Match Stats
- #8 Washington def. Colorado 3-1 (25-23, 25-13, 21-25,
- 25-15)
- Washington moves to 23-4 (13-4 Pac-12); Colorado falls to 13-14 (5-12 Pac-12)
- Boulder, Colorado
Colorado has a history of upsetting Washington in Boulder, having done so in each of the last two such appearances (2013, 2014), but on Friday they had no such luck as the #8 Huskies topped the Buffaloes 3-1.
After Washington won each of the first two sets, Buffalo got hot in the 3rd to pull off a set win. They went up 9-4 early in the 4th, but after a mass substitution, swapping out 4 players, Washington rattled off 6-straight points (including 5 on serves by Tia Scambray).
Courtney Schwan was a big part of that run, scoring 5 out of Washington’s 6 points with kills in the middle of the set. That was part of an overall 13-kill night for her, one of 4 players in double figures.
Three of Washington’s 4 players with 10 or more kills also recorded 10 or more digs for double doubles. That includes Crissy Jones, who had 18 kills (.432 average) and 22 digs, the latter of which was a season-high. Jones also chipped in 3 service aces.
Washington dominated in every statistical category, including aces (7-3), blocks (10-4), kills (65-47), digs (70-59), and average (.294-.188).
Colorado’s loss came in spite of a well-played game from Alexa Smith, who had 14 kills on .308 hitting with 2 blocks and 9 digs. The sophomore from Colorado Springs has now recorded double-digit kills in 9 straight games, though Colorado has only won 2 of those.
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Courtesy Washington Athletics:
BOULDER, Colo. – A huge run by the Husky volleyball team over the latter half of the fourth set snuffed out any chances of a Colorado comeback and gave the Dawgs their fourth win in a row by a count of 25-23, 25-13, 21-25, 25-15 at the Coors Events Center. Washington (23-4, 13-4 Pac-12) had huge matches from junior Crissy Jones and freshman Kara Bajema and junior setter Bailey Tanner kept the offense clicking with 55 assists.
The Huskies got their first win in Boulder since 2012, having missed the trip last season and getting upset in 2013 and 2014. After taking a 2-0 lead, the Huskies saw the Buffs (13-14, 5-12 Pac-12) get hot and come back to take the third set, and Colorado took a 9-4 lead in set four. But Washington roared back with 21 of the final 27 points of the match, including a final 10-1 run, to seal the victory. The win keeps UW a half-game behind UCLA for the Pac-12 lead, as UCLA won tonight to go to 14-4, which UW will try to reach on Sunday at No. 16 Utah.
Jones delivered 18 kills on a .432 attack percentage and served up three aces, but her defense was just as impressive, as she set a career-high with 22 digs. Washington outdug Colorado, 70-59, and UW is 14-0 when leading in digs. The Huskies hit .294 for the match and held Colorado to .188. Tanner frequently found Bajema who was equally adept at quick sets in the middle, and running behind Tanner for slide kills. Bajema finished with a career-high 14 kills, making just one error on 22 attempts to hit .591, and adding a team-high seven blocks. Tanner also frequently found Courtney Schwan and Tia Scambray, who both finished with 13 kills.
“Our defensive effort and execution in the fourth set were outstanding,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “The team made a collective commitment to prioritize defense over their individual offense. That’s the team we will need to be moving forward. Bailey Tanner set a great match. In both serve-receive and transition she made good decisions over and over.”
Jones got the first kill for UW from the right for a 2-1 lead to start the first set. Bajema sent down her first swing with authority for 4-3 as the teams continued siding out. Scambray and Schwan got kills from the left as the alternating points continued. Colorado moved up one point, but Jones tied it at 7-7 and 8-8 with a pair of big swings, and then Jones landed another from the right to put UW back up, 9-8. The first block for UW came from Jones and Bajema for the first two-point lead for either team at 11-9, and then Destiny Julye followed with the first service ace, catching the tape and falling for a 12-9 lead. Julye dialed up a second straight ace shanked by the Buff defender for 13-9 and Colorado called time. The Buffs got the point out of the break but Bajema answered right back in serve-receive. Colorado rallied with four straight points to tie it back up at 14-all, but Bajema snapped the run by poking a low Colorado shot back over for a kill. Avie Niece picked up her first kill to move UW back up, 17-16, and Niece then got into the middle of a triple stuff with Schwan and Jones for 18-16. Schwan had a kill on a Colorado block touch for 19-16 to force the second CU timeout. The Buffs sided out after the break, but Jones tipped for a kill for 20-17. Jones had another kill off a block touch for 21-18 despite a Colorado replay request. Scambray had a big swing crosscourt from the left and then followed that up with an ace to get the Dawgs to set point at 24-20. But after a Husky error, Colorado served up back-to-back aces, cutting it to 24-23, with UW taking a timeout after each ace. Out of the second break, Schwan had a perfect pass and Tanner set Jones in the back row and she delivered her eighth kill of the set to end it, 25-23. The Huskies outhit Colorado, .298 to .279, with Jones hitting .615 with eight kills and no errors on 13 attempts plus six digs.
