Buffs to Brave Bears, Anteaters and Cowgirls

Wednesday, September 11

Boulder, Colo.

7 PM

Colorado

Northern Colorado

September 10, 2024 | Volleyball

VB Match Notes 9/10/24

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (4-2) continues its home stand with a midweek match against Northern Colorado (5-2) on Wednesday and a second home tournament in Buffs Invitational this weekend. The Buffs will play UC Irvine (4-2), Cal (4-2) and Wyoming (5-0) after the Wednesday match.

The Buffs performance in its home opener mirrored the first tournament on the road, going 2-1 on the weekend. Colorado won in five against Georgia (Sept. 6), swept Fresno State (Sept. 7) and fell to Washington in a competitive five-set match (Sept. 8). Senior setter Taylor Simpson and sophomore middle blocker Cayla Payne were named to the Buffs Classic All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the weekend.

THIS WEEK
NORTHERN COLORADO/BUFFS INVITATIONAL
CU Events Center • Boulder, Colo.
TV/STREAM: ESPN+

MATCH #1 • Wednesday, September 11 • 7 p.m. MT
Colorado (4-2) vs. Northern Colorado (5-2)
SERIES RECORD: 5-1, CU Leads
LAST MEETING: W, 3-0 (August 31, 2024 • Greeley, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 5-1
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UNCBears.com

MATCH #2 • Friday, September 13 • 7 p.m. MT
Colorado (4-2) vs. UC Irvine (4-2)
SERIES RECORD: 1-1, Tied
LAST MEETING: W, 3-0 (September 10, 2016 • San Diego, Calif.)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-1
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCIrvineSports.com

MATCH #3 • Saturday, September 14 • 6 p.m. MT
Colorado (4-2) vs. Cal (4-2)
SERIES RECORD: 18-7, CU Leads
LAST MEETING: W, 3-1 (November 22, 2023 • Berkeley, Calif.)
STREAK: Won 8 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
OPPONENT WEBSITE: CalBears.com

MATCH #4 • Sunday, September 15 • 1 p.m. MT
Colorado (4-2) vs. Wyoming (5-0)
SERIES RECORD: 15-8, CU Leads
LAST MEETING: W, 3-0 (August 30, 2019 • Boulder, Colo)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 8-2
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoWyo.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

CU is led by ninth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, who has led the Buffs to a 132-111 (.543) record as CU's fifth head volleyball coach. Coach Mahoney has been extended through 2027 and has led the Buffs to three NCAA appearances.
So. MB Cayla Payne was named to the Buffs Classic All-Tournament Team after reaching a career-high 19 kills (3e, 28att, hitting .571) in the Buffs' match against Georgia. She totaled 41 kills and 11 blocks on the weekend, and she reached 3.15 kills per set and hit .447, as well as 0.85 blocks per set and 3.62 points per set.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson was also named to the Buffs Classic All-Tournament Team after a career-high 55 assists and 10 digs, her first double-double of the season.
So. OH Ana Burilovic notched a career-high 25 kills against Washington and reached her second double-double of the season with 12 digs (fourth of her career). She averaged 4.15 kills per set and 5.04 points per set. She also had a career-high six aces against Georgia.
So. OH Sydney Jordan had a career-high 18 kills against Georgia, double-digit digs against Washington (10) and 14 kills against Fresno State.
Jr. DS/L Sarah Morton had 46 digs on the weekend, with 22 digs against Washington on Sunday. She had 3.54 digs per set across 13 sets of volleyball.
So. DS/L Avery Bolles had a career-high 12 digs against Georgia and had double-digit digs twice in Buffs Classic.

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: All four Buffalo matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ as well as the neutral matches in Buffs Invitational. Fans also can follow Colorado matches through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: So. OH Ana Burilovic recorded her second double-double of the season against Washington (Sept. 8), her fourth of her career, with 12 digs and a career-high 25 kills. Sr. S Taylor Simpson set a career-high 55 assists and recorded 10 digs against Georgia (Sept. 6), her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career.

MILESTONE WATCH: So. MB Cayla Payne hit 150 kills over the weekend while competing in Buffs Classic and is six blocks away from 100 in her career. So. OH Sydney Jordan is 25 kills away from 100 career kills, and she is 28 digs away from 100 career digs. So. DS/L Avery Bolles has already recorded the same number of digs at this point in the 2024 season as she had at the end of the 2023 season, and she is 26 digs away from 100 in her career.

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.