The CU women’s volleyball team looked to end their nine game losing streak, but once again got swept in straight sets. The Buffs fell to the Arizona Wildcats, 25-17, 25-22, 25-18.
The Wildcats are a fairly young team with seven freshmen, but still went up early in the first set. Arizona kept the lead with multiple team blocks—setting the tone for the rest of the match.
“Honestly, the beginning of the game is the key,” said sophomore Nikki Lindow. “We started out slow and dug ourselves a hole. We can’t keep climbing out of the hole, we have to climb the mountain.”
The second set was much closer, but the Buffs started out losing the first seven points and couldn’t quite catch up. The Wildcats took the set 25-22.
The third set was similar to the first two. The Buffs went down early and played catch-up the rest of the set. Arizona took the final set 25-18, giving the Buffs their tenth straight loss.
“Until we understand how to sustain our offensive scoring ability, we’re going to have the same results,” said head coach Liz Kritza. “I’m very honest with them all the time, and they’re very enthusiastic. They’re going to work.”
A few errors crippled the Buff’s game. In the second set, when the Buffs were down 23-22 they committed a serving error, putting the momentum back in the Wildcats’ hands.
“Unfortunately, in volleyball, that’s exactly how this game is played, with momentum,” Kritza said. “A lot of times an experienced team will have the strength of play, and tonight was a perfect example of that.”
Kritza said that consistency is essential for the Buffs as they go into the second half of their conference schedule.
“We’re measuring ourselves by a higher standard now,” Kritza said. “Closing gaps isn’t enough for us now, we expect ourselves to be able to do that. Now we’re trying to be more aggressive on the offensive side, making other teams have to play catch-up with us.”
The Buffs look to end their losing streak against Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Joseph Wirth at joseph.wirth@colorado.edu.
