Freshman Inés Losada winds up to serve the ball at the game against Arizona State. (Annie MacKeigan/CU Independent)
The No. 22 Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) fell to the No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils (22-3, 13-1 Big 12) in heartbreaking fashion after forcing a fifth set. It was the Buffs’ second top-25 matchup of the week after they beat No. 16 TCU on Thursday. Junior pin attacker Ana Burilović put up 28 kills for Colorado, while junior Sydney Jordan added 12 digs on the defensive end, but it wasn’t enough for the Buffs.
Colorado came out looking for revenge, after losing to the Sun Devils earlier in the season in Tempe.
“I think, a little bit, we wanted revenge, from losing to them at home,” said junior middle blocker Cayla Payne. “So I think the mindset was just go out there and play hard, like we all wanted it really, really badly.”
The first set started as a back-and-forth battle, as both teams traded points. Setter Rian Finley had Colorado’s first kill of the match, and soon after Payne forced a hard hit through an Arizona State block.
A 33-second rally, featuring dynamic defensive plays from both sides, ended in an Arizona State attack error and put the Buffs up 10-8. This gave Colorado some momentum, as sophomore middle blocker Maria Splawska had a big hit, followed by a huge slam from Burilović that went flying into the crowd off Arizona State’s defense. Colorado went into the first media timeout up 15-11.
The Sun Devils came out of the timeout on the attack, regained the lead and didn’t slow down despite two Colorado timeouts. The Buffs’ defense scrambled and their offense looked out of rhythm, with five attack errors in Arizona State’s 10-0 run that put them up 22-16. From there, the Sun Devils cruised to a 25-19 first-set victory.
ASU carried that momentum into the second set, getting out to an early 4-0 lead, before Splawska nailed a kill to get the Buffs on the board. Colorado slowly got back into the game, trailing by a couple points.
A big solo block by Burilović tied the set at 15, as Colorado seemed to be making a comeback. After going down 23-19, Colorado successfully challenged what would have been set point for ASU, as libero Sarah Morton’s diving dig was found to be successful. Burilović nailed down a huge hit that went flying into the stands, sending the crowd into a frenzy as the Buffs continued to hold off Arizona State. The next play, however, ended their comeback attempt, as ASU’s leading attacker, junior Noemie Glover, put down her sixth kill of the set to win it for the Sun Devils, 25-22.
Colorado came out swinging to start the third set, with Payne hammering down a kill in the opening rally. Both teams traded spikes, including a hard hit by junior outside hitter Lily Dwinell that deflected off Arizona State’s defense and flew up into the jumbotron, where it got stuck and counted as a point for Colorado.
Junior pin attacker Lily Dwinell flicks the ball over Arizona State University’s attempted block in the Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 match. (Annie MacKeigan, CU Independent)
The tide started to turn for the Buffs, as a huge block from Splawska and Dwinell got the crowd fired up and sent ASU into a timeout as Colorado went up 17-13. Burilović continued her onslaught for the Buffs, recording 11 kills in the set, including the last three to seal the set win for Colorado, 25-18.
The third set marked a shift in momentum for Colorado, as they hit .607 in the set compared with their .114 in the first.
The fourth set was another battle at the beginning, with ASU initially pulling ahead. Burilović proved to be a force for the Buffs, with a kill and two aces on consecutive plays to tie it at seven, followed by a big block from Splawska and Dwinell.
When they played ASU earlier in the season, the Sun Devils had the home court advantage. Now home, the Buffs were supported by an enthusiastic large crowd, as Colorado went on a 7-2 run with scores by four different players to go up 23-18.
If the crowd was loud before, it went into a frenzy as Burilović put up a solo block to win the set for the Buffs 25-21 and tie the match at two sets apiece.
The fifth set was much of the same, as each point came with a response from the other team. Colorado pulled slightly ahead early on, with a kill from Burilović followed by a Finley ace putting the Buffs up 8-5.
Defensively, Splawska was in her element. She and Dwinell combined for their eighth block of the match, and she followed with a solo block as Colorado stayed up 11-8.
A Buffs fan screams in celebration as the Sun Devils call for a timeout in the heat of the match. (Annie MacKeigan/CU Independent)
The crowd in Boulder was electric as Jordan ended a long rally in which Colorado kept the Sun Devils on the defensive with a slam to go up 12-10 and send Arizona State into a timeout.
“I wish I could go out and thank all the fans,” Jordan said. “That was such an amazing atmosphere. And the fact that the community’s come out and really just shown so much support for us, seriously means the world.”
The Sun Devils clawed their way back, though, powered by three kills from Glover en route to the 15 points needed to win. Colorado called two timeouts, but to no avail, as ASU took the fifth set 15-12, winning the match 3-2.
Ultimately, Colorado was unable to respond to ASU’s star hitting power. Glover had 31 kills for the Sun Devils on .411 hitting.
“There’s no moral victories, so I can’t claim that, but I was really happy with our week just in general,” said Colorado head coach Jesse Mahoney. “All season we’ve fought really hard, and when our back’s been against the wall, we’ve found a way to respond and we did that today.”
Colorado is no stranger to five-set comebacks, having just beat No. 16 TCU after being down two sets. Until Saturday, Colorado had been 6-0 in five-set matches.
“Slow starts for us are kind of a little bit normal, so I think we know how to turn it on after a first set,” said Payne. “But we were angry, to be honest. We wanted that. We really wanted that, and we knew that we were not going to let that team sweep us.”
Despite not getting the win, the home crowd was loud in support of the Buffs, which both Jordan and Payne noted as creating a fun environment to play in.
“As a women’s sport, I feel like it’s great to get crowds like that,” Payne added. “To have people show up for us when we are doing well, it feels really good. It feels like we’re actually being seen and getting rewarded for the things that we’re doing.”
Next up, the Buffs head east to play the West Virginia University Mountaineers (15-11, 3-11 Big 12) on Wednesday, Nov. 19. First serve is set for 4 p.m. MDT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Lila Nuttle at lila.nuttle@colorado.edu
