The Colorado Buffaloes (10-10, 3-5 Big 12) met with the West Virginia Mountaineers (8-11, 2-6 Big 12) on Wednesday night for the teams’ first volleyball meeting of all time.
The Mountaineers were looking to support their weak conference record and were able to do so, defeating the Buffs in four sets.
West Virginia’s offensive big three showed out, each pacing the team in kills. Senior Hailey Green led with 20, followed by junior Cassidy Tanton with 15 kills, and sophomore Maddy McGath with 10. Those three lead the team in the category this season.
The Mountaineers out-played the Buffs on every side of the ball, with superior numbers across the board. West Virginia had 14 more set assists and 12 more digs, besting CU by 13% of point scoring.
Colorado also struggled with serves, having far fewer aces and more service errors. They had a rather even number of kills, with sophomore’s Lily Dwinell collecting 12, and Cayla Payne and Ana Burilovic with 10 each.
Dwinell had a great night, with the highest kill percentage off some of the fewest total attacks. That brings her season totals up to 171 kills and 195 total points, which is fourth on the team.
The Buffs did out-block West Virginia, led by sophomore Cayla Payne with six. Colorado only averages seven total blocks per match, so a night with 13 should please Head Coach Jesse Mahoney.
Following the 25-17 loss in set four to drop the match, Mahoney elected to have no post-game press conference and just focus on the team. Even in the set the Buffs won, West Virginia put up a fight and brought it within one point when a solo block from Burilovic closed out the set in a 25-23 win.
Colorado has a quick turnaround, as they welcome in No. 21 BYU this Friday. After evening out their record at 10-10, the Buffs look to get back into the positive against a dangerous Cougars team. Tune in Friday night on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. MT.
Cover photo by Brody Rector/Sko Buffs Sports
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