BOULDER — Colorado women’s volleyball took down Illinois in three sets (27-25, 25-18, 25-22) here Saturday afternoon to earn its third-ever ranked win over the Illini in the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge.
The Buffaloes (4-0) swept the 19th-ranked Fighting Illini (1-2) behind a strong offensive performance from Maya Tabron who totaled 13 kills with a .300 hitting percentage to pair with her eight digs and three blocks.
The offensive, ran by sophomore Taylor Simpson, dominated hitting .370 in the match as a team. Simpson dished out 40 total assists (13.33 per set) and had five hitters with a .300 hitting percentage or greater. Alexia Kuehl, Meegan Hart and Lexi Hadrych all had nine kills in the match while Kuehl and Hart both hit over .500.
On the defensive end, Colorado held Illinois to a .185 hitting percentage behind eight blocks, five of which came from Kuehl. Tabron and Brynna DeLuzio had a team-best eight digs, while libero Katie Lougeay had seven.
The Buffs committed just nine total attack errors in the match, including one in the second set while the team hit .520.
With the win, the Buffs are now 5-1 against the Illini in their last six matchups, three of which came as a ranked upset.
Colorado will look to keep its win streak going when it takes on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1:30 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: Colorado trailed 5-4 before going on a three-point scoring run to take a 7-5 lead early in the match. The Illini responded with four unanswered points to take a two-point lead at 9-7. A review on an Illinois attack error overturned the call and led to a tie at 12 all. The tie continued all the way to 18-18 as the Buffs were outhitting the Illini .304 to .192. Kuehl’s third kill of the match forced an Illinois timeout at 19-18. Shortly after the timeout, both teams found themselves in a tie once again at 21 all. At 25-25, Tabron’s sixth kill gave CU set point. Colorado finished the set on a 3-0 scoring run capped off by an attack error from Swanson. The Buffs had a .371 hitting percentage compared to the Illini’s .188 as CU took the set 27-25.
SET TWO: Both teams battled back-and-forth to an 8-8 tie throughout the beginning of the set. Colorado was on a three-point scoring run following Kuehl’s seventh kill of the match while hitting .636. The…
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