After a two-game winning streak, the Colorado Buffaloes (12-15, 5-10 Big 12) were looking to gain a win at home against the Arizona Wildcats (17-9, 6-9 Big 12), but that hope didn't come through for them.
It was a disappointing loss for the Buffs, who were swept in three sets by the Wildcats at the CU Events Center on Thursday night. The Buffs had a lot of back-and-forth with the Wildcats but couldn't quite execute offensively, as their hitting percentages were under .100 for the night.
In the first set, the Wildcats went on a 9-4 run. But, CU's Sarah Morton earned her first ace and went on a 4-0 run which allowed the Buffs to come running back to make a close game late in the first set with Taylor Simpson’s two consecutive service aces which allowed the Buffs' second 4-0 run but fell short 25-20.
The Wildcats and the Buffs had back-and-forth rallies in the second set but Arizona pulled off the win over the Buffs in this set as they closed out the set, 25-21.
In the third set, the Buffs started out strong as they went on a 7-4 lead but the Wildcats were able to tighten the gap. Their attackers were balanced with Alayna Johnson leading Arizona in with four while Jaelyn Hodge and Journey Tucker had three kills each. They allowed the Wildcats to gain the sweep against the Buffs with a score of 25-18.
Ana Burilović had 10 kills for the night, which makes this Burilović's 22nd match where she’s scored double-digit kills. Lily Dwinell also had eight kills and two blocks for the Buffs.
"One of our worst offensive outputs," CU head coach Jesse Mahoney said. “We didn't have an attacker hit over .200. We just didn't pass well, didn't connect well.”
Although the Buffs fell in this matchup, they did keep the Wildcats out of the system as they went .275 in their hitting percentages and 65% on serves.
The Buffs' offensive game wasn't favorable in this matchup, but they are looking to face off against the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils 27-2, 15-1 Big 12) on Saturday at the CU Events Center at noon MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Cover photo by Tyler Phillips/Sko Buffs Sports
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