The University of Colorado Boulder’s women’s volleyball team celebrates a point in the game against The University of Central Florida at the CU Events Center on October 2, 2025. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
On Oct. 8, the University of Colorado women’s volleyball team (14-3, 5-1 Big 12), newly ranked at No. 24, beat the University of Arizona Wildcats (9-6, 3-2 Big 12) in four sets. Junior pin attacker Sydney Jordan recorded her third double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs, while junior Ana Burilović led the Buffs with 22 kills in the match.
The first set saw close action, with both teams trading runs back-and-forth. With 13 ties, neither team was able to pull ahead to a comfortable lead. Burilović contributed a back-to-back kill and block to put Colorado up 12-10, already the third lead change of the set.
A 4-0 run by Arizona gave them a 21-18 lead, forcing a Colorado timeout. The Buffs then went on a 5-0 run of their own to go up 23-21. The Wildcats pulled close again, tying it at 23, before two final kills from Jordan and Burilović secured the first set win 25-23.
The Buffs took an early 6-3 lead in the second set. Kills from Jordan, Burilović and sophomore middle blocker Maria Splawska kept the Buffs just ahead for much of the set. The Wildcats then went on a 4-0 run to go up 20-17. However, multiple attack errors by Arizona helped the Buffs battle back and tie it at 22.
From there, the teams traded points, trying to get the two point lead to win. Four set points were played before Arizona took it 28-26.
The third set started similarly to the first two, with a seemingly even battle until Arizona took a 10-8 lead. Then, Colorado exploded for a 7-0 run, started by a solid block from Splawska and Burilović, and powered by kills from three different players. The Buffs jumped to a 15-10 lead and kept building, with offensive contributions from several players. Libero Sarah Morton had her first kill of the season to put the Buffs up 24-17, and an attack error by the Wildcats gave Colorado the 25-18 victory.
The fourth set saw a return to the back-and-forth play style from the beginning of the match. A run by Arizona helped put them ahead 13-11, and they stayed just in front of the Buffs for most of the set, until a 7-0 run by Colorado brought them back in front. Burilović had two back-to-back kills to bring the Buffs to match point, which was played three times until a final Burilović kill secured the win 25-22.
“Excited to get the win on the road,” said Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney. “Defensively, we were on the game plan and really frustrated them.”
The Buffs closed out their Arizona road trip with a 1-3 loss to No. 8 Arizona State University (14-2, 5-0 Big 12). The team will return to the CU Events Center on Wednesday, Oct. 15 to play the University of Utah Utes (9-7, 1-4 Big 12). The game begins at 7 p.m. MDT, and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Lila Nuttle at lila.nuttle@colorado.edu
