The Buffs still don’t know what it’s like to win in the Pac-12.
In a close match, at the Bohler Gym on Saturday night, the Colorado volleyball team fell to Washington State 25-23, 25-23, 25-12.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the first set, tying 14 times. Neither the Buffs nor the Cougars ever had more than a three-point advantage.
When WSU started to pull away at 20-18, Colorado responded with three points to regain the lead at 21-20. The Cougars then took three straight points, and the Buffs answered with two, tying the score 23-23. Washington State was able to score twice more before the Buffs could answer, taking the set victory at 25-23.
The Buffs started with a 7-5 advantage in the second set, but the Cougars quickly responded with four points to make the score 9-7. Colorado then gained the upper hand, building their biggest lead of the set at 20-15.
The Cougars went for a rally, though, taking six straight points and coming within one point of the Buffs at 22-21. After a CU timeout, the Cougars took four of the next five points, winning the set 25-23.
The Cougars had momentum on their side as they went up 7-1 early in the third set. The Buffs tried to respond, closing that gap to within two at 7-5. WSU took six of the next seven points, going up 13-6. The Cougars only widened their lead from there, eventually winning the set 25-12 for the match victory.
While Washington State recorded 15 blocks compared to CU’s four, the Buffs had more hits and digs than the Cougars. Colorado had 36 total kills and 42 digs compared to WSU’s 34 kills and 41 digs.
The CU offense was led by junior Kerra Schroeder with 12 kills, while redshirt freshman Emily Alexis had ten and sophomore Nikki Lindow added seven.
Schroeder also led on the defensive end, earning a double-double with 12 digs. Senior Alyssa Valentine and sophomore Elysse Richardson had seven digs each, and sophomore Megan Beckwith had six.
The loss is nothing new for the Buffs, as they haven’t had a conference victory yet this season. CU’s record now stands at 5-12 overall and 0-9 in the Pac-12, while WSU is 11-7, 3-5 in conference play.
The Buffs head back to Boulder next weekend, taking on Arizona on Friday and Arizona State on Saturday at the Coors Events Center. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Caryn Maconi at Caryn.maconi@colorado.edu.
