cu volleyball: Buffs upset top-ranked Washington Huskies, face Washington State on Saturday.

boulder » When the University of Colorado Buffaloes snapped a 41-match losing streak against ranked volleyball teams last week by beating No. 11 UCLA, they weren’t quite satisfied.

Colorado upset No. 1-ranked Washington on Friday night at the Coors Event Center, handing the Huskies their first loss of the season in four sets (25-17, 26-24, 15-25, 25-19).

“Something like this doesn’t just happen on a whim or just because you want it,” Colorado coach Liz Kritza said. “Everybody wants to beat the number one team on their home court. Everybody wants to. It has to be a little bit more than that.”

The last time the Buffs beat a No. 1-ranked volleyball team was in 2006 against Nebraska, when Colorado handed the Cornhuskers their first and only loss of the season.

The Buffs (10-3, 2-1 Pac-12) came out calm and took the first set easily, winning 25-17. The Huskies (10-1, 2-1) kept the second set close, but the Buffs hung on for the 26-24 win.

After the midmatch break in the locker room, Colorado lost some momentum and dropped the third set 25-15. During the fourth set, when she knew they could clinch the win, CU senior outsider hitter Kerra Schroeder reminded everyone to stay relaxed.

“I kept saying the last couple of points, ‘OK do our own jobs. The crowd’s going crazy but this is our time. Everyone do their own jobs. Calm down. Let’s just play volleyball,’ ” Schroeder said. “And that’s what really kind of got us through it.”

Colorado junior outside hitter Taylor Simpson led the team with 18 kills.

“I can only imagine what’s next,” Simpson said. “We just beat the No. 1 team. I’m beyond excited.”