Buffs Fall In Four At Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — University of Colorado senior Alexis Austin recorded 19 kills as the University of Colorado dropped its Pac-12 Conference opener to Utah, 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 25-21), on Wednesday night.

Austin also led CU with a .326 hitting percentage and added five digs and three blocks for 20.5 points, a match-high.

The loss was CU's fifth match in six days, and ended a four-match win streak, moving the Buffs to 8-5 overall (0-1 Pac-12). Utah improved to 7-5 (1-0 Pac-12).

'Tonight's loss is a tough one because there were some really great moments of play, but on the whole, our serve receive game was not consistent enough to support the level of side out offense we needed,” head coach Liz Kritza said. “There are a lot of important lessons learned from taking this tough loss on the road; sometimes you just have to grind out a win even with some flawed plays.”

Sophomores Gabby Simpson and Anna Pfefferle also hit double-digit kills for CU in the effort. Simpson had 12 kills, while Pfefferle tallied 10 kills. As a team, the Buffs had 51 kills and hit .169. Senior Nicole Edelman handed out 37 assists and had three kills of her own.

Utah had three players with a team-high 11 kills, Berkeley Oblad, Adora Anae and Brenna DeYoung. The Utes recorded 49 kills and hit .146 in the match.

On defense, the Buffs picked up 55 digs and 11.0 blocks, but the Utes had 67 digs and 15.0 blocks. Edelman led CU with 15 digs and Simpson recorded a double-double with 14 digs. Her sister, junior Cierra Simpson, notched 12 digs, while freshman Abbie D'Agosta recorded 10 digs. At the net, Pfefferle posted eight blocks and junior Katelyn Cuff recorded six blocks.

CU led 10-8 in the first set before the Utes came back to even the score at 11-11. The two sides would keep the score close as it was tied up again at 13-13 and 15-15 before the Utes went up by two at 17-15. The Buffs called a timeout when UU led 19-15 and out of the break, Austin hammered a kill, but the Utes sided-out with a kill from Brenna DeYoung (20-16). Gabby Simpson answered with a kill for CU, but it was the last point the Buffs would score in the set as UU went on to close the game with five straight points (25-17).

The Buffs took a 6-0 lead to start the second set, but the Utes came back to even the frame at 10-10. It was a close set and neither team had more than a two-point advantage before UU went up 18-15, forcing CU to take a timeout. The Buffs rallied back to tie the set up at 19-19. The score would be tied two more times, including at 24-24 before the Utes stole the set 26-24 with a kill and a block.

The third set was tied nine times in the first 20 points before the Buffs would break it open. CU went ahead at 11-10 and pulled away to a 16-13 advantage and would never look back. The Buffs were able to stay ahead of UU and won the set 25-21. CU hit a match-best .256 with 15 kills and held UU to a .143 hitting percentage with 13 kills.

The fourth set was also very close in the beginning. Late in the set it was knotted at 17-17 when the Utes recorded a kill to take the lead. After UU took another point, CU took a timeout to regroup (19-17). CU had to take another timeout at 22-18 and out of the break, Pfefferle recorded a kill. Austin and Cuff combined for a block to bring CU within two points (22-20). UU sided-out on the next point and went on to finish the set 25-21.

The Buffs are off until Sunday, Sept. 27, when they will face No. 6 Washington in Seattle at 7 p.m. MT.

“Starting out the Pac-12 season with a series of tough road matches will serve to toughen up this team quickly,” Kritza said. “It is not an easy process, but a necessary one for a group of players that have the goals that this group has. There is little time to ruminate over this one as we have to get back to work and hit the road again in two days to head to Washington.”