The University of Colorado women’s volleyball team is off to a killer start at the Crowne Plaza Fullerton Titan Classic.
The Buffaloes defeated Georgia State 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22) on Friday, giving the Panthers their first loss of the season, while the Buffs improve their record to 2-2.
CU recorded 57 kills in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Kerra Schroeder hit a match-high 21 kills, becoming the first Buff since 2008 to record more than 20 kills in a match.
Freshman libero/defensive specialist Megan Beckwith also had a record-setting night. She hit a career-high 25 digs. She is also the first CU player since 2008 to do so.
Back-and-forth runs between the two teams made up the first set. A 5-2 run helped CU tie up the set at nine all. The Panthers answered with a 10-3 run that gave them a 19-13 lead, but the Buffs came back with a 9-3 run of their own to tie it up at 22. Schroeder finished up the set with a kill to give the first set to the Buffaloes 25-22.
Despite coming out strong, the Buffs dropped the second set. CU took an 18-10 lead, but the Panthers cut it down at 19-15. Colorado later went up at 23-17, but GSU went on an 8-0 run to finish out the set at 25-23.
CU came out strong in the third set, taking a solid 14-2 lead. The Panthers battled back, going on an 8-4 run that helped them cut the lead to 18-10. However, Schroeder, who hit four kills off the last seven CU points, and the Buffs held off GSU and won the set 25-17.
The Buffs were unstoppable in the fourth set. Junior outside hitter Richi Bigelow made five out of six of CU’s points helping increase their lead from 9-8 to 15-9. GSU strung together some points to make the score 21-16, and later went on a 4-2 run to threaten the Buffs again. In the end, a final kill by junior middle blocker Anicia Santos sealed the deal for the Buffs giving them a 25-22 win in the final set.
Colorado is back in action again Saturday with a pair of matches. The Buffs take on Montana at 11 a.m. (PT) and CSU Fullerton at 7:30 p.m.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Marlee Horn at marlee.horn@colorado.edu.
