Hadrych's 20 Kills Pushes Buffs Past Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz.  — The University of Colorado women's volleyball defeated the Arizona Wildcats (25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-17) here Wednesday afternoon in four sets.

The Buffs' (19-10, 11-8 Pac-12) offense proved unstoppable as Colorado hit .333. Lexi Hadrych earned 20 kills on 38 attempts to hit .395 and Meegan Hart hit .435 with 12 kills. Maya Tabron rounded out CU's offense by earning 10 kills to hit .229.

The Wildcats (15-15, 5-14 Pac-12) found their own offense halted as CU earned 68 digs compared to Arizona's 57. Taylor Simpson and Jill Schneggenburger both dug 15 balls, Tabron picked up 13 digs, and libero Katie Lougeay got 12.

The Buffs also had a strong serving game, earning 12 aces. Tabron earned four aces while Lougeay and Simpson both achieved three.

Next up, the Buffs head back to Boulder to celebrate senior day and face Utah at 3 p.m. Friday. The game will be shown on Pac-12 Mountain.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE

The Buffs quickly took a 8-4 lead before having their momentum stalled by the Wildcats, and a Sofia Maldonado Diaz kill closed the gap to 12-11. The Buffs went on a four-point run off Tabron's serve, where she picked up two aces, putting the Buffs up 16-12 by the time the Wildcats managed a side out. Kuehl's third kill of set caused Arizona to use at timeout at 21-16. Levaggi closed out the set with her second consecutive kill 25-19.

SET TWO

Tabron earned another two aces early in the set, forcing Arizona to call a timeout at 8-4. Savannah Perry went on another run to cause the Wildcats to use their second timeout early at 11-7. Arizona then managed to put their own run together to get within one, but a kill from Hadrych ended the Wildcats' push and put the Buffs up 12-10. 

The Wildcats went on a six-point run to take a 17-15 lead, but a Kuehl kill brought the run to an end. Lougeay earned the team's seventh ace to put the Buffs up 18-17. A crucial challenge was overturned in Colorado's favor to put the Buffs up 21-20. Arizona retook the lead though, going up 23-22. The Buffs achieved set point, but the Wildcats stalled the Buffs with a kill from Emery Herman. Arizona closed out the set 26-24.

SET THREE

The third set was intense throughout the whole game, consisting of 16 ties and 10 lead changes.

Hadrych found her 10th kill by hitting through a Wildcat triple-block to tie the set 3-3. The two teams continued to keep it close, and a Wildcat attack error put the Buffs up 12-11. A Kuehl and Hadrych block gave the Buffs their first two-point lead of the set at 16-14.

Hart played a pivotal role in helping the Buffs close out the set, earning three kills in Colorado's last five points. A Wildcat attack error ended the set in the Buffs' favor, 25-22.

SET FOUR

The Buffs took a quick 3-1 lead off Lougeay's serve and the Wildcats utilized their first timeout as the Buffs achieved a 5-1 lead. The pause helped Arizona regain their momentum and they tied up the set 5-5. A kill by Schneggenburger gave the Buffs back their lead, but the Wildcats quickly tied the match 6-6 with a kill. Arizona established a two-point lead at 11-9 off a Zyonna Fellows kill.

The Buffs responded with a four-point service run from Lougeay, leading 14-12 by the time the Wildcats recovered. The Buffs extended their lead to 21-16 with an ace from Schneggenburger.

Hadrych found her 20th kill of the match to put the Buffs at match point and Levaggi closed out the game with her fifth kill.

QUOTES
 
Head Coach Jesse Mahoney
 
On The Match
 
"From an offensive standpoint, I thought we played at a very high level. Except for a lull in set two, we passed extremely well, and Taylor and Brynna made great [setting] choices."
 
On The NCAA Tournament
 
"We are definitely on the bubble for the NCAA selection, and this win puts us on the right side of it. We are excited to come home and play one more match in front of our fans Friday."