BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes faced off against the Colorado State Rams and the Wyoming Cowgirls in a two-match doubleheader on Saturday.
The Buffs faced off against the Rams in their first match at 10 a.m. MT local time, where they defeated the visiting green and gold.
Colorado took the first set with relative ease, never exploding to a big lead but also never allowing the Rams back into the set. After winning 25-17, they were set up to go for a sweep.
However, the second set was tough for the black and gold who despite scoring first, never led the set past that point and dropped to a deficit as large as 11. They lost the set 25-14.
Following the disappointing second set, the Buffs were no longer playing for a sweep but still had a chance to win overall, and they took it.
They would score first for the third time and never looked back. The lead expanded to as much as nine before they won the set 25-17, winning the match overall 2-1.
Next up, the Buffs took on the Wyoming Cowgirls at 2 p.m. MT in match two of their Saturday double-header.
The Cowgirls took the first point of the set, but Colorado Lily Dwinell (OH) responded with a huge block. Ana Burliović (OH) continued the Buffs' momentum with a great touch on a point at the net and an amazing service ace. The black and gold held on to that momentum and won the set, 25-17.
The second set started very tight, but the Cowgirls quickly pulled away to an 8-3 lead. Wyoming comfortably held on for the rest of the match and finished it off with an 11-point lead at 25-14. The Cowgirls faithful traveled well, with every point they took the Events Center was filled with cheers.
The Cowgirls took the momentum from their second-set victory and the support from their crowd and jumped to a 4-1 lead, but the Buffaloes stayed in it and crawled back into contention.
Trying to get two wins on the day, Colorado took their first lead since 1-0 at 21-20. But unfortunately for Buffs fans, that was their last lead of the day as the Cowgirls took the set 25-22, winning the match 2-1 overall.
The theme of the match was the Buffs' continuous mistakes. With a collection of service errors, multiple mishaps at the net, and a lack of communication at times, the black and gold couldn’t hold on to a very winnable match.
Overall, Saturday provided more insight into the starting libero battle. Sarah Morton, who transferred in from Auburn, seems to be the favorite as she started both games and took the majority of reps throughout. Emilia Stepaniuk appears to be the second stringer, with more reps than the last two liberos on the roster.
Taylor Simpson (S) and Cayla Payne (MB) dominated the net offensively and defensively when they were on the court together throughout the day, including a variety of highlight blocks and spikes.
Simpson had a pair of behind-the-head, no-look points that earned great reactions from the crowd at the CU Events Center. Burilović continued to be a star for the black and gold, making multiple great plays all day, while Dwinell had some good moments on the other end of the net in less playing time than could have been expected.
The Colorado Buffaloes’ spring season has concluded, and all focus now moves to the fall. The next time we see the Buffs, regular season play will have begun and answers to the questions at libero and middle blocker will have been answered.
The Big 12 recently announced their conference schedule, and the Buffs are set to open their conference season on Sept. 26 versus Brigham Young University.
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