Buffs Dominate Golden Bears for Sweep

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (6-3) swept the California Golden Bears (25-18, 25-19, 25-23) in the Buffs Invitational at CU Events Center on Saturday.

The Buffs ran away with the first two sets, not letting the Bears score more than 19 points in either. Cal tried to force a fourth set, coming close in the third, but Colorado finished well and swept the Bears.

"I thought our team responded really well from our match last night and came out firing on all cylinders in that first set," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Maybe some of the best offensive volleyball we played all season. We almost hit .400 against a really good team. Flip side of that is we let them hit roughly .300, so I still think we can defend a little bit better, but I was really happy with our game plan and how we executed it."

Colorado hit .394 against Cal, out-killing the Bears, 48-41. The teams were tied in total team blocks (4.0) and digs (38), and the Buffs out-aced the Golden Bears (7-2). The Buffs sideout percentage was 71%, and Colorado her the opponent out of system 60% of the time when serving.

KEY PLAYERS:

So. OH Ana Burilovic had 18 kills (4e, 32att, hitting .438) with a 53% kill percentage, leading both teams in kills. She also had three aces and three digs.
So. OH Sydney Jordan reached nine kills (2e, 22att, hitting .318) for Colorado. She also had an ace, six digs and a solo block.
Jordan on her performance: "My mindset today was just swinging high. I was lucky enough to get a lot of one-on-one opportunities. [Simpson] was setting me really well, and I think that I just kind of capitalized on those opportunities."
So. DS/L Avery Bolles had her first start in the libero jersey for the Buffs, notching a career-high 12 digs.
Bolles' on her performance: "My mindset today was really just, [on] every ball, play it as well as you can -- especially in serve receive. Feel like that's been a big focus in practice -- just play the ball that's coming at you first, and then worry about where you're supposed to be next."
So. OPP Lily Dwinell reached 12 kills (0e, 23att, hitting .522) with a 52% kill percentage and had one block
So. MB Cayla Payne notched seven kills (2e,13att, hitting .385) with a 54% kill percentage, one dig and one block.
Sr. S Taylor Simpson generated 42 kills on her sets for the Buffs and had three digs on the night.
Fr. DS/L Katie Salonga had five digs and a 71% dig percentage.
CLUTCH AWARD: So. S Rian Finley came in clutch for the Buffs for the second match in a row, serving two key aces for Colorado.
For the Golden Bears, Maggie Li led Cal with 15 kills and Payton DeJardin had 13 kills. Gianna Bartalo had 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Ana Burilovic led the Buffs through the first set with eight kills. The Bears went on a 3-0 and took a brief lead, but it stayed relatively back and forth for much of the first (11-10, Cal). Colorado took back the lead on a 5-0 run with a kill from Dwinell and an ace from Jordan (21-16). The Buff rode out this momentum to take set one, 25-18.
The Buffs scored the first four points and went 6-1 in the first seven points with a block and a kill from Dwinell, and kills from Payne, Jordan, Burilovic and Simkus. Colorado held its lead, going up by as many as nine (20-11). Cal narrowed the lead with a 4-0 run, forcing a Buff timeout (20-15), but Colorado stayed strong and took the second set, 25-19.
Colorado led early in the third and there was no going back after the first four points. The Buffs went on a 3-0 run with back-to-back Burilovic aces to reach match point, and Colorado shut the door on the Bears with a Jordan kill.

UP NEXT:

Colorado will face Wyoming in the last match of Buffs Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 15. First serve is set for 1 p.m. MT at CU Events Center. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and links to watch are available at CUBuffs.com.
Mahoney on Wyoming: "They've obviously played two really competitive matches this weekend. They are one of the better ball control teams that that we've seen so far. They pass really well, which puts a lot of stress on your block and defense. They have a really excellent setter, they run really fast offense. It's a team I would like two days during the week to prepare for, and we don't get that, so we're going to have to really dial in early and settle into the match tomorrow. But if we pass as well as we did tonight, and we are as offensive as we were tonight, I think we can compete with anybody."

MATCH NOTES:

Colorado rises to 19-7 all-time against Cal.
The Buffs get their sixth win of the season going 3-1 in three-set matches.
So. DS/L Avery Bolles reached a career-high 12 digs against the Golden Bears.

Under ninth-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, Colorado earned a winning record in the 2023 season (16-15) and went