No. 25 Buffs fall to No. 8 BYU in straight sets
The No. 25 Colorado Buffaloes (16-6, 7-5 Big 12) fell to the No. 8 BYU Cougars (19-1, 11-0 Big 12) in straight sets on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The Buffs were without their star pin hitter, Ana Burilovic, after an unfortunate warm-up injury.
“It was the last swing of our warm-up at about 3:30 today. So, no, we didn’t really prepare. I will say, Sydney could not have been more prepared to step in, so it wasn’t like we had to revamp anything,” Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "It was pretty seamless."
Colorado embraced a next-player-up mentality, as other hitters stepped up.
“We didn’t know Ana was gonna get hurt today, but I was happy I was able to go in and help the team because that’s ultimately what matters,” said pin hitter Sydney Jordan. “I wish we came away with the win today, but, you know, proud of this team.”
Colorado won the opening point, and defensive specialist Avery Bolles made an immediate impact with back-to-back service aces, igniting the crowd at the CU Events Center. Both teams kept trading blows in a tight opening set, with neither side able to create much separation.
The Cougars ended the first set on a 7-1 run, powered mostly by middle blocker Kelli Jo Burgess, who had two kills and two block assists. Sophomore pin hitter Ines Losada's kill only delayed the inevitable before a service ace from BYU libero Lulu Po’uha sealed the 25-18 win.
The second set was a much more even bout between the two ranked opponents. It went back and forth until Losada used her top-spin serve to power a 3-0 run, giving the Buffs a 19-16 lead.
The Cougars didn't let up, firing back with a 4-0 run behind two powerful kills from outside hitter Eli Mortensen to give BYU a 22-20 lead.
The second set was as close as could be, with both teams trading blows. The Buffs looked poised to even the game, but kills from Mortensen and opposite hitter Anna Blamires sealed the set for the Cougars, 28-26.
In the third set, the Cougars jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. No matter how much the Buffs tried to fight back, BYU kept their distance and never let the Buffs take the lead.
The Cougars brought themselves back to match point on a 4-0 run, thanks to several Buff errors and a final kill from outside hitter Claire Little Chambers to close the set 25-21.
Jordan led the Buffs with 12 kills, followed by Losada and middle blocker Cayla Payne with eight each. Mortenson led the Cougars with 12 kills, and middle blocker Brooke Hardy added eight. Burgess led both teams with an astounding nine blocks.
Hardy hit .714, while BYU hit .275 as a team. The Buffs' most efficient hitter was middle blocker Maria Splawska at .400, while the team hit .161.
The Buffs will travel to Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (11-10, 4-7 Big 12). The game will be played Sunday, Oct. 8 at 11 a.m. MT (ESPN+).
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