Colorado Fights Through Five To Take Down Cincinnati - University of Colorado Athletics

Thursday, October 29

Boulder, Colo.

7 p.m.

Colorado

15-5,6-4Big 12

Cincinnati

10-9,3-6Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Cincinnati	17	25	20	25	12	2
Colorado	25	23	25	8	15	3

October 29, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: Madison Shaw, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

BOULDER — The Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team defeated Cincinnati in a five-set duel on Thursday evening at the CU Events Center.

The match had a series of momentum shifts, but the Buffs bounced back from a difficult fourth set to secure their fifth five-set win of the season.

Colorado (15-5, 6-4 Big 12) opened the match with a commanding 25-17 first-set victory before Cincinnati (10-9, 3-6 Big 12) responded to take the second, 25-23. The Buffs regained control in the third, winning 25-20, but the Bearcats answered with a dominant 25-8 fourth set to even the match. After suffering their largest set loss of the season in the fourth, the Buffs responded with a 15-12 victory in the deciding set.

Middle blocker Cayla Payne reached a career milestone in the third set, recording her 750th kill. Payne also moved to fourth place on Colorado's all-time blocks leaderboard with 420.

Setter Jenna Ylivainio recorded a career-high 14 digs and matched her career-high with two service aces. The performance marked another milestone for Ylivainio, who leads the Buffs with seven double-doubles this season.

With the victory, Colorado improved to 10-1 at home. The Buffs also extended their home winning streak to three matches.

"Really happy to get the win there in five. Proud of our team for bouncing back after that fourth set," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Cincinnati has some really nice athletes, and they pose a challenge. I'm happy to get out of there with the win. We have to rest and recharge for Sunday."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 25, Cincinnati 17

The Buffs jumped out to an early lead with a kill from pin attacker Ines Losada. Cincinnati found a flow before Colorado went on a 3-0 scoring run, highlighted by a kill from pin attacker Ana Burilovic.

The teams traded points before CU launched a 3-0 scoring streak, including a kill from Payne to put the Buffs ahead 9-7.

A service ace from Ylivainio lengthened the lead to four. Colorado settled in and produced a 4-0 run, including three kills from Burilovic to give the Buffaloes an 18-11 lead.

CU controlled the remainder of the set as a kill by pin attacker Lily Dwinell won it for Colorado.

Set Two: Cincinnati 25, Colorado 23

Cincinnati took the first four points of the set before a Cincinnati error and an ace from Losada broke the run.

The Buffs trailed 8-6 until CU secured three consecutive points off a block by Ylivainio and middle blocker Maria Splawska to regain the lead.

The second set remained a back-and-forth battle as an explosive block from Losada and Payne held the Buffs at a one-point advantage.

Neither team led by more than two until the Bearcats took a 22-18 lead on back-to-back kills. Despite Colorado's advantage in kills and hitting percentage, Cincinnati took the second set.

Set Three: Colorado 25, Cincinnati 20

After the Bearcats took the initial point, Colorado scored three straight points to start the set, including a kill from Splawska.

CU and Cincinnati competed offensively, as the teams recorded nine straight kills. The Buffaloes came out of the exchange on top with a 15-13 lead.

The clash continued with Colorado ahead 19-15, sparked by a kill from Losada and a service error from the Bearcats.

The Buffs widened the lead with a Burilovic kill that put CU ahead 21-15. Colorado held the advantage and took the third set off a kill from Payne.

Set Four: Cincinnati 25, Colorado 8

Cincinnati led the fourth set and put the Buffs behind by five. Burilovic claimed Colorado's first two points with kills.

The Bearcats found numerous runs that put them up 15-6 at the break.

Middle blocker Barbora Rakauskaite checked into the match and immediately notched a kill, putting the score at 18-7.

The Buffaloes were unable to recover from the deficit, and Cincinnati took the fourth set.

Set Five: Colorado 15, Cincinnati 12

Colorado responded with a quick 3-0 run, controlled by Burilovic, who contributed two kills.

The Bearcats responded with a run of their own before the Buffs regained the lead with back-to-back kills from Payne to hold a 5-4 advantage.

Ylivainio inspired a scoring run with a kill and a block.

A kill from Dwinell put the Buffaloes up 11-8. Losada put pressure on the Bearcats with a kill and an ace to give Colorado a two-point lead.

Decisive kills from Burilovic and Dwinell sealed the win for Colorado.

SPLAWSKA ON BEING BACK IN BOULDER: "I miss home. I miss playing here," Splawska said. "And the crowd and the people here are so amazing. I'm so glad that we're here again."

KEY PLAYERS:

Burilovic: Secured a team-high 22 kills along with 11 digs
Payne: Ended the match with nine kills and six blocks
Splawska: Tallied five kills, three digs and five blocks
Ylivainio: Finished with 41 assists and a career-high 14 digs

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado owns the most wins (5-0) in five-set matches in the Big 12 this season.
With their win against Cincinnati, the Buffs are now 10-1 at home this season, matching their total number of wins at home from the 2025 season.
Ylivainio has recorded a team-high seven double-doubles this season.
Thursday's win marked CU's third straight home triumph in the season. The Buffs' last home victory came on Oct. 10 against Kansas State.
The Buffs are 13-2 when winning the first set and 6-3 when splitting the first two.
Colorado hit .667 in the first set.
The match marked just the second collegiate matchup between Colorado's Burilovic and Cincinnati's Kate Lijic, both from Split, Croatia.
Freshman pin attacker Dumebi Okoye recorded her first collegiate kill.
Set four was a 17-point deficit for the Buffs, their largest of the season.

UP NEXT: The Colorado Buffaloes take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the CU Events Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats on 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 Texas Tech are on sale and can be purchased here.