BOULDER– On Nov. 17, the Colorado Buffaloes were swept by the Washington State Cougars on Military Appreciation Night.
It was Colorado’s fourth loss in a row, but the first time being swept since last month against UCLA. This match was the first of Colorado’s final weekend playing at home as it hopes to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The first set started with a service error by Washington State, but the Cougars bounced back and scored four unanswered points. WSU had four more service errors throughout the rest of the set, but it wasn’t enough for the Buffs to come out on top. The Cougars were better at attacking the weak spots on Colorado’s side of the court, and in the first half of the set, they got a kill on every attempted attack.
Finally, toward the end of the set, graduate student Skyy Howard got her first kill of the game to give Colorado some much-needed momentum. The impact of that kill was clearly felt, as Washington State had another service error, directly followed by an ace to get the Buffs two points. But ultimately the Buffs weren’t able to catch up to the Cougars and lost the set 25-18.
The beginning of set two was tough for the Buffs, as they appeared unable to adjust to Washington State’s attacks and started off down 7-2. But after a dismal start, Colorado fought back and brought the score up to 12-8. A kill from senior Maya Tabron brought the score to 14-10 and gave the Buffs some short-lived momentum. Every time Colorado gained some sort of momentum, it was lost just as quickly. The Buffs fought until the very end and scored off two Cougar service errors in three plays, but Washington State took its second set of the match with a score of 25-20.
The Buffs found some fight and got off to a strong start in the third set. Colorado had 13 kills and didn’t trail until Washington State came back and brought the score to 20-19. The last points of the set were back and forth and both teams showed incredible fight and resilience. A Washington State attack error after a long rally gave Colorado back the lead, and the CU Events Center was absolutely electric. Every Buffs fan was behind the team for the final points of the match.
The third set looked more promising for the Buffs, as they didn’t trail until the Cougars brought the score to 20-19. Colorado had 13 kills, including a couple from Maya Tabron and Lexi Hadrych. The Buffs had a lot of great plays, but Washington State was determined to come back.
After the Cougars took their first lead of the set, Howard got a kill to give the lead back to Colorado. Howard’s play along with a Washington State attack error after a long rally made the crowd go wild, and the CU Events Center was absolutely electric for the final points of the match. An attack error by freshman Ana Burilović gave the Washington State match point, and the Cougars were able to take the win in heartbreaking fashion for Colorado.
“I feel like we had an opportunity in the third set,” said freshman Kendall Meller, “and I think we have to take every set as an opportunity from the beginning.”
The Buffs’ next match will be Sunday against Washington for Colorado’s Senior Day.
“We just need to take every point,” said Lexi Hadrych. “Seriously, stop messing around. Just get out there and practice our hardest.”
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