No. 25 Colorado Throws Block Party To Take Down Utah - University of Colorado Athletics

Sunday, October 25

Salt Lake City, Utah

1 p.m.

Colorado

14-5,5-4Big 12

Utah

12-8,4-5Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Colorado	25	20	25	26	3
Utah	22	25	19	24	1

October 25, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: Anna Duffy, Athletic Communications Associate

SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 25 Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team took down Utah in four sets after a relentless back-and-forth battle at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Sunday afternoon.

The match was a series of runs, but the Buffs held onto the win with all-around team success and numerous players sharing the spotlight.

The two opponents met for the second time this season. Colorado (14-5, 5-4 Big 12) sought revenge after dropping a match to Utah (12-8, 4-5 Big 12) on its home court in September. The Buffs claimed the first, third and fourth sets (25-22, 25-19, 26-24), while dropping just the second, 25-20.

With two aces against Utah, pin attacker Ana Burilovic reached 150 in her career. She leads Colorado's all-time ace leaderboard in the rally-scoring era, sitting at fourth overall.

After recording just two blocks in both the first and second set, the Buffs secured six in the third, serving as a key factor in the momentum shift toward Colorado late in the match that helped lift them over the Utes.

"I thought we did a really nice job prepping and preparing. I thought we rebounded really well mentally and were in a really good, competitive place to start this match," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "I felt like we blocked extremely well today in general. Maria [Splawska] was really good at some really opportune times."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 25, Utah 22

Pin attacker Lily Dwinell powered the Buffs early in a tight contest against the Utes, recording two kills to keep Colorado even with Utah at 4-4. CU hung with its opponent off an additional Dwinell kill before a block from setter Jenna Ylivainio and middle blocker Cayla Payne put Colorado up by one.

The Buffs took a 15-14 lead with two kills from pin attacker Ines Losada, refusing to allow Utah to pull ahead. Dwinell continued to be effective for Colorado, securing her fourth kill at an .800 clip.

A Losada block capped off a 4-0 run for the Buffs, giving them a four-point advantage, the largest lead of the set.

Utah responded to tie the set at 20-20, entering the red zone before two blistering kills from Burilovic put the Buffs back on top.

Colorado took the first set off a Utah service error.

Set Two: Utah 25, Colorado 20

Back-and-forth runs defined the set. Burilovic put a stop to a 4-0 Utah run with a kill, but the Utes continued to put pressure on Colorado as the Buffs trailed 9-3.

CU did not dwell on the deficit as a Losada kill sparked a 3-0 scoring run to respond.

The Utes held their advantage, but Losada and Dwinell kills trimmed Utah's lead to four before a Splawska ace made it 15-13.

Despite Colorado recording more kills, Utah claimed the second set.

Set Three: Colorado 25, Utah 19

Colorado controlled the third set with Burilovic and Splawska pushing the Buffs to a 6-1 lead off consecutive blocks.

Splawska was a dominant presence at the net, contributing to five of Colorado's six blocks in the third set to give the Buffs a 12-8 advantage. Losada extended Colorado's lead to six with a block and a kill.

Colorado finalized the third set with a Dwinell kill and a pair of Utah errors.

Set Four: Colorado 26, Utah 24

After an initial 7-2 deficit, Burilovic drilled a pair of kills to initiate a 3-0 run and bring the Buffs within two. The senior stayed hot as she recorded her first ace of the match. Payne capitalized on Colorado's energy with a kill to give the Buffs an 11-10 lead.

The opponents traded points as an 11th kill from Dwinell tied the set at 15.

The match came down to the wire as Losada and Splawska contributed to Colorado's offensive success with back-to-back kills. Utah led 23-20, but Losada remained persistent at the net, recording a kill and a block to put Colorado within one.

Losada and Dwinell found two final kills to nail the four-set victory.

KEY PLAYERS:

Losada: Reached 14 kills to tie her career-high and added five blocks

Dwinell: Notched 12 kills and four blocks

Burilovic: Tallied 16 kills, 10 digs and two blocks, her 15th career double-double

Payne: Recorded seven kills and four blocks

Splawska: Contributed nine blocks and four kills

Ylivainio: Found her sixth career double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado recorded zero blocking errors for the 10th time this season.
Colorado is now 12-2 when winning the first set and 5-3 when splitting the first two sets.
The Buffs are 4-3 in four-set matches.
Colorado recorded 14 blocks, the second-most in a four-set match this season.
Colorado led the match in kills (54), hitting percentage (.195), assists (48), digs (48) and tied in blocks (14).

UP NEXT: After spending most of October on the road, the Buffs return to Boulder to host Cincinnati on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the CU Events Center. 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.

GET TICKETS: Tickets for the match against Cincinnati are on sale and can be purchased here.