Buffs Fall to UNC

GREELEY, Colo. — The University of Colorado volleyball team fell in three set (20-25, 17-25, 16-25) to instate rival Northern Colorado on Tuesday night.

“This was a very tough match for the Buffs, as it was not our finest performance against a team who was ready to compete and played very well,” Colorado Head Coach Liz Kritza said. “UNC is a very good team and plays this game very tough and will continue to be successful throughout this season.”

With the loss, the Buffs fall to 1-2 on the season while the Bears improved to a 4-1 record.

“This match was not indicative of the ability that this team has, but it will serve a purpose as we continue to work to build a program that will be nationally competitive,” Kritza said.

Sophomore Becah Fogle led the team for the third straight match with 11 kills. Freshman Kerra Schroeder and redshirt sophomore Rosie Steinhaus each added seven in the effort. As a team, the Buffs recorded 30 kills in the match and hit .109.

Colorado’s hitting started off on a good note in the first set, attacking at a .308 clip, but UNC was hitting .464. Both teams struggled in the second set; the Bears at .093 and CU at -.079. The third set was better for CU (.162) but unfortunately the Bears also recovered and hit .355.

Senior Kaitlyn Burkett started off on the right side for the Buffs, but took over the setting duties midway through the second set and dished out 17 assists.

This was just the second meeting between the two teams. CU won the previous meeting on Nov. 26, 2005 in three sets on a neutral court in Denver.

The Buffs and Bears battled in the first set, not letting each other take more than a two-point lead until UNC went on a 5-2 run to take a 20-17 lead in the frame. The Buffs were unable to rally back and fell 20-25.

“We were put in some tough situations tonight and these young players had to learn their way out,” Kritza said. “It was evident in some spots as we were able to close up the score, but they were just too persistent in their transition offense and kept pulling away from us.”

UNC got out to a fast start in the second set, rattling off a 5-1 run and forcing Kritza to call a timeout to stall the Bears’ offense, which it did. The Buffs put together a 6-1 run to tie the set at 10. Once again the teams went back and forth but when the score was tied at 14, UNC went on a 6-0 run to once again control the frame (20-14). After a timeout, the Bears took the next four points to get to set point. CU put together the next three points off a kill from Schroeder, a block from Steinhaus and Megan Cyr and an attack error by the Bears. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough as UNC took the next point to finish the set 25-17.

The third set started off like the previous two and the score was tied at five until the Bears used an 8-1 run to take a 13-6 lead which CU was not able to recover from. UNC kept taking two points for every point CU put up and finished the match 25-16. Steinhaus led the Buffs with six kills and attacked at a team-best .364 in the set.

“I was just trying to be aggressive in the third set,” Steinhaus said. “We had nothing to lose since we were down two games and we just had to come back and fight. I was happy to be able to help the team and score some points.”

This was just the first of four matches for the Buffs this week as they continue their non-conference schedule. CU will head to New Haven, Conn. for the Yale Invitational Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5. The Buffs will face Fairfield on Friday at 3 p.m., Georgetown on Saturday at 9 a.m. and Yale at 5 p.m. All times are Mountain Standard Time.

“Losses are not accepted well by anyone, players and coaches alike, but this one will prove positive as we get ready for yet another road trip and will go back to the gym and work to improve in the areas that we were deficient in tonight,” Kritza said. “We have a big weekend ahead and will be ready to compete when we hit the court on Friday for our next match.”

COLORADO BUFFALOES

Head Coach Liz Kritza Quotes:

This was a very tough match for the Buffs, as it was not our finest performance against a team who was ready to compete and played very well. UNC is a very good team and plays this game very tough and will continue to be successful throughout this season.

After the majority of the first set when we were battling back and forth, they put a few plays together and kept pressure on us in serve receive and they were able to pull away after point 20, the most important part of a 25 point set.

We were put in some tough situations tonight and these young players had to learn their way out. It was evident in some spots as we were able to close up the score, but they were just too persistent in their transition offense and kept pulling away from us.

This match was not indicative of the ability that this team has, but it will serve a purpose as we continue to work to build a program that will be nationally competitive.

High expectations are never a bad thing, even when you have a bump in the road, like we did tonight. Everyone knows we are in a transition year with a new staff and a young team, but we are not allowing ourselves to rest on that and wait, We are enacting change every day and are putting in the work to develop our player’s individual skill set and team systems to raise the overall level of this program. At the beginning of the season, with a young team, ups and downs are to be expected, but the important thing is to focus on the right things to propel your success. This group of players will gain valuable experience every time we take the court and we will remain focused on continual improvement throughout the season.

Losses are not accepted well by anyone, players and coaches alike, but this one will prove positive as we get ready for yet another road trip and will go back to the gym and work to improve in the areas that we were deficient in tonight. We have a big weekend ahead of and will be ready to compete when we hit the court on Friday for our next match.

Redshirt Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter Rosie Steinhaus

I was just trying to be aggressive in the third set. We had nothing to lose since we were down two games and we just had to come back and fight. My swings were going in and I was happy to be able to help the team and score some points.

We need to work really hard every day in the gym. We need to come out this weekend and show everyone what we are made of. This was one match but we will learn from it and show that to everyone this weekend.