Colorado Holds 2026 Black And Gold Scrimmage

BOULDER — No. 23 Colorado volleyball will host its Black and Gold scrimmage Saturday at noon at the CU Events Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Head coach Jesse Mahoney enters his 11th season at Colorado after leading the team to a 23-9 record and a 12-6 mark in conference play last season. The scrimmage gives fans a first look at the 2026 Buffaloes roster and their offseason progress.

"Practices have been going really well," Mahoney said. "There's a lot of competition in the gym. Even with as many returners as we have, we have some young players who are really stepping up, really athletic, and we feel like we're really deep in every position."

The 2026 roster features much of the team's core leadership, with an additional six newcomers.

"We have a lot of returners. We've all been here for a long time," senior Avery Bolles said. "I think that's something that makes our team so close, that we have a really low rate of leaving. We want to build that culture of a family and really work together toward our common goal."

The Buffs return five of their seven starters from last season, including the team's leading scorer, Ana Burilovic. The AVCA All-American led the Big 12 last season with 4.71 kills and 5.47 points per set. Burilovic and senior Cayla Payne were both named to the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Team.

Even with a roster that closely resembles last year's, the team's veterans are confident heading into a season that will bring new goals and new competition.

"We are going to be different," senior Sydney Jordan said. "We grew so much from our sophomore to our junior year, and we're only going to grow from our junior to our senior year. I think every single one of us has made massive strides in the offseason, and we have some incredible new additions that I feel like no one even knows about yet. We're really excited, and ultimately we know that the product is going to be good if we put our minds to it."

The 2026 season officially begins Aug. 28, when Colorado hosts CSUN, Denver and Central Arkansas in the Buffs Classic.

Fans can purchase their tickets for home CU volleyball matches at CU Events Center here and view the full schedule here.

For more information on the Colorado volleyball team, please visit cubuffs.com/vb. Fans of the Buffs can follow @cubuffsvb on Instagram, X and Facebook.