LOS ANGELES – The University of Colorado women’s volleyball team (9-6, 1-3 Pac-12) ended their first Pac-12 road weekend with a four-set loss to the University of Southern California (10-4, 4-0 Pac-12). CU won the first set 25-19, but lost the next three sets 16-25, 20-25, 15-25.
Outside hitter Maya Tabron led the team in kills with nine on 26 attempts to hit .269. She also earned five digs and one and a half total blocks against the Trojans.
Both Buff middle blockers notched impressive attacking percentages. Skyy Howard hit .400 with four kills on 10 attempts while Cayla Payne hit .500 with eight kills on 12 attempts.
Despite four Buffs with at least 10 attacking attempts hitting above .230, the team only recorded 37 kills while USC earned 59. The Trojans also finished off the day with a .336 attack percentage while CU trailed at .286.
“We have struggled in serve receive the last several matches and unfortunately that was the case again today,” head coach Jesse Mahoney stated. “We were rarely in-system, making us predictable as the match went on. The test will be how we respond this week in practice as we prepare for a great Oregon team.”
The Buffs head home to host No. 6 Oregon Friday October 6 at 7 p.m. and Oregon State University at 12 p.m. on October 8.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE:
The two teams kept traded points evenly throughout the set until the Buffs built a three-point gap at 19-16 with a kill from Ana Burilović, followed by a block assist from Skyy Howard and Lily Dwinell. CU extended their lead by earning four kills in the last seven points to win the set 25-19.
SET TWO:
CU jumped ahead to a 5-3 lead before the Trojans kicked things into high gear. USC went on a 6-0 run to lead 9-5 when CU used their first timeout of the set. The Buffs earned two points immediately after the pause before USC sided out. The Buffs got within two points at 15-17, but USC maintained their lead to close the set 25-16.
SET THREE:
The two teams were tied at 5-5 early on, but USC managed to build a lead to 12-7 off a four-point serving run. From there, USC kept their lead for the rest of the set to win 25-20.
SET FOUR:
The Trojans took an early 7-2 lead, and the Buffs were never able to close the gap. USC extended its lead to 10 at 19-9 and won the set 25-15.
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