CU Independent University of Colorado Daily Student News
The CU women’s volleyball team began its week in Washington on a low note Wednesday night with a loss to the Washington State Cougars.
The Buffs were defeated in straight sets (25-21, 25-9, 25-19) by the Cougars, dropping their record to 14-11 on the season and 4-9 in the Pac-12. The match was the first conference win of the season for Washington State, as the team moved to 11-14 overall and 1-12 in the Pac-12.
Defensively, the Buffs tallied 43 digs as a team. Freshman Chelsey Keoho led with 13. On the offensive end, the CU women struggled, hitting just .108 with 30 kills and 19 errors on 102 attacks. The Buffs were led offensively by freshman outside hitter Alexis Austin, who racked up 10 kills. Junior middle hitter Nikki Lindow and freshman setter Nicole Edelman also contributed seven kills each.
WSU was dominant from the start of the first set, going up 21-11 before CU was able to respond. The Buffs took nine of the next eleven points to close the gap to three (20-23), but were unable to make a full comeback, dropping the set 25-21.
CU also struggled throughout the second set, as Washington State led the entire time. The Buffs hit just .029 compared to the Cougar’s .378 and lost the set 25-9.
The Buffs were able to get some momentum going in the third set, keeping the score close for the first half. The Cougars had just a one-point advantage midway through the set (16-15), but would take nine of the next 13 points to win 25-19 and take the match victory.
The CU team will remain in Washington for the rest of the week, taking on the No. 8 University of Washington in Seattle on Friday, Nov. 2. Next week, the Buffs return to Boulder for their final home matches of the season, taking on UCLA and USC at the Coors Events Center.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.
