No. 23 Colorado Bests No. 18 Baylor in Spooky Halloween Matchup

Friday, October 31

Boulder, Colo.

7 PM

Colorado

20-3,10-1Big 12

#18 Baylor

12-8,7-5Big 12

Baylor

Colorado

No. 23 Colorado Bests No. 18 Baylor in Spooky Halloween Matchup

October 31, 2025 | Volleyball

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Junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic becomes rally-scoring era career aces leader

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The 23rd-ranked Colorado volleyball team (20-3, 10-1 Big 12) defeated No. 18 Baylor (12-8, 7-5 Big 12) in four sets (14-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-20) at the CU Events Center on Friday, Oct. 31.

The Buffs recovered quickly after dropping set one to the Bears, hitting .407 in set two and .333 in set three. CU got its sixth win in a row with its four-set victory over Baylor, defeating its third ranked opponent this season.

"After a really slow start to that match, I think that was some of the better volleyball we played, certainly in the last several weeks," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Everyone contributed, which is really important for us. We couldn't serve our pass in that first set, that was kind of the issue there. But, we were really good from the service line, and really good passing in sets two, three and four. Our block came alive, and we had a lot of scramble plays. We got better as the match went on, that was really gratifying to see. That's a very good team, and we are excited for the win."

The Colorado Buffaloes out-blocked (10-5) and out-aced (8-2) the Bears. This is the 13th time this season the Buffaloes have had double-digit blocks.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic tied the match lead in aces with three, making her the rally-scoring era career aces leader, now totaling 106. She also recorded 18 kills, four digs, one assist and one block.
Sr. S Rian Finley reached a career-high three aces. She also recorded her second career double-double with 32 assists and 11 digs. She also saw two blocks.
So. MB Maria Splawska led the match in blocks with seven and hit a career-high .800 (4k, 0e, 5att). She also recorded three digs and two aces.
So. PIN Gwen Schiff scored two kills and one block.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne saw nine kills, hitting .389 (2e, 18att), three blocks and two digs.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan tallied eight kills and seven digs.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal had nine digs and one assist.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell scored six blocks, three kills and one dig.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton recorded seven digs and five assists, and So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga recorded five assists.
For the Bears, Ksenia Rakhmanchik scored 24 kills, and Morgan Madison saw 12 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Colorado called an early timeout after two runs from the Bears (9-2, BU). The Buffs returned to the court for a kill from Payne, assisted by Finley (9-3, BU). CU and Baylor began trading points, seeing kills from Jordan and Dwinell, as well as a Splawska-Jordan block (15-10, BU). The Buffs called their second timeout after two points from Baylor (20-12, BU). The Black and Gold tried to battle back, but lost the first set, 25-14.
The Buffs came into the second with a Splawska-Schiff block and a Splawska-Dwinell block (4-2, CU). A kill and an ace from Burilovic sent Baylor into its first timeout (11-8, CU). Kills from Splawska and Jordan, as well as a Finley ace, forced the Bears to call their second timeout (17-10, CU). Colorado went on a 3-0 run from back-to-back Burilovic kills and a Payne-Dwinell block (21-14, CU). Baylor went on a run of its own, but the Buffs took set two from a Payne kill (25-19, CU).
The Black and Gold went on a 4-0 run early in the set, including an ace from Finley and kills from Jordan and Splawska (6-3, CU). The Bears called their first timeout after a kill from Burilovic (9-4, CU). The Buffs continued to apply pressure from the service line with aces from Splawska and Burilovic (15-8, CU). Colorado established a five-point lead after five unanswered points, with two Splawska-Dwinell blocks and a Finley ace (22-12, CU). A kill from Burilovic allowed the Buffs to take set three (25-15, CU).
Set four saw an early block and ace from Splawska (5-6, BU). Two Burilovic kills contributed to a Buffaloes 3-0 run (8-7, CU). Kills from Burilovic, Jordan and Payne continued the energy for Colorado (14-12, CU). The Buffs remained calm through Baylor errors (21-17, CU). After kills from Burilovic and Splawska, Baylor called a timeout (24-19, CU). Baylor fought back, but Colorado took the fourth set, 25-20.

UP NEXT

No. 23 Colorado will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face the Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday, Nov. 6. First serve is set for 5 p.m. MT. The Buffaloes will face the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 12 p.m. MT, in Manhattan, Kansas. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

With her third ace of the night, junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic became the rally-scoring era career aces leader with 106.
The Buffs move to 24-11 versus the Bears all-time.
The Buffaloes got their sixth 3-1 win of the season and are 6-2 in four-set matches.
Colorado had more blocks (10-5) and aces (8-2) than Baylor.
This marks the Buffs' sixth win in a row.

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.