Buffaloes Sweep Texas Tech In Straight Sets - University of Colorado Athletics

Sunday, November 1

Boulder, Colo.

1 p.m.

Colorado

16-5,7-4Big 12

Texas Tech

8-14,0-10Big 12

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Texas Tech	18	25	12	0
Colorado	25	27	25	3

November 01, 2026 | Volleyball

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By: Anna Duffy, Athletic Communications Associate

BOULDER — Bringing in their 11th home victory this season, the Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team swept Texas Tech at the CU Events Center on Sunday afternoon.

Colorado (16-5, 7-4 Big 12) controlled the Red Raiders in the first set, winning 25-18. They battled through a closely-contested second set, finishing 27-25, before dominating Texas Tech (8-14, 0-10 Big 12) and securing the victory, 25-12, in the third set.

"I was really happy to get a win, really happy to get a sweep," CU Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "I think that Texas Tech played really hard, especially in that second set. Once we started taking care of the ball and making better choices when we were out of system, not giving up as many free points as we did in the first two sets, we were really separated. Really proud of our team for rebounding from that second set and finishing strong."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One: Colorado 25, Texas Tech 18

Colorado made a powerful entrance with a 3-0 scoring run, capped off by a solo block from middle blocker Cayla Payne. The Buffs took a 10-5 lead with a signature service ace from pin attacker Ines Losada.

CU refused to let the visitors come within reach as Payne recorded a kill to put the Buffs ahead 14-10.

The Red Raiders crept back in, but Colorado persisted as defensive specialist Nikki Ott notched the first ace of her career and put Colorado up 21-16.

Setter Jenna Ylivainio drilled a powerful kill to bring the Buffs to set point before a block from Payne and pin attacker Ana Burilovic secured the first set.

Set Two: Colorado 27, Texas Tech 25

The Red Raiders took the first three points of the set before an attack error broke the streak. Defensive specialist Avery Bolles secured an ace and Losada came to life at the net, recording a solo block to tie the set at eight.

A long rally ended with a kill by Losada, tying the match at 11. Colorado followed up with a 5-0 run mid-match, highlighted by a kill from middle blocker Maria Splawska and an ace from Ylivainio.

Payne read Texas Tech like a book, finding a solo block and a kill to hold a two-point advantage within the red zone.

The set reached extra points due to a block from Texas Tech, but a final Payne kill and an attacking error from Texas Tech punctuated the second set in Colorado's favor.

Set Three: Colorado 25, Texas Tech 12

Jumping out to a 6-1 lead with three kills from Burliovic, all assisted by Ylivainio, the Buffs did not let up on their powerful offense. An additional kill from Burilovic extended the Colorado lead to 11.

CU kept its feet on the gas and maintained a nine-point lead with back-to-back blocks from middle blocker Barbora Rakuskaite and pin attacker Lily Dwinell.

The Buffs owned the remainder of the match and took home the victory off an attacking error by the Red Raiders.

"I think everyone did a really good job," Payne said. "I think it's obviously easy to look forward and get excited for the next game, but it's important that we take every opponent seriously. Anyone can have a really good day and play really well, and anyone can have a bad day. So, just making sure that we stay in the present and play hard."

KEY PLAYERS:

Payne: Secured 10 kills and led the team in blocking with six
Ylivainio: Recorded 31 assists in three sets, marking her 18th 30+ assist performance this season
Dwinell: Tallied seven kills and five blocks
Burilovic: Reached a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs

MATCH NOTES:

With the win over Texas Tech, Colorado is now 11-0 when recording more kills than its opponent and 14-0 when posting a higher hitting percentage.
Colorado improved to 11-1 at home this season, marking its best home record since finishing 13-3 in 2022.
Colorado recorded its first sweep at home since defeating Wichita State on Sept. 4, 2026.
The Buffs have not lost a game against Texas Tech within the last 10 years, with the win extending Colorado's win streak to five.
The Buffs hold a 30-5 all-time record against Texas Tech. They became 16-3 while at home against the Red Raiders after Sunday's victory.
Colorado's 25-12 set victory marked its largest margin of victory in a set this season, surpassing its previous best of 25-13 against Central Arkansas and USC.
Colorado extended Texas Tech's streak of consecutive 3-0 losses to seven, with the Red Raiders last recording a set victory on Oct. 2.
With a serving ace in the first set, defensive specialist Nikki Ott recorded the first of her career.
Freshman setter Elle Richardson made her first appearance of the season.
For the third consecutive match and 15th time this season, Ylivanio recorded zero errors.

UP NEXT: The Buffs take on No. 9 BYU at the CU Events Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. This is the second time this season the opponents have met. 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 BYU are on sale and can be purchased here.