No. 2 Texas Tops Buffs

AUSTIN, Texas — Kerra Schroeder recorded 11 kills for the Buffaloes but the University of Colorado volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-15) to No. 2 Texas on Saturday at Gregory Gymnasium.

Texas improved to 16-0 overall and 11-0 in the Big 12, while Colorado fell to 6-14 overall record and 1-10 in the Big 12.

“We had some very bright moments on the court today against a team that will be contending for the national championship this year,” head coach Liz Kritza said. “The ability to recover from a 10 point deficit at this level is a unique experience and the fact that we fought with everything we had instead of letting them roll over us is encouraging.

“It speaks to the heart and character of this team, and we need to see more of it on the court to turn the rest of this season around. We are clearly not satisfied with this result, but we are encouraged by the quality of some of the plays today.”

Rosie Steinhaus chipped in eight kills and Becah Fogle added six for the Buffs. Schylur Edelman recorded a .429 attack percentage with four kills and one error on seven tries. Nikki Kinzer hit .667 with two kills on three errorless swings. Kaitlyn Burkett passed out 29 assists as CU hit .188 in the effort with 32 total kills and 16 errors on 85 attacks.

Jennifer Doris and JuliAnn Faucette each recorded eight kills for the Longhorns. Texas hit .443 in the match; recording 37 kills and six errors on 70 attempts.  

Despite allowing Texas to take an 11-1 lead in the first set, the Buffs didn’t get down and fought their way back into the set. CU put together a 3-0 run and a 5-0 run to get the score to 14-18; at which point UT used a timeout. After the timeout, Steinhaus added an ace to get within three points. The Buffs kept at it and took four of the next seven points to get within a pair of points (21-19), forcing the Longhorns to use their last timeout. UT went on to a 24-21 advantage, but the Buffs fought off a pair of set points with a kill from Fogle and a block error from UT’s Hooker. Unfortunately CU couldn’t hang on and fell 25-23. The Buffs out-hit Texas .391-.381 in the set. CU recorded 13 kills and just four errors on 23 attacks, while the Longhorns had 10 kills and a pair of errors on 21 swings.

UT took the early lead in the second set at 9-4. The Buffs got within one point at 9-8 after a 4-0 run, but allowed the Longhorns to take the next seven points for a 16-9 lead. CU tried to rally again to get back in the set, but fell short 25-12. UT hit .467 with 17 kills while the Buffs only recorded seven kills and hit .107.

The Longhorns took a 5-1 lead in the third set, but Colorado rallied back within two points at 13-11. UT started to pull away again, taking a 19-15 lead and finished the set with six straight points. The Buffs notched 12 kills in the frame and hit .118, while UT hit a match-high .474 with 10 kills and only one error on 19 attacks.

“After the first set, they kicked it up a notch and we were not able to keep pace with them offensively and were constantly fighting to close a gap throughout the remainder of the match,” Kritza said.

The next match for the Buffs is against Oklahoma on Wednesday, October 28, in Norman, Okla. The first serve is slated for 6 p.m. (MST). CU will then return home to the Coors Events Center to host No. 13 Iowa State on Saturday, October 31, at 4 p.m.

And don’t forget to check out the latest news and highlights with head coach Liz Kritza on the Buffalo Stampede: Volleyball Edition, exclusively on BuffsTV at CUBuffs.com/volleyball. New shows air every Tuesday.

COLORADO BUFFALOES

Head Coach Liz Kritza Quotes

We had some very bright moments on the court today against a team that will be contending for the national championship this year.  The ability to recover from a 10 point deficit at this level is a unique experience and the fact that we fought with everything we had instead of letting them roll over us is encouraging.

It speaks to the heart and character of this team, and we need to see more of it on the court to turn the rest of this season around. We are clearly not satisfied with this result, but we are encouraged by the quality of some of the plays today.

After the first set, they kicked it up a notch and we were not able to keep pace with them offensively and were constantly fighting to close a gap throughout the remainder of the match.