On Thursday night, the Colorado Buffaloes (7-8, 0-3 Big 12) took on the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks (12-1, 3-0 Big 12) in a battle that was competitive early on, which ultimately led to the Buffs dropping two sets straight and losing three sets to one. In a thrilling first and second set Colorado was not submitting early to Kansas, but eventually couldn’t hang on.
The game began in a stadium packed with anticipation and hope. A recently struggling CU squad was set to play their first top 10 opponent this season. The CU Events Center crowd was loud and confident in their team to impress against an elite opponent.
The contest started fast, as the Jayhawks took an early lead on a service ace and jumped out the gates with a quick 4-2 lead on the Buffs. That lead didn’t hold for long though, as the black and gold quickly tied it up at seven a piece.
After some back-and-forth and two long coach challenges, the Buffaloes had the crowd on their feet, taking an impressive 14-13 lead after both challenges fell to the Buffaloes. After a lengthy couple of points, another long challenge was called. This time, Kansas was awarded with a point that tied the game at 15.
However, the Buffs did not let this call swing the momentum, as senior Bella Simkus knocked a kill over the net shortly after. Kansas matched immediately with a service ace, and the teams continued to ride the see-saw until the Jayhawks took a late lead, ending the set 25-22.
The Buffs' late mistakes gave the set away. But the first set's 16 ties and eight lead changes gave Colorado the confidence they needed to fight against the Jayhawks.
“We’ve been a couple teams this year,” head coach Jesse Mahoney said. “We’ve been the team that can lose 25-10 and (also) the team that can battle to 28, so we have to find that fight and hold onto it.”
The second set had the Jayhawks on their heels. CU had the serve, winning the first two points off of another Simkus kill and a Kansas blocking error. The Jayhawks fired back though, tying the game at seven a piece. The Buffaloes didn’t let Kansas back into the set this time, scoring a quick 18-14 lead, and didn’t drop that lead until winning the second set 25-18.
Sophomore Ana Burilovic’s six kills and senior Taylor Simpson’s 12 assists led the Buffs to a second set victory.
Set three began with a KU serve and Simkus kill, and at that point the stadium got loud. The experienced Jayhawks seemed to not mind the noise at all however and made Colorado sag early in the set.
The Buffs found themselves down 14-7 until Ana Burilovic’s hand of thunder single-handedly won CU three points in a row. At a moment where Colorado seemed to be falling apart, Burilovic put the team on her back and sparked enough momentum to get the set within striking distance again.
“Ana, I thought was good tonight,” Mahoney noted of Burilovic’s performance. “If we are (going to) be good, we need her to be efficient.”
The team didn’t seem to coordinate well after that though, conceding another big lead and finding themselves down 24-18.
With Kansas at set point, the Buffaloes were on their back heels, almost hitting the limbo. That was until the Buffs won a point, then two, then three, then six points in a row, tying the game at 24 each. The Jayhawks burned two timeouts in that six-point span, trying to figure out how to stop the stampede.
“I thought we executed really well, Syd(ney Jordan) was serving particularly well,” Mahoney mentioned of the third set’s late comeback. “They had a couple errors, but we made a couple really nice transition plays and put ourselves in a good position.”
Then it was tied at 26 and the stampede seemed unstoppable…until it was stopped. The Buffs dropped this set 28-26 due to a fierce Jayhawk kill and miscommunication.
Set four began and ended quickly. The Buffaloes looked fatigued and almost confused, making multiple mistakes and miscommunications. Another slow start in the set is not what they had planned or prepared for. The Buffaloes found themselves down14-7 again, but this time couldn’t pull themselves back into the game, dropping the set 25-11 and the game 3-1.
Burilovic played lights out despite the loss, netting 19 kills on 47.5% and Taylor Simpson led the team with 43 assists.
Although Colorado proved they could put up a fight against an elite team, it wasn’t enough to edge out the Jayhawks. The Buffaloes’ biggest enemy was themselves, as their slow starts became irreparable deficits.
“Three-fourths of that match was very competitive,” head coach Jesse Mahoney discussed. “I was proud of our team with doing a really nice job with the game plan, and for us competing in the first three sets.”
The Buffaloes host another Big 12 opponent this Saturday as Texas Tech (9-6, 1-2 Big 12) takes their long road trip and will meet the Buffs at the CU Events Center at 6 pm MST (ESPN+).
Cover photo by Brody Rector/Sko Buffs Sports
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