No. 23 Colorado Falls Short To No. 11 Arizona State

Friday, October 9

Tempe, Ariz.

8 p.m.

Colorado

11-4,2-3Big 12

Arizona State

12-3,3-1Big 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Colorado	25	19	18	25	1
Arizona St.	23	25	25	27	3

October 09, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: Anna Duffy, Athletic Communications Associate

TEMPE, Ariz. — Despite a back-and-forth contest against a top-25 opponent, the No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team lost to No. 11 Arizona State on Friday night at Desert Financial Arena.

The Buffs took the first set before dropping the next three (25-23, 19-25, 18-25, 25-27). With the loss, Colorado moves to 10-4 on the season and 2-3 in the Big 12 Conference, while Arizona State improves to 12-3 and 3-1 in conference play.

On her third dig of the night, defensive specialist Peyton Neal recorded 1,000 career digs. Additionally, setter Jenna Ylivainio reached a career-high eight blocks and notched her fifth double-double of the season with 28 assists and 12 digs.

"We did enough tonight on the serving and defensive side to give ourselves an opportunity to win this match," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Our side out game struggled. We had enough in-system looks, but couldn't put the ball away at a high enough rate."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 25, Arizona State 23

The Buffaloes kept pace with the Sun Devils early in the first set with kills from pin attackers Ines Losada, Ana Burilovic and Lily Dwinell before a block from middle blocker Cayla Payne and Dwinell tied the score at six.

Colorado took the lead with defensive specialist Avery Bolles behind the service line and Burilovic recording a kill. Payne and Losada secured a block to give the Buffs a 12-9 lead.

The teams kept at each other, but Colorado maintained the lead with a block from middle blocker Maria Splawska and an ace from Losada to lead 16-13.

With Losada behind the service line, the Buffs recorded four-straight points to take a six-point advantage.

ASU found a 3-0 run, but a lethal Burilovic kill ended their streak and put Colorado up 22-18. The set came within one point before a fifth Burilovic kill terminated the set.

Set Two: Arizona State 25, Colorado 19

CU took an initial 4-0 lead with Payne contributing three of the points off two blocks and a kill.

The Sun Devils answered with a 5-0 run of their own, but Colorado responded with a Splawksa kill to tie the set at six.

The score remained close, but the Buffs were able to regain the lead at 14-11 thanks to a block from Ylivainio and Payne, as well as a kill from Burilovic.

Arizona State answered with a 7-0 run, but Burilovic kept up her offensive intensity and tallied a kill to keep the Buffs in the contest as they trailed 19-15.

The set was a series of runs as Colorado responded with another 3-0 streak capped off by a Losada kill, cutting the deficit to one. Ultimately, Arizona State took the second set after a final 6-0 scoring streak.

Set Three: Arizona State 25, Colorado 18

Colorado stayed competitive after an initial deficit as blocks from Losada and Splawska, and kills from Dwinell and Splawska put the Buffs up 6-4.

ASU found some momentum and took a seven-point lead following a 4-0 run.

Despite late consecutive kills from Burilovic, the Sun Devils held onto their advantage and led the remainder of the set.

Set Four: Arizona State 27, Colorado 25

Ylivainio played steady, tallying three quick assists to tie the set at five.

Arizona State took the lead, but Colorado held on with Dwinell and Splawska kills, pulling the Buffs within one point at 11-10.

After a strenuous rally, a block from Payne and Ylivainio gave the Buffs some adrenaline and brought the score to 17-14 with CU trailing. Payne stayed hot with a kill to cut the deficit to two.

Ylivainio was sneaky in the front row and tipped the ball over to record a kill before a block from Splawska and Dwinell kept the Buffs within one. Dwinell kept Colorado's momentum alive, tying the set at 22 with a kill.

Despite a neck-and-neck final set with the help of a Burilovic and Payne block tying the set at 24, Arizona State was able to close out the contest.

KEY PLAYERS:

Ylivainio: Reached 15 consecutive matches recording double-digit assists with 28, while adding 12 digs, eight blocks and two kills

Burilovic: Recorded 15 kills, six digs, two blocks and an ace

Dwinell: Tallied 10 kills and two blocks, hitting at a .280 clip

Payne: Totaled 10 blocks and four kills

Neal: Recorded six digs and achieved 1,000 career digs on her third of the match

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado has lost six-straight matches to Arizona State.
Colorado recorded the same number of aces and blocks as Arizona State with five and 15, respectively.
With the loss, CU moves to 10-1 on the season when winning the first set.
Dwinell recorded zero errors and hit at a .667 clip in the first set.

UP NEXT: Colorado returns to the CU Events Center to host Kansas State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase here. 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.