big 12) ended their trip to the Lone Star State with an upset win over the No. 21-ranked Baylor Bears (9-5, 1-3 Big 12).
The Buffaloes won in four sets in Waco, Texas, led by setter Jenna Ylivaino, who reached 500 career assists and recorded 29 assists in the game. Pin hitter Ana Burilovic and Ines Losada had 13 and 10 kills, respectively. The Buffs hit .127 overall.
For the Bears, setter Isabela Haggard had 39 assists, and outside hitters Ksenia Rakhmanchik and Nadiya Johnson had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Middle blocker Victoria Davis added 10 more. The Bears hit .168 overall.
The first set started with a 4-0 run from the Buffs, highlighted by two aces from Losada’s special top-spin serve. The Bears closed the gap with a 6-3 run to make the score 7-6. The Buffs responded with 5 unanswered points to create separation from the Bears, carried by Burilovic's service ace and two attack errors from Baylor.
The score was 12-6 at the end of the run, and from then on the set was back and forth. Neither team built momentum until another 3-0 run by the CU brought them to match point at 24-17. Pin hitter Lily Dwinell closed out the first set for the Buffs, 25-19.
The second set started the same way, with Losada kicking off the service for the Buffs, forcing the Bears into two attacking errors and an ace for a quick three points. The Bears fought back with a 3-0 run of their own, including a kill from outside hitter Bailey Warren and two errors from the Buffs, to take the lead 7-6.
The Buffaloes let the Bears creep back into the set before going on a run to pull away. Both teams traded blows again until Dwinell ended the second set with a kill and a 25-19 score.
In the third set, the Bears didn’t let off the gas, jumping out to a 12-6 lead with help from a plethora of errors by the Buffs. Baylor carried that lead to 22-9 and never looked back. Two errors by Burilovic gave the Bears their lone set of the night, 25-11.
In the fourth set, two stellar teams went toe-to-toe, with one team trying to complete the upset and the other looking for another breath.
The Bears started with a 3-0 lead on three Buffs errors before the set went back and forth. The set was deadlocked at 23-23, then an attacking error from Bears middle blocker Lacy Tinnell and a kill from Losada won the Buffs the set and match, 25-23.
Head coach Jesse Mahoney praised his team's preparation.
“It's a big win for our season. We've been on the edge of doing a lot of good things this season, and it's good to see it pay off for us," Mahoney said. "Baylor's really good. They made a ton of great plays. I was proud of our team showing some resilience in that fourth set.
The Buffs go on the road again to take on the No.12-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1 Big 12). First serve is set for 8 p.m. MT on Friday. (ESPN+)
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