The University of Colorado Boulder (20-11 overall and 12-8 in Pac-12) went head-to-head with No. 20 Rice (27-3 overall and 13-1 in C-USA) on Thursday, Dec. 1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Waco, Texas. This was Colorado’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018. The Buffs ultimately succumbed to Rice in four sets with three losses and one win (26-24, 24-26, 25-16 and 25-14).
“Our season was a grind every match,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “Every match of ours was competitive in our league. To make it to this point, we had to win four of our last five games, and that says a lot.