CU celebrates after winning a point during a game against California Saturday night. (Matt Sisneros/CU Independent)
Facing the No. 4 California Golden Bears for the second time this season, the volleyball team lost in four sets on Saturday night. Entering the game ranked sixth in the Pac 12, the Buffs’ record now falls to 7-7 in conference play.
After the match, head coach Liz Kritza talked about improvements needed for post-season play.
“We’re fighting for that ranking spot,” Kritza said. “To do that, we have to be consistent against these top teams. We just have to eliminate the unforced errors.”
The Buffs struggled to gain a lead in the first set, despite 22 attacks shared between junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson and senior outside hitter Kerra Schroeder. Eleven of those attacks turned into kills. After a time out, Colorado managed to chip away at the Golden Bears’ initial 14-7 lead, thanks to five digs by senior defensive specialist Jessica Aschenbrenner.
After six tied scores, a service ace by Simpson caused the Golden Bears to call their second time out, giving Colorado a 27-26 advantage. A final block by junior middle blocker Kelsey English and junior outside hitter Neira Ortiz Ruiz brought the Buffs to a 28-26 victory in set one.
Coming off the final play of the first set, English managed four kills in the second set. With a cumulative hitting percentage of .367, English has the highest on the squad this season and is ranked sixth overall in the Pac-12. Sophomore setter Nicole Edelman put up 21 assists in the second and currently holds the fifth best assist average in the league at 10.30 per set.
The Golden Bears won the second set 25-22. In the back row, Aschenbrenner recorded nine digs, while freshman libero Cierra Simpson managed two. Sophomore outside hitter Alexis Austin, who had five kills out of nine attempts, recorded the highest hitting percentage for the Buffs.
The Buffs trailed behind the Bears throughout the third. After six tied scores and only one lead change, California won the set 25-23. Senior middle blocker Nikki Lindow became a presence in the front row, making seven kills out of 16 attempts at the net. Other offensive powers in the third set included Austin, recording seven kills, and Taylor Simpson, who had 12.
Cierra Simpson, libero, receives a Cal serve during a game against California Saturday night. (Matt Sisneros/CU Independent)
In set four, after a California time out, the Buffs suffered a service error that brought the score to 23-23, the 17th tie in the game. Colorado called another time out after the Bears moved to a 24-23 lead. Kills by Taylor Simpson and Austin kept the Buffs alive, breaking the first three match points. Simpson totaled 21 kills in the set, and Austin recorded 11.
After 20 total tie scores, the Golden Bears won the set 28-26, taking the match and moving up to a 9-5 record in conference play.
“(Close) sets are part of high level volleyball,” Kritza said about the intensity of the match as a whole. “It’s a good showing; obviously we don’t like the results.”
Communication among the Buffs squad was the largest deterrent to success throughout Saturday’s game.
“I wouldn’t say that it was our best, but I think we still communicated effectively in this match,” Taylor Simpson said. “From this loss, we can just take and learn from our mistakes.”
To prepare for next weekend, the team will focus on health.
“We want as many healthy bodies as possible,” Kritza said. “We need to be very disciplined and very intelligent about how we recover… and I think we’ll like what happens (in Arizona).”
The Buffs will face Arizona State University on Nov. 14 and University of Arizona on Nov. 17.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Jordyn Siemens at Jordyn.siemens@colorado.edu.
