Contact CU Independent Editorial Manager Tommy Wood at thomas.c.wood@colorado.edu
Colorado Buffaloes volleyball fired head coach Liz Kritza Thursday afternoon, according to a release from the athletic department.
“A determination has been made that we need to go in a different direction from a leadership standpoint,” Athletic Director Rick George said in a statement. “We do appreciate what Liz Kritza has contributed to the program in raising our profile both nationally and in the Pac-12 Conference, but there are differences that have caused us to make a change in the program at this time.”
The Buffs finished the season 19-13 (11-9) but barely missed the NCAA Tournament. Seven other Pac-12 teams made the tournament, including three teams — Oregon, Arizona and Arizona State — that finished below Colorado in the Pac-12. The Buffs had a 4-2 record against those teams this season. The selection committee’s snubbing of Colorado was controversial for that reason, and because the Buffs beat six ranked teams this year.
Kritza amassed a 90-125 record in seven seasons as Colorado’s coach. She took the Buffs to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2014, and she helped them rise from a last-place Pac-12 finish in Colorado’s first year in the conference to finish as high as fourth in one of the toughest volleyball conferences in the country.
Kritza will be replaced by assistant coach J.T. Wenger on an interim basis, and Colorado will form a search committee to hire her full-time successor.
Details and updates to follow.
