CU womens volleyball players block opposing strike over net at the CU Events Center on Saturday, September 13 (REBECCA SCHIMA/CU INDEPENDENT)
The University of Colorado women’s volleyball team (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) upset the No. 14 Brigham Young University Cougars (13-1, 1-1 Big 12) in four sets Thursday, Sept. 25. Junior pin attacker Ana Burilović matched her season high of 22 kills and four aces, while junior Lily Dwinell recorded 10 kills and four blocks.
Colorado came out hot to taking a 5-1 lead and force an early BYU timeout. While the Cougars started to come back, another Colorado run put the Buffs up 11-6. The Buffs showed a balanced offensive effort, with Burilović posting six kills for the Buffs to get up 18-10. Colorado’s strong serving and aggressive offense made it difficult for the Cougars to get into a service rhythm, keeping them on the defensive.
Junior middle blocker Cayla Payne showcased her offensive movement, sliding quickly to get several kills. A well-placed tip from junior Sydney Jordan sealed the Buffs’ first set victory at 25-14, to hand BYU their largest set loss of the year.
After a resounding win in set one, the Cougars kept it closer in the second set. Colorado led by just a couple points for the majority of the set, until BYU tied it at 13 a-piece. It was a highly contested set, with five total challenges and both teams using their two timeouts. A late run by BYU put them within one point of Colorado at 21-20, and forced Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney to call a timeout. Two kills by Dwinell and Burilović helped the Buffs stay ahead, as they took the second set 25-23.
The third set saw a swing in momentum as BYU took an early lead. Defensively, the Cougars seemed better adjusted to the Colorado offense, and they got out to an early 11-5 lead before Colorado called a timeout. Although the Buffs kept it close, BYU outside hitters Suli Davis and Claire Little Chambers combined for 10 kills in the set to power the Cougars to a 25-23 win.
In the fourth and final set, both teams traded points back-and-forth to tie it at 10. A 4-0 run fueled by aces and kills by Burilović helped Colorado pull ahead 18-15. From there, Colorado was able to stay in front. Although BYU out-killed the Buffs 24-10 in the set, getting within two points towards the end, a final back-to-back kill and ace from Burilović secured the match win for Colorado and gave BYU their first loss of the season.
“Huge win,”coach Mahoney said. “I’m really proud of the team. [We] came in after losing two in a row – we had a great week of practice, we’ve been really focused in on this team and executed a really good game plan.”
The Buffs finished out their road trip with another top-25 win over the University of Utah on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Their next game will be back at the CU Events center on Thursday, Oct. 2 as they host the University of Central Florida Knights (10-3, 1-1 Big 12). The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Lila Nuttle at lila.nuttle@colorado.edu
