Buffs' Win Against No. 22 CSU Has Much Significance

BOULDER - When the Colorado Buffaloes upset No. 22 Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins, there was a sense of payback for the loss CU suffered the last time it was in Moby Arena.

It was the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament and a trip to the Sweet 16 was on the line for a pair of top-20 rivals. CU, ranked No. 19 at the time, had defeated Northern Colorado in the first round while No. 9 CSU topped Denver in the all-Colorado bracket.

That Saturday night, Moby Arena was packed with over 6,000 fans in attendance. The Rams took the first two sets 25-22, 25-21, before the Buffs rallied back, taking the third and fourth sets (25-23, 26-24), setting up what was a very closely contested fifth set.

CU had match point at 14-13, but the Rams fought it off and recorded three straight points to take the set 16-14 and advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Minneapolis.

While only a few Buffs remain from that 2014 team, those who do had a sour taste in their mouths headed into Saturday night's match. Despite a home win against the Rams in 2016, revenge for the 2014 loss at Moby was on their minds.

One of those athletes was Joslyn Hayes. When asked about heading back to Fort Collins on Friday after CU's win against Xavier, the Santa Monica, native said, "I am on fire about it. I am pumped up. It has stayed close to my heart because it was such a painful loss, especially for all of the girls that were on the court then. I want to get it done for them, too."

Hayes and the rest of the Buffaloes did just that, but it did not come easily. Colorado State took the first two sets (25-21, 25-23) despite CU holding a 21-13 edge late in the second frame.

After intermission, the Buffs knew what they had to do and they knew it was not going to be easy. The third set had 15 ties and eight lead changes, but in the end, it was CU that came out on top with the 25-22 victory, forcing a fourth set.

Colorado fell behind early in the set (5-2), but responded well, going up 15-8 by the midway point. It was all Buffs then as CU easily cruised to a 25-14 victory.

All of the momentum was on the Buffs' side heading in the fifth set, which is a race to 15. Colorado led 8-5 at the side change. After a CSU timeout, the Buffs took the following two points and once again, the Rams needed to take a timeout. The break did nothing to stop CU as the Buffs could taste victory. CU finished the set, and the match, with a 15-8 victory in front of a crowd of over 4,600.

Moby Arena has traditionally been a tough place to play for many of CSU's opponents, and Colorado is one of those, with a 5-15 overall record there. Prior to CU's win on Saturday, The Buffs had not won at Moby since 1995, when they were still members of the Big Eight Conference. This was also the first loss that CSU head coach Tom Hilbert has suffered in Moby against an NCAA DI Colorado school; his record in those matches is now 51-1.

CU head coach Jesse Mahoney was extremely happy with the outcome.

"We're happy to get every win, we're really happy to get an in-state rivalry win," Mahoney said. "Tom has done a great job with this (CSU) program. To be 51-1 is pretty good, but I'm happy for our kids. I know they're excited to break the streak. I know they're excited and it was fun."

But just like with any big win in the middle of the season, there is not much time to enjoy it as there is always another tough test waiting in the wings.

"We're in a place where every match is going to be one like this and any opportunity to play in this type of match in this type of environment is only good for us," Mahoney said.

This week the Buffs will open up Pac-12 play and will take on a pair of top-20 teams. Colorado will travel to Salt Lake City to face No. 16 Utah on Friday. The Buffs will then head home to Boulder to host 2016 NCAA Champion Stanford on Sunday in a noon match at the Coors EventsCenter. The Cardinal is currently ranked fourth in the NCAA.

Players Mentioned

Joslyn Hayes

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