No. 24 Colorado Dominates First Two Sets to Upset No. 21 Baylor

Sunday, October 4

Waco, Texas

1 p.m.

Colorado

11-3,2-2Big 12

Baylor

9-5,1-3Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Colorado	25	25	11	25	3
Baylor	19	19	25	23	1

No. 24 Colorado Dominates First Two Sets to Upset No. 21 Baylor

October 04, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: Anna Duffy, Athletic Communications Associate

WACO, Texas — The 24th-ranked Colorado women's volleyball team (11-3, 2-2 Big 12) claimed a thrilling fourth-set victory to upset No. 21 Baylor (9-5, 1-3 Big 12) Sunday afternoon at the Ferrell Center. The Buffs won the first two sets before dropping the third and surviving the fourth with scores of 25-19, 25-19, 11-25, 25-23.

Colorado owned the first two sets as they led in the scoring column from first serve, recording 39 kills and six service aces, while holding Baylor to a .148 hitting percentage.

Pin attacker Ines Losada was a force to be reckoned with as she matched a career-high five aces and added 10 kills and two blocks. The sophomore earned her first start of the season in today's match.

On her 23rd assist of the night, setter Jenna Ylivainio reached 500 career assists. She accomplished this in just 14 matches.

Colorado showed off its depth as two Buffs secured double-digit kills and six recorded blocks.

"It's a big win for our season. We've been on the edge of doing a lot of good things this season and it's good to see it pay off for us," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Baylor's really good. They made a ton of great plays. I was proud of our team showing some resilience in that fourth set."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 25, Baylor 19

The Buffs came out with an immediate 4-0 run, capped off by back-to-back aces from Losada.

Colorado was all gas, no brakes throughout the first set as a kill from middle blocker Cayla Payne launched a 5-0 scoring run. Losada put her intensity on full display with a kill followed by a solo block to put the Buffs up, 12-6.

Burilovic powered the Buffs ahead with two kills before a third Losada ace gave Colorado a seven-point advantage.

Baylor came within four points, but Colorado eliminated any chance of the Bears making a comeback with kills from middle blocker Maria Splawska and Losada to give CU a 23-17 lead.

Pin attacker Lily Dwinell secured the set for Colorado with two final kills.

Set Two: Colorado 25, Baylor 19

With Losada behind the service line, Colorado was relentless to open the second set. The Buffs mounted a 3-0 run as Splawska and Burilovic recorded a block and Losada tallied her fourth ace.

With CU leading 4-2, Ylivainio assisted a Burilovic kill, extending Colorado's advantage.

The Buffs showcased why they lead the conference in blocks as Burilovic and Splawska secured the fifth of the night to put Colorado up 10-7.

CU reached the 15-point mark and held the lead thanks to a Burilovic kill and Baylor errors.

Returning from the timeout, Ylivainio was perfectly placed to secure a solo block and keep the Colorado momentum alive. Payne found similar success at the net as she recorded a solo block and put the Buffs up 18-13.

Two final kills from Splawska and Dwinell and a fifth service ace from Losada secured the second-set victory.

Set Three: Baylor 25, Colorado 11

The third set began with both teams trading points before CU errors gave the Bears a 4-0 run and a 12-6 lead.

From there, Colorado was unable to recover from its deficit. Baylor stayed alive by holding the Buffs to two kills as the Bears secured their lone set of the day.

Set Four: Colorado 25, Baylor 23

Colorado did not dwell on the third set as they put up three of four early points, including a kill from Burilovic.

CU found a 4-0 scoring run, sparked by a kill from Losada. An ace from Ylivainio tied the set at 10 before a kill from Splawksa gave the Buffs a slight 12-11 lead.

Burilovic held Colorado's one-point lead with her 10th kill of the match, putting the Buffs ahead 15-14 at the break.

The opponents continued to battle, neither team able to pull away by more than two points, but a block from Splawska gave Colorado energy as they led 19-17.

The set remained a nail-biter as Burilovic showed off her offensive ability and put the Buffs up 23-22 with a kill.

Colorado reached match point off a Baylor attack error before a lengthy final rally was extinguished with a dominant Losada kill, giving the Buffs the upset.

MAHONEY ON LOSADA'S CONTRIBUTIONS: "She is feast or famine, fire and ice. When she's going, we try to ride that wave. That last serve punctuated it for us."

KEY PLAYERS:

Losada: Totaled 10 kills, five aces, three digs and two blocks

Burilovic: Recorded 13 kills, nine digs and three blocks

Splawska: Tallied seven blocks and six kills

Ylivainio: Provided 29 assists, five digs and three blocks

MATCH NOTES:

This is the first time Colorado has beaten Baylor in Waco since 2017.
CU is 7-0 when they win the first two sets.
CU is 3-1 in four-set matches.
As a team, Colorado hit at a .314 clip in the first set.
This is the second ranked team that Colorado has upset in four sets this season. The first was USC on Sept. 12.
The Buffs did not trail once throughout the first two sets.
This is Colorado's first ranked conference win of the season.
The fourth set tied 13 times and saw three lead changes.

UP NEXT: Colorado stays on the road to battle No. 12 Arizona State on Friday at 8 p.m. in Tempe, Ariz. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. 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.