The University of Colorado Boulder’s women’s volleyball team huddled up as they celebrated their win against the University of New Mexico at the CU Events Center on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (Ian Hedgecoth/CU Independent)
In a heated match of five sets, the No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes (6-0, 0-0 Big 12) volleyball team defeated the Northern Colorado Bears (1-4, 0-0 Big Sky) on Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center, taking home the tournament win and the sought-after Buff Invitational trophy.
After falling behind two sets to one, Colorado completely took control late. The Buffs showed Northern Colorado their strength, taking the fourth set 25-9 and the last set 15-6.
The Buffaloes’ late control came from pressure serving and polished net defense, taking 40 of the match’s final 55 points.
The Buffs recorded 14 blocks, nine of which were from junior sx. She was helped by Cayla Payne, Jenna Ylivainio and Lily Dwinell, tallying five blocks themselves. Maddie Rink led Northern Colorado with eight blocks, while Nerea Alvarez Jorge and Gillian Walton added four each.
The competition was electric, with both teams creating heavy defensive plays and attacking offenses. CU’s sophomore Ines Losada served three consecutive aces, adding to the Buffs’ 10 total aces.
With 11 digs by CU’s defensive specialist Tinons Munar Galmes, nothing was going unanswered in the skilled match. Losada had 14 kills, averaging a .455 hitting efficiency for the match, recording five aces and totaling 19 points.
During the match, senior Ana Burilovic added three aces to bring her career total to 132. Burilovic is Colorado’s all-time leader in the rally-scoring era. Payne also reached a CU milestone during the match, reaching 350 career blocks, becoming the 10th player in Colorado history to reach the mark.
Set 1
After Colorado scored the opening point, UNC responded and went on a six-point run. CU fought back with a 4-0 run driven by three attack errors by UNC. The Bears punched back with a reciprocal three-point run fueled by three kills by Leila Ballard, increasing the lead to 9-5.
Alvarez Jorge served an ace to extend the lead to the set-high of 21-11. Losada served three consecutive aces, forcing UNC to take a timeout at 21-15. Colorado’s momentum stalled after a Walton kill, a service ace and another Walton kill to close out the opening set, 25-15.
Set 2
Colorado jumped ahead by two early after a Burilovic kill and an attack error from UNC’s Summer Snead. After pulling within 4-3, the Buffs went on a 5-0 surge, highlighted by kills from Ylivainio, Payne and Losada. Additionally, a block from Ylivainio and Payne forced a Northern Colorado timeout down 9-3.
UNC responded after a media break with four unanswered points, with Alayna Tessena’s service ace and kills from Snead and Ballard narrowing the gap to 15-12.
Colorado responded, increasing the lead to 20-15 after a strong block by Splawska and Dwinell, causing Northern Colorado to use its final timeout of the set. The Buffaloes closed out Set 2 with back-to-back kills from Burilovic, winning 25-20 and leveling the match at one set apiece.
Set 3
Bella LePore’s ace and Rink’s solo block helped push the Bears to an early 6-2 cushioned lead. Colorado answered with a Burilovic service ace that helped pull the deficit to one.
UNC took control of the set with CU’s service errors and back-to-back kills from Ballard and Walton, which put the Bears up seven. UNC secured Set 3 with Snead putting down the final kill to win 25-16 and take a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4
A 5-0 run with two Losada kills and a Burilovic service ace forced Northern Colorado to call an early timeout. Colorado widened the gap with blocks and a service ace from Ylivainio. Losada sparked the momentum for a dominant 7-0 run behind a service ace, with kills from Burilovic and Splawska. Burilovic, a standout player in Sunday’s game, put down a set point before finishing her fifth kill of the set to complete a 25-9 blowout victory.
Set 5
Into the final set, Colorado quickly jumped to a 3-0 lead. After a Burilovic kill and back-to-back blocks helped build a four-point cushion, Colorado extended its lead to 11-4. Losada put down a kill to set up the Buffaloes’ match point, and an attack error by Rink sealed the set win. CU completed the 3-2 comeback and took home the Buffs Invitational hardware.
Head coach Jesse Mahoney said in the post-game press conference, “If you’re not in the right mindset, it will be successful against you.”
“The game is deja vu all over again; it felt like last night,” Mahoney said about losing Sets 1 and 3 by 19 combined points. “We’ve been two different teams these last two days, one that is [at a] really, really high level, and one that’s not.”
After losing these two sets, Colorado changed its mindset and came back to win Sets 2, 4 and 5 by five, 16 and nine points, respectively. Over the final two sets, the Buffs outscored the Bears 40–15.
“We just turned our mindsets around,” Dwinell said. “Getting down 2-1, [we knew] that we had to come out and fight to win the game. There was no other option.”
The Buffaloes look to stay undefeated in a visit to Oregon State on Sept. 11 (5:30 p.m. MT), then face USC a day later in Los Angeles (7 p.m. MT). Both matches will stream on BIG+.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Atticus Wilbern at aico9597@colorado.edu
