No. 24 Buffs Overcome Wildcats in Four Sets

Wednesday, October 8

Tucson, Ariz.

7 PM

Colorado

14-2,5-0Big 12

Arizona

8-6,2-2Big 12

Colorado

Arizona

October 08, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score

Junior pin attacker Sydney Jordan earns third double-double of the season

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

TUCSON, Ariz. – The 24th-ranked Colorado volleyball team (14-2, 5-0 Big 12) defeated Arizona (8-6, 2-2 Big 12) in four sets (25-23, 26-28, 25-18, 25-22) at McKale Center on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

The Colorado Buffaloes battled against the Arizona Wildcats, playing a close first two sets that saw 13 ties each. The Buffs found their rhythm in the third set that carried them to take the lead after being down throughout the fourth set.

"Excited to get the win on the road," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "It's a really good team – they have two of the best [six-rotation] attackers and we held both of them under .100. […] Defensively, we were on the game plan and really frustrated them. We had a fantastic serving run there in the fourth [set] with [Jordan] to take us from down three to up two. Had some gritty points there at the end, but excited to move on."

The Buffs out-assisted (51-50) and out-blocked (7-6) the Wildcats. Colorado held Arizona to .047 hitting in the first set and .149 hitting overall.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan earned her third double-double of the season, ninth of her career, from 17 digs and 13 kills. She also scored one ace.
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic led the match in kills with 22. She also recorded nine digs, one ace and one solo block.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell led the match in blocks with four, including one solo block. She also recorded eight kills, hitting .350 (1e, 20att).
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton scored her first kill of the season, along with 12 digs, seven assists and one ace.
Sr. S Rian Finley recorded 35 assists, seven digs, one kill and one block.
So. MB Maria Splawska saw four kills, three blocks, including one solo block, and two digs.
So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga earned six assists and two digs.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne scored five kills and two blocks.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal saw 12 digs and two assists, and So. PIN Gwen Schiff tallied two kills, hitting .500 (0e, 4att).
For the Wildcats, Jordan Wilson and Carlie Cisneros each scored 13 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffaloes and the Wildcats started the match by trading points with each other, including kills from Dwinell, Burilovic and Jordan (5-4, UA). Arizona went on a short run, which was quickly shut down as the Buffs went on their own 4-0 run, started by a kill from Jordan (8-8). Burilovic aided the momentum with a kill, followed by a solo block (12-10, CU). Coming back from the media timeout, three unanswered points from Arizona, with a kill from Jordan, put the Buffs back in the lead (17-16, CU). Colorado called its first timeout and returned to the court to tie the match with a kill from Burilovic (21-21). A Splawska-Dwinell block sent Arizona into its first timeout (22-21, CU). A kill from Burilovic, assisted by Morton, ended the first set (25-23, CU).
Colorado started the second set with an early 5-0 run (6-3, CU). Arizona began to chip away at the Colorado lead, but kills from Finley, Jordan and Splawska kept the Buffs ahead (12-10, CU). The Black and Gold called its first timeout after three points from the Wildcats (19-17, UA). After being down by three, the Buffaloes battled their way back to the lead and forced the Wildcats to call a timeout (23-22, CU). Colorado called a timeout of its own (24-23, UA). The Buffaloes returned to the court to fight through four set points with the Wildcats, seeing an ace from Burilovic and a kill from Jordan (26-26). Ultimately, Arizona took the second set, 28-26.
The Black and Gold started the third set with a kill from Splawska (1-0, CU). After going point-for-point with the Wildcats, the Buffs seemed to have a revolutionary shift in their energy as they saw seven unanswered points, a situation which included three kills and a solo block from Dwinell (15-10, CU). Arizona called its second timeout of the set after kills from Burilovic and Jordan put the Buffs ahead by six (20-14, CU). CU refused to blow its lead as a kill from Morton brought the Buffaloes to set point (24-17, CU). A final Arizona error allowed the Buffs to take set three (25-18, CU).
Colorado and Arizona swapped points early in the fourth set, with kills from Splawska, Dwinell and Burilovic (6-6). Back-to-back kills from Jordan put the Buffs in the lead (8-7, CU). Arizona went on a 4-0 run but a kill from Dwinell, followed by a Payne-Dwinell block shut down the Wildcats (13-11, UA). Down by two, the Buffs refused to lie down as they went on a five-point run, suggesting a shift in momentum for Colorado (22-20, CU). Returning to the court after an Arizona timeout, Burilovic scored two kills, both assisted by Finley (24-20, CU). A final Burilovic kill saw the end of the fourth set (25-22, CU).

UP NEXT

No. 24 Colorado wraps up this road trip with one more match at No. 8 Arizona State on Friday, Oct. 10. First serve against the Sun Devils is set for 8 p.m. MDT. 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 13-15 all-time against the Wildcats.
Colorado had more assists (51-50) and more blocks (7-6) than Arizona.
The Buffaloes got their third 3-1 win of the season and are 3-1 in four-set matches.

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.