Scambray had an early kill, and then a 4-0 Husky run on the Julye serve built the Dawgs a 7-3 lead in set two. Bajema had a transition kill in the run and Julye served her third ace of the match. Schwan rolled one over and down out of the back row, and then Bajema paid off a Schwan dig with a slide kill for 10-4 to force a timeout from the Buffs. Two Colorado errors out of the break kept the Husky run going on Jones’ serve before they got a kill to stop the 5-0 Husky run. Scambray hit down an overdig for 13-6 Dawgs. Tanner dumped for her first kill to end a long rally and make it 14-7. Niece landed back to back crushing blows from Tanner for a 16-8 advantage. Jones lasered a quick set out of the middle and the Buffs hit into the antenna for 18-9 and CU took its final timeout. Bajema crushed another and then a Jones dig led Schwan to bump set Scambray for a kill to make it 22-12. Another slide kill for Bajema in serve-receive made it set point at 24-13, and then Scambray quickly finished it off with an ace on the next point for 25-13. The Dawgs hit .345 in the set with Bajema finishing five of her seven swings without an error, and CU was held to a .031 attack percentage.
Jones picked up where she left off with the first kill for UW in the third set, and a diving save from Niece led to a Scambray kill for a 2-1 lead. Jones killed an overdig for a 6-4 Husky lead and then served up an ace to add another to the lead. Scambray had a swing that looked and sounded like it deflected off a Buff player’s arm, but no touch was called and UW asked for a replay but it was not overturned. The Buffaloes rallied to tie it up at 9-9 but Schwan came through on the left to put UW back on top, 10-9. Jones had a quick strike from the middle to make it 12-11, but Colorado scored the next two to take its first lead since 0-1. Colorado pushed it to 13-15 at the media timeout. Bajema put one down in serve-receive after the break, but Colorado got a tip to fall for 14-16. The Huskies took a timeout as the deficit grew to 15-18. After the break, UW passed too tight and Tanner lost a joust at the net for 15-19. Bajema stopped the bleeding with a kill on a touch call that was reviewed and went UW’s way, and then Scambray had a dig that led to a Schwan tool of the block for 17-19. Schwan had another offspeed kill for 18-20 as the Dawgs tried to rally. Scambray converted from the left but the Huskies were unable to close the gap as Colorado reached set point at 20-24. UW saved one but the Buffs finished with a quick middle attack on the next point for 21-25. Washington was outhit in the third, .382 to .156, making eight errors compared to just three for the Buffs.
Washington surrendered the first three points of the fourth set before Jones got a kill to get UW on the board. Scambray had a roof and then Bajema collected a solo block on a Colorado tip attempt to pull UW back within one at 3-4. But Colorado came right back with another 3-0 run to make it 3-7 and the Huskies had to take the early timeout. Schwan got aced out of the timeout, but Scambray stopped the run with a kill on the next point for 4-8. Washington started scrapping back with a 4-0 run as Bajema started it with a slide kill, Scambray finished out of the back row, and then Schwan put two away on the left in transition after Jones had some big digs along the sideline. Schwan’s second in a row made it 8-9 and forced a Buffs timeout. Out of the break, Jones laid out to punch up a dig and then Tanner found Schwan again to tie it at 9-9. The Huskies then took the lead with a rejection before Scambray finally served into the net to snap the 6-0 run for 10-10. Schwan delivered two more kills as the teams swapped sideouts, UW leading 12-11. Colorado ended a long rally with a block, but Scambray answered back with a kill and then Colorado swung long for 15-13 Dawgs. Washington made another run with Jones finishing and then Tanner and Bajema getting a big block to crack open a 17-14 lead. Schwan finished in transition for 18-14 and Colorado was forced to take time. Out of the break, Bajema killed a transition slide, and then Jones served up a line drive ace for 20-14. Scambray got a kill on the touch to keep the run going, and then ended another long rally by taking something off and putting the ball down inside the block for 22-14 before Colorado finally snapped Jones’ seven-point serving run. Scambray put another away at the left pin and then Tanner posted the roof on the right pin to get the Dawgs to match point, and a Colorado hitting error on the next rally ended it, 25-15. The Huskies ended up dominating with a .438 attack percentage and held Colorado to .029. Schwan had six kills in the set and hit .500, Tanner had 15 assists and Jones had nine digs. All told it had been a 21-6 run from 4-9 down in the set, and UW ended the set with a 10-1 run.
