The University of Colorado Boulder’s women’s volleyball team rally before the start of their game against The University of Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. (Lily Wright/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder (20-11 overall and 12-8 in Pac-12) went head-to-head with No. 20 Rice (27-3 overall and 13-1 in C-USA) on Thursday, Dec. 1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Waco, Texas. This was Colorado’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018. The Buffs ultimately succumbed to Rice in four sets with three losses and one win (26-24, 24-26, 25-16 and 25-14).
“Our season was a grind every match,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “Every match of ours was competitive in our league. To make it to this point, we had to win four of our last five games, and that says a lot. After this experience of being [at the NCAA tournament], many of our players have an opportunity to come back next season. Hopefully, this experience will help.”
The first set of the match went point for point. Colorado and Rice tied early in the set at 9-9 and kept exchanging points back and forth until the score reached 23-23. Then, the Owls made an attack error, losing a point, and decided to call a timeout. Following the timeout, Rice senior outsider hitter Ellie Bichelmeyer recorded three kills, giving Rice the lead to win the set 26-24.
The second set was just as competitive as the first. The Buffs trailed early in the set 5-2, but they quickly took the initiative. Colorado went on a six-point scoring run, taking the lead 9-5. Rice responded with a scoring run of their own, tying the score 10-10. The Owls began to excel offensively through numerous kills, again tying the score in the final stretch 21-21. Then in the final stretch, following an attack error by Rice, Colorado managed to take the set with two kills by graduate outside hitter Lexi Hadrych.
With the even playing match, the teams moved into set three. The Owls and the Buffs exchanged three-point scoring runs, which kept the score close at 13-13. Though the Buffs managed to hold their own until mid-way through, their momentum stalled. Between Colorado attack errors and Rice kills, Rice took a significant nine-point lead 24-15, off of a 10-point scoring run. Though Colorado tried to retaliate 24-16, they soon made an error, giving Rice their final point and the third set.
“We gave them six or seven points [in the third set], and our passing broke down a little bit,” Mahoney said. “We had a couple of really nice swings that usually [would have] ended up as points, but [Rice] made some great defensive plays. Then, we lost our composure a little bit and started to press a little bit. I kind of felt like we righted the ship in set four, but again our passing broke down a little bit.”
The final set put pressure on the Buffs, which they couldn’t handle. Similar to the last set, Colorado tried to establish a lead early on. However, Rice went on a three-point scoring run, securing the advantage 7-6, and from that point on, Colorado continued to fall behind. Rice went on a six-point scoring run, followed by another four-point one, putting their lead at 17-8. Rice had one final five-point scoring run, securing their lead 23-12 and eventually taking the set.
“They’re a great team,” said middle blocker Meegan Hart. “[Their defense] stepped up in order to get some big swings. It can get frustrating when you know you’re not scoring, and you just keep trying to score and score. I think defensively, it’s just the speed.”
The Buffs finished with their best record since the 2017 season, when Colorado went 24-10 overall. Colorado also matched their best conference record (12-8), finishing fifth since joining the Pac-12 12 years ago.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of kids,” Mahoney said. “Regardless of the result, one match doesn’t define you at all. It’s the body of work. I’m just happy that [even though] we’ve had a couple tough seasons, they kept grinding and really had one of the best seasons CU’s had in Pac-12 history. They’ve got a lot to be proud of.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Malaina Humphreys at malaina.humphreys@colorado.edu.
