Colorado Takes Down UCF in Five

ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite last-minute travel changes due to Hurricane Milton, the Colorado volleyball team (9-8, 2-3 Big 12) managed to fend off the UCF Knights in a competitive five-set match (25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11) at The Venue on Sunday afternoon.

"It was certainly a hectic week dealing with fluid plans because of the hurricane that came through here, but I was glad we got it rescheduled," head coach Jesse Mahoney said after the match. "I thought it was a very competitive match. Both teams were without their top point-scorer, and both teams were constantly searching for ways to win. I felt we did a really nice job serving and a really nice job executing a shifted game plan."

The Buffs earned their second straight five-set victory as they forced the Knights (8-6, 1-4 Big 12) into 28 attack errors on the day. Colorado fared well at the serving line, recording six aces compared to UCF's four.

Colorado was led by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Jordan who picked up her fifth double-double of the season. Her performance consisted of 18 kills with a .349 hitting percentage, 15 digs and one block.

Sophomore middle blocker Cayla Payne and sophomore opposite Lily Dwinell were also forces to be reckoned with, combining for 26 total kills. Payne recorded 10 kills (.364 hitting percentage) and seven blocks while Dwinell racked up 16 kills, matching her career high.

Accounting for four of Colorado's six aces were defensive specialists junior Emma Torstenson and freshman Katie Salonga. They each recorded two while Torstenson added six digs defensively, and CU kept the opponent out of system on 64% of its serves.

"The players that came in and performed in different ways all played really well," stated Mahoney. "We did what we needed to do in that fifth set to get the win."

The Buffs weren't phased by dropping the fourth set to the Knights and came out firing in the final set to secure the victory on the road.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OH Sydney Jordan recorded 18 kills, 15 digs (dug 84%) and one block. She also ended with an impressive .349 hitting percentage as she picked up her fifth double-double of the season.
So. MB Cayla Payne totaled 10 kills (.364 hitting percentage) and seven blocks (three solo).
So. OH Lily Dwinell had the second most kills on the team with 16, matching her career high set again Texas Tech last week (Oct. 5). She added one dig and one block.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson put together a solid performance made up of seven kills, 44 assists, eight digs and four blocks.
Sr. MB Bella Simkus recorded a quiet six kills with only one error (.714 hitting percentage) and two blocks.
Jr. DS/L Emma Torstenson and Fr. DS/L/S Katie Salonga each had two aces in the victory. Torstenson managed six digs on the receiving end while Salonga had two.
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton led the Buffs with 18 digs, and So. OH Kendall Meller had six kills.
For the Knights, Emily Wilson led all players in kills with 23 and Heidi Bonde also helped out the Knights with 15 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Colorado started a bit slow and then flipped the script with four straight points to take the lead, 6-4. Kills by Simpson and Dwinell kept the Buffs up by three, but UCF wasted no time tying it back up at 10 all. CU led by one at the media timeout and was able to extend its lead to four, 19-15, following the break. Dwinell recorded another kill down the stretch and back-to-back UCF errors gave the Buffs the set, 25-21.
After trailing by three early in the set, the Buffs responded with a quick 4-0 run to take the lead at 7-6 and force a UCF timeout. The Knights fought their way back with the help of two short scoring runs to retake their lead, 14-13. The Buffs made one final push towards the end of the set, but it wasn't enough as the Knights took set two, 25-21.
The Buffs and Knights battled it out to a 4-4 start in set three. Colorado then gained some traction taking a 10-6 advantage which led to a UCF timeout. Shortly after the break, back-to-back UCF attack errors gave CU a 16-10 lead, resulting in another timeout from the Knights. The Buffs showed no signs of slowing down and Jordan's five kills in the set helped Colorado take it, 25-18.
UCF started strong and forced an early CU timeout as the Buffs trailed by five (10-5). Out of the timeout, Colorado scored five unanswered points to come within one (11-10). The Knights' lead continued to 19-18 before the Buffs finally managed to tie the set, 19-19, and force a UCF timeout. After the timeout, both teams traded points to a 23-23 score. The Knights were able to take the set with an ace, 25-23.
The Buffs trailed early in set five, but an error from UCF followed by a Torstenson ace tied things up, 5-5. Jordan continued her great performance with a block that put the Buffs up by one, 7-6. She then recorded back-to-back kills giving Colorado a 9-6 lead. The Buffs secured the victory 15-11 following a kill from Dwinell.

UP NEXT:

Colorado will hit the road once again with matches against Arizona on Wednesday, Oct. 16, and Arizona State on Friday, Oct. 18. The first serve with the Wildcats on Wednesday is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, and links to watch the match are available at CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado moves to 4-0 all-time against UCF and 1-0 vs the Knights in Orlando.
The Buffs are now 5-3 in five-set matches this season.

Under ninth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, Colorado earned a winning record in the 2023 season (16-15) and went 8-12 against Pac-12 opponents. A significant win for the Buffs took place against 17th-ranked Arizona State last year. The Buffs took down the Sun Devils in three sets, completing the sweep and earning CU's only win against a ranked opponent in the 2023 season. Colorado also swept Arizona (Oct. 20) and Washington (Nov. 19) and finished seventh in the Pac-12.

For more information on the Colorado volleyball team, please visit cubuffs.com/vb. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffsvb on Instagram, X, and Facebook.

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Team Stats

Sydney Jordan

Lily Dwinell

Cayla Payne

Taylor Simpson

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Kendall Meller

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Bella Simkus

Taylor Simpson

Emma Torstenson

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Kendall Meller

Sarah Morton

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Bella Simkus

Taylor Simpson

Emma Torstenson