The Huskies will have a major test on Sunday as they head to Salt Lake City to take on the 16th-ranked Utes with a first serve of 11 a.m. Pacific time.
Courtesy Colorado Athletics:
BOULDER—Colorado put up a fight against No. 8 Washington on Friday night and was able to push the game to four sets, but in the end, fell short, 3-1 (25-23, 25-13, 21-25, 25-15).
Sophomore Alexa Smith led the way for the Buffs with 14 kills and nine digs while Washington’s Crissy Jones led the Huskies with match-highs of 18 kills and 22 digs. With the loss, CU falls to 13-14 overall and 5-12 in the Pac-12 while UW improves to 23-4 and 13-4 in Pac-12.
WHAT HAPPENED: Playing without Gabby Simpson, the Buffs played at a high level for what head coach Jesse Mahoney called “80 percent of the match,” and chalked up the Buffs struggles to “some rotation issues.” Along with Smith, senior Cierra Simpson led the Buffs’ defense recording a team-high 18 digs.
SET 1: Early in the first set Colorado and Washington had nine score ties. The Huskies’ breakthrough came after a 4-0 run to lead the game at 14-9, prompting CU to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Buffs recorded a 5-1 run to tie with Washington at 14 points. UW, however, did not want to give the set away and in turn had a 6-3 run to take the lead at 20-17. From there, the Huskies jumped to a 24-20 lead. The Buffs rallied a three-point run to bring the set within a point. On the last play of the set, UW recorded a kill to win the set 25-23.
SET 2: Continuing from the momentum of the last set, UW quickly took the lead at 7-3. From there, UW recorded five points with no answer from the Buffs (12-4). CU tired to cut the lead, but was overpowered by the Huskies. When Washington was leading 18-9, Colorado called their first time out in an attempt to rally. UW then cruised to a second set win 25-13.
SET 3: Early in set three, the Huskies took an 8-4 lead. Colorado responded with a 5-2 run to knot the game at nine points. CU then pushed its lead to 18-15, prompting a timeout from Washington. The Huskies were able to cut down CU’s lead but Colorado did not want to give up the set. Katelyn Cuff’s kill sealed the third set for the Buffs (25-21).
SET 4: The Buffs kept their momentum from the previous set and jumped to a 7-3 lead, forcing an UW timeout. Washington recorded a 6-2 run after the break to tie the score at nine points after which CU called a timeout. The Huskies were able to jump ahead afterwards (18-14) before Colorado used its second timeout. UW took charge of the rest of set four and defeated the Buffs 25-15.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .188 with 47 kills and 20 errors on 144 attacks, while Washington hit .294 with 65 kills and 20 errors on 153 attacks. CU recorded 44 assists to UW’s 61. The Huskies out-dug with 70 to CU’s 59. Colorado had four blocks while Washington recorded 10.
NOTABLE: The Huskies now lead the all-time series against the Buffs, 11-3, and UW takes its first match in Boulder since 2012. In 2013, the Buffs knocked off the top-ranked Huskies and then in 2014, CU beat No. 2 Washington in five at the Coors Events Center … Washington improves to 12-1 on the road this season … CU falls to 9-5 at home this season … Cuff hit .556 with five kills on nine swings with no errors … Kiara McKibbin added 23 assists and four digs while Marie Zimmerman had 13 assists and six digs.
NEXT UP: Colorado hosts Washington State for Senior Day on Sunday at Noon before traveling for the last pair of conference matches, at Arizona State on Wednesday Nov. 23 then at Utah on Friday, Nov. 25 to close out the regular season.
QUOTABLE:
COACH JESSE MAHONEY
On Today’s Match
“We played 80 percent of the match at a really high level. We have some rotations where we struggled to side out, and we had gotten stuck in set two. In set two we got stuck in that, missed 10 or 11 points, kind of our season in a nutshell. We would play really well, and then would play really bad.”
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