By BuffZone.com
A rare four-game week at home began in frustrating fashion for the Colorado women’s volleyball team. It ended the same way.
The Buffaloes capped a busy week by dropping a four-set decision against Wyoming on Sunday, with the Cowgirls posting a 20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-10 victory in the final match of the Buffs Invitational at the CU Events Center.
It was the first contest between the regional rivals since 2019, and Wyoming went home with its first win at the Events Center since 1992.
CU opened the week with a five-set loss against another regional foe, Northern Colorado, before winning the first two matches of the Buffs Invitational, defeating UC Irvine in five sets on Friday and sweeping California on Saturday.
The Buffs put together a solid start on Sunday, as CU used a late 6-1 run to prevail in the opening set. Wyoming quickly answered, using its own 6-1 run to take control of the second set and pull even. The third set was tied 17-17 when the Cowgirls took control with five straight points, and the Buffs seemed to run out of gas in the fourth set, with Wyoming sprinting to a 14-3 lead that essentially took the fight out of CU.
After a strong hitting performance during Saturday’s sweep of Cal, the Buffs posted a hitting percentage of just .105 against Wyoming. The Cowgirls countered with a .301 mark. CU (6-4) finished with 30 attack errors. Sydney Jordan and Ana Burilovic recorded 12 kills apiece for the Buffs, with Burilovic adding 10 digs. CU setter Taylor Simpson finished with 32 assists and nine digs.
Simpson led CU’s selections on the all-tournament team as the tournament MVP, with Jordan and sophomore middle blocker Cayla Payne also landing spots on the all-tournament team.
The Buffs return to action with a home-and-home set against state rival Colorado State on Thursday in Fort Collins (6 p.m., Mountain West Network). The teams meet again at the Events Center on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+).