What goes up must come down: Colorado faces first conference loss against No. 8 ASU

Colorado Buffaloes volleyball fell flat in Tempe, as an off-night from Ana Burilovic and a slow start from Maria Spławska (#16) were all Arizona State needed to capitalize. (Photo by CUBuffsVB/X)

The No. 24 Colorado Buffaloes took on the No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils, who seemed to have their heads spinning with as many balls as they chased throughout the night. 

Colorado was outscored by Arizona in a four-set match (20-25, 18-25, 25-20, 23-25) Friday night in Tempe. The Sun Devils had 54 kills, 22 attack errors, 53 set attempts, 60 digs, 11 service errors and seven service aces. The Buffaloes, however, struggled with 46 kills, 20 attack errors, 43 set attempts, 49 digs, 13 service errors and six service aces.   

The Sun Devils kept a consistent point lead over the Buffaloes in the first set. CU couldn’t seem to set up its right side block against the Sun Devils, leading to a plethora of points for the Arizona State team. 

A seemingly tired Ana Burilović guarded the back court towards mid-set, hoping to be set up for a back row kill or dig against ASU’s devilish balls. However, her efforts seemed to be in vain.

The Buffs were scorched to a crisp in the first set after the Devils took the set with a comfortable five-point lead, ending the first set 20-25.

The maroon and gold’s outside hitters Bailey Miller and Tatum Parrott were able to keep the Buffaloes dazed on the Desert Financial Arena’s court. At first, they targeted the right side of the court, but switched it up in the second, heading left instead. 

In addition to the inconsistent strategy, the Buffs could not get through the wall that the Sun Devils set up, making it almost impossible to make a kill, let alone keep the ball alive at the net.

The Sun Devils kept the Buffaloes chasing the ball the entire first and second sets. Burlović finally met her attacking match from the duo of Colby Neal and Noemie Glover, who led ASU’s leaderboard for blocking. Cayla Payne seemed to carry the Buffaloes this game with her slide attack, where the Devils were only able to return once. 

The black and gold had five service errors in the second set alone. The most notable one was at set point (18-24), where Lilly Dwinell gave over the final point to the Devils.

Hope of winning the match looked bleak for the Buffaloes heading into the third set. Payne gave the Buffs their first point, followed by a kill from setter Rian Finley. Maria Spławska

carried the Buffs when it came to blocking, especially in the third set, as she finally seemed to understand to return to the right side of the net. 

Ines Losada's powerful serve alongside Payne and Burlovic’s whip of arm helped put separation, giving the Buffs a four-point lead (12-8). The Buffs kept this distance between the Sun Devils and took their first and final set of the night at 25-20.

Sun Devils Noemi Glover and Miller annihilated the entire Buffs defense heading into the fourth set. It didn’t matter whether it was the front, middle, or back row of the court; the two Devils were all over it. 

Things began to look bleak for the Buffs yet again mid-set of the fourth before defensive specialist and libero Peyton Neal got behind the ball to serve. A kill from Burlović alongside a service ace from Neal helped spark the Buffs for a fight against the Devils (18-20). A string of attack errors followed the Sun Devils under Neal’s reign and set the Buffaloes up 22-20.

Even though they seemed to be on a roll, their wave came crashing down just as quickly. Two attack errors, an ace, and a tip for a kill from Miller brought the Devils back up just as easily (22-23). The Buffs attempted to make a last-minute rebound from a block by Payne and Burlović before a swift kill to the middle back row from Colby Neal put the nail in the coffin.

The Buffaloes' next game will be back at the CU Events Center against the Utah Utes on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT and can be streamed on ESPN+.