Boulder – Colorado women’s volleyball coach Pi’i Aiu wasn’t about to pop a bottle of bubbly Thursday night, although the Buffaloes advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 with a three-game sweep of 19th-ranked New Mexico State.
There’s more work to do – a match tonight against defending national champion Washington. And winning NCAA Tournament matches, Aiu said, should be the norm at CU.
“It’s been a while,” said Aiu, in his 10th season as head coach. “I’m not going to get overly excited about winning a match. That’s what we need to do at Colorado.”
With a trip to the Seattle regional on the line, the Buffs (17-11) will face the third-ranked Huskies at 7 p.m. tonight. It will be a big challenge but CU is confident – and also unbeaten in NCAA Tournament matches played in the Coors Events Center.
Thursday night’s matches drew a lively crowd of 1,564 that sounded much bigger.
“Playing at home is a huge advantage,” Aiu said.
After defeating New Mexico State (33-4) rather easily in the first two games, 30-24 and 30-30, the Buffs were trailing 17-11 in the third game. Two service aces by freshman Mallori Gibson sparked a Colorado comeback.
CU pulled even at 29-29 and prevailed 34-32. Senior Ashley Nu’u scored the 33rd point when she got a scoop shot to crawl over the net.
“We refuse to give up,” said Nu’u, who recorded 44 assists.
Although unranked, Colorado was the only team to defeat top-ranked Nebraska during the regular season.
“If we could beat Nebraska, we feel we can beat anyone,” CU junior outside hitter Amber Sutherland said.
NO. 3 WASHINGTON 3, COLORADO STATE 1: The Huskies prevented the Rams from a potential upset on the strength of the defending national champions’ junior outside hitter in the opening match.
Washington’s Stevie Mussie darted inside, outside and everywhere in between. She finished with 22 kills and a strong .306 hitting percentage. She also added 13 defensive digs and three block assists.
“She was a key for them,” Colorado State coach Tom Hilbert said. “She was swinging at everything.”
CSU won the first game 30-26 but never regained momentum after quickly falling behind 7-0 in the second game. The Huskies (26-4) then romped 30-26, 30-24 and 30-22 – taking early leads in each of the last three games and shifting into another gear down the stretch.
“We showed we can play Washington to 20-20,” Hilbert said of his young team. “We have to learn to play them to 30-30.”
Outside hitter Jaime Strauss led the Rams with 22 kills.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
