No. 23 Buffaloes Best Bears in Five-Set Brawl

Tuesday, October 28

Greeley, Colo.

6 PM

Colorado

19-3,9-1Big 12

Northern Colorado

9-13,6-3Big Sky

Colorado

Northern Colo.

October 28, 2025 | Volleyball

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Junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic reaches 30 kills for second time this season

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

GREELEY, Colo. – The 23rd-ranked Colorado volleyball team (19-3, 9-1 Big 12) defeated Northern Colorado (9-13, 6-3 Big Sky) in five sets (22-25, 28-26, 25-15, 21-25, 15-8) at the Bank of Colorado Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The Buffs hustled through the first two sets, losing narrowly in set one and taking set two to extra points. Hitting .514 in the third, CU grabbed set three by 10 points and were errorless on the attack end in the fifth to take the match in five.

Junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic led the Buffs with 30 kills (6e, 73att) and hit .329. This is the 13th time a player for CU has totaled 30 or more kills in a match, and Burilovic becomes the second player to do it twice in one season.

"We're in one mindset in conference, so we're having to step out of it a little bit," head coach Jesse Mahoney stated. "I'm not sure we came out and gave them the respect they deserved – that's a really good team we just played. [...] [Burilovic] was really good. Frankly, they put a ton of pressure on us. They had a really good game plan, they ball handled, their middles scored really well."

The Buffaloes out-killed (72-60), out-assisted (69-55), out-dug (67-66) and out-blocked (14-10) the Bears. Colorado hit .714 in the fifth set while holding UNC to .059 in the fifth set.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic led the match in kills with 30. She also saw nine digs, three digs and one ace.
So. PIN Gwen Schiff scored a career-high six kills and hit a career-high .667 (6k, 0e, 9att). She also recorded one block and one dig.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan earned her fifth double-double of the season, 11th of her career, from 10 kills and 10 digs. She also tallied three assists, two aces and two blocks.
So. MB Maria Splawska tied the match lead in blocks with seven, including two solo blocks. She also recorded eight kills, hitting .333, and seven digs.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne recorded 12 kills, hitting .579 (1e, 19att), and one dig.
Sr. S Rian Finley matched her career-high assists of 52, as well as nine digs and one kill.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal saw 11 digs, two assists and one ace.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell recorded five kills, five digs and two blocks.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton tallied 13 digs and three assists.
So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga saw nine assists and one dig.
For the Bears, Bella Van Lannen and Alayna Tessena scored 13 kills each.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs and the Bears began the match trading points, seeing kills from Burilovic, Splawska, Payne and Jordan (8-8). After six unanswered points, a kill from Payne ended the run from Northern Colorado (14-9, UNC). Kills from Payne and Jordan kept Colorado within two (17-15, UNC). A kill from Burilovic sent Northern Colorado into its first timeout (21-20, UNC). Colorado called a timeout of its own and returned to the court to see a kill from Jordan (24-22, UNC). Ultimately, Northern Colorado took the first set, 25-22.
Colorado started the second set with an early ace from Jordan (1-0, CU). Colorado and UNC began trading points, including kills from Jordan and Schiff, as well as a Payne-Finley block (10-10). Kills from Dwinell and Splawska kept the match tied (14-14). After a short run from the Bears, three Burilovic kills tied the match (21-21). The battle continued with four set points, but the Buffs took set two with three kills from Burilovic (28-26).
Kills from Jordan, Dwinell and Splawska, as well as a Neal ace, put Colorado in an early lead (5-3, CU). After a 3-0 run from the Bears, the Buffaloes responded with a run of their own, including an ace from Jordan (11-9, CU). Back-to-back kills from Burilovic forced the Bears to call their first timeout (14-10, CU). Northern Colorado called its second timeout following a kill from Payne (17-10, CU). CU established a 10-point lead from a Payne-Burilovic block (21-11, CU). A final kill from Schiff saw the third set going to the Buffs (25-15, CU).
The fourth set saw a slower start from Colorado, but kills from Payne and Burilovic stopped Northern Colorado runs (5-4, UNC). CU called its first timeout after a short run from UNC (11-6, UNC). Four Burilovic kills began to shift the momentum for Colorado (16-11, UNC). A Splawska-Schiff block sent the Bears into a timeout (17-16, UNC). UNC called another timeout following a Payne solo block (21-21). The Bears were able to take the fourth set, 25-21.
The Black and Gold started the fifth set with an early kill from Dwinell (1-0, CU). A kill from Burilovic sent Northern Colorado into its first timeout (5-2, CU). Colorado took a five-point lead after back-to-back kills from Jordan (9-4, CU). The Bears called their second timeout after a Schiff kill, assisted by Salonga (10-4, CU). A block and a kill from Splawska sent Colorado on a 4-0 run. The Buffaloes took set five on a Splawska-Jordan block (15-8).

UP NEXT

The Buffaloes will return home for a Halloween matchup against No. 18 Baylor on Friday, Oct. 31. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 6-2 versus the Bears all-time.
The Buffaloes got their fifth 3-2 win of the season and are 5-0 in five-set matches.
Colorado had more kills (72-60), assists (69-55), digs (67-66) and blocks (14-10).
CU has won 10 of its last 11 games.

For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.