No. 25 Colorado Stuns Iowa State In Three Sets

Thursday, October 15

Ames, Iowa

5:30 p.m.

Colorado

13-4,4-3Big 12

Iowa State

11-7,5-2Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Colorado	26	25	25	3
Iowa St.	24	16	23	0

October 15, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Get Tickets Donate To Volleyball

By: Anna Duffy, Athletic Communications Associate

AMES, Iowa — The 25th-ranked Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team took down Iowa State in three sets on Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum.

The Buffs found themselves in a tight battle in the first and third sets, but controlled the second set from the jump. Colorado swept Iowa State 26-24, 25-16, 25-23.

With the win, Colorado moved to 13-4 and 4-3 in the Big 12 Conference, while Iowa State dropped to 11-7 and 5-2 in conference play.

Pin attacker Ana Burilovic put on a dominant performance. The senior led the team with 17 kills, eight digs and two aces. On her 29 attempts, she tallied just two errors and hit at a .517 clip, her best this season.

Setter Jenna Ylivainio provided the Buffs with 39 assists, which marked her career-high for assists in three-set matches.

As a team, Colorado hit efficiently against the Cyclones, recording a .375 mark.

"I think we had a really great day of prep and we did a really nice job following the game plan," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "We weathered the storm in the first set and weathered the storm in the third set and just played steady the entire time. This was a big deal for us … to get a sweep is really nice."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 26, Iowa State 24

Colorado trailed 8-4 early because of Iowa State's offense before three consecutive points put the Buffs behind one. Middle blocker Cayla Payne secured a solo block and pin attacker Ines Losada and Burilovic each recorded a kill.

Pin attacker Lily Dwinell and Payne tied the set at 12 with a block, followed by a Cyclone error to give Colorado a 13-12 lead.

Payne was all over the ball, securing a kill to give the Buffs a two-point advantage. A service ace from libero Tinons Munar Galmes gave Colorado its largest lead of the set at 18-15. Losada tallied her fifth kill to give Colorado a 20-17 advantage.

Middle blocker Maria Splawska and Losada clinched set one with a block.

Set Two: Colorado 25, Iowa State 16

Losada continued to lead the Buffaloes, stuffing her stat line with a kill, two blocks and an ace in the first five points of the set.

It was an offensive battle as the teams swapped kills, but Colorado kept a slight 12-9 lead with back-to-back kills from Splawska and Burilovic.

Colorado extended its lead to six with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a lethal Splawska kill. She kept the intensity with two blocks and an additional kill to put CU ahead 22-15.

The Buffs commanded the second set, capped by an ace from defensive specialist Avery Bolles and an ISU error.

Set Three: Colorado 25, Iowa State 23

Burilovic opened the third with a pair of powerful kills to give Colorado a quick 3-2 lead.

Iowa State responded with a 6-0 run, but Burilovic remained persistent, securing two additional kills and an ace to tie the set at nine.

An emphatic Losada solo block and two Burilovic kills put Colorado up, 12-11.

The set was tightly contested as the score was tied at 15. Bolles recorded a second ace before a Losada kill tied the set at 20.

Splawska finished a 4-0 Colorado run and put the Buffs into set point with a block. A final kill from Dwinell claimed the sweep over Iowa State.

"I'm actually pretty satisfied. I feel like this was a good performance overall," Burilovic said. "We were really good offensively tonight. [Iowa State] is a very good team, and if we let them breathe we knew this was going to be a tough match. We just really focused on closing this one out so we can comfortably go home."

KEY PLAYERS:

Burilovic: Tabbed 17 kills, eight digs and two service aces

Losada: Recorded 13 kills, four blocks and an ace

Payne: Secured five kills, one block and zero errors, hitting at a .455 mark

Splawska: Notched seven blocks, four kills and an ace

Dwinell: Tallied five kills and four blocks, hitting .385

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado secured its fourth-straight win against Iowa State
This is the first time this season Colorado won 3-0 on the road, excluding its neutral match against Oregon State
Colorado had just eight attack errors on the night, as opposed to Iowa State's 18
The Buffs had 10 blocks to the Cyclones' two
This is the team's second-highest hitting percentage this season behind the match against New Mexico (.394)
CU recorded just two attack errors on 34 total attempts in the first set, hitting at a .412 clip

UP NEXT: Colorado has a weekend of rest before getting back on the road to face BYU on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m. MT in Provo, Utah. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can follow along via live stats available at cubuffs.com. For more information on the Colorado volleyball team, please visit cubuffs.com/vb. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffsvb on Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok.