Colorado
6-0,0-0Big 12
Northern Colorado
1-4,0-0Big Sky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Colo. | 25 | 20 | 25 | 9 | 6 | 2 |
| Colorado | 15 | 25 | 16 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Losada Aces The Buffs Past Northern Colorado In Five
September 06, 2026 | Volleyball
BOULDER — No. 23 Colorado volleyball held on to its undefeated record and took down Northern Colorado in a competitive five-set match, 15-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-9, 15-6, on Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center.
Colorado (6-0) took home the Buffs Invitational trophy. Senior middle blocker Cayla Payne received MVP of the Buffs Invitational, while senior pin attacker Ana Burilovic and senior setter Jenna Ylivainio were named to the all-tournament team.
Northern Colorado won the first set, Colorado took the second and dropped the third, but bounced back and took the final two sets. Payne reached a career milestone of 350 blocks on her first block of the opening set. Sophomore PIN Ines Losada had a breakout game, setting career highs in the ace and kill columns.
"Those last two sets might have been as good of volleyball as we have played," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "But we're going to have to be a little bit more consistent if we want to get to where we want to go this season."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
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Set One: Senior PIN Lily Dwinell and junior middle blocker Maria Splawska opened scoring for the Buffs with a block before Northern Colorado jumped out to an early lead (4-1 UNC). Payne notched her 350th career block for the Buffs to cut the deficit to two (6-4 UNC). Colorado found momentum as Ylivainio tipped the ball over the net for a kill (12-8 UNC). Splawska fueled the Buffs with a kill and a block (18-11 UNC). With her first serve of the season, Losada executed three consecutive aces to put Colorado back in striking distance (21-15 UNC). A kill by Northern Colorado gave them the first set (25-15 UNC).
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Set Two: A kill from Burilovic sparked an early 4-1 Buffs run (4-1 CU). Colorado extended its lead with kills from Losada, Ylivainio and Payne (9-3 CU). Northern Colorado continued to battle, but the Buffs maintained the lead with a block from Splawska and Dwinell (13-8 CU). Northern Colorado cut the lead to three (15-12 CU). Two dominant Losada kills and a Dwinell and Splawska block forced a Northern Colorado timeout (20-15 CU). Back-to-back Burilovic kills secured the set for Colorado (25-20 CU).
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Set Three: Northern Colorado got out to an early lead, but pin Burilovic responded with a kill and an ace for the Buffs (6-5 UNC). A Losada kill ignited a 3-0 Buffs run, which cut the deficit to two (10-8 UNC). Northern Colorado extended its lead, as Payne and Burilovic attempted to close the gap with powerful kills (21-13 UNC). Despite efforts from Losada and Payne, the Bears took the third set with a kill (25-16 UNC).
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Set Four: A service error by UNC followed by a service ace from junior defensive specialist Avery Bolles gave the Buffs a slight edge (4-2 CU). Back-to-back Losada kills and an ace from Burilovic ignited a 6-0 Colorado run (10-4 CU). The Buffs continued to power ahead with a block assist by Ylivaninio and Splawska and a Ylivaninio ace (15-6 CU). Colorado maintained its momentum with a block from Burilovic and Splawska and an ace by Losada (22-7 CU). The Buffs capped off a dominant fourth set with a kill from Burilovic (25-9 CU).
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Set Five: A fifth Losada ace and a Burilovic kill pushed the Buffs ahead quickly (3-0 CU). Colorado extended its lead with another kill from Burilovic and a service ace from junior libero Tinons Munar Galmes (7-2 CU). Burilovic notched back-to-back aces as the Buffs charged ahead (12-4 CU). Colorado took the final set and defeated the Bears with a final Losada kill, marking the last point of an impressive night for the sophomore (15-6 CU).
LOSADA ON HER BREAKOUT MATCH: "It feels great. At the end of the day, my biggest goal here is to help my team to win, make my teammates and my coach proud of me, and show everyone that we can beat whoever we want if we work hard," Losada said.
KEY PLAYERS:
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Burilovic: Secured 17 kills on 41 attacks, three service aces and three blocks.
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Ylivainio: Boasted 39 assists, five digs and one ace.
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Payne: Recorded nine kills on 19 attacks and added five blocks.
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Losada: Set a new career-high with five aces, tied for 11th-most in CU history. Additionally, matched Burilovic as the most aces in a five-set match at the CU Events Center. Broke her career-high in kills with 14 while hitting .455.
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Splawska: Recorded nine blocks, five attacks and two kills in her first start of the season.
MATCH NOTES:
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This was just the ninth match between the two, but the fifth in the past six seasons, the most recent coming Oct. 28, 2025.
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Colorado now leads 7-2 all-time against Northern Colorado.
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Payne secured 350 career blocks as a Buffalo, making her the 10th in Colorado history to do so.
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Sophomore defensive specialist Nikki Ott made her first collegiate debut.
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The Buffs broke their season-high in service aces with 10.
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Colorado won the fourth set with the largest margin of victory yet for the season (25-9).
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Three players reached double-digit points: Burilovic (21.5), Losada (19) and Payne (11.5).
UP NEXT: The Buffs head west for their first road game of the season. They will face-off against Oregon State on Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. MT at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The match will be streamed on BIG+. Fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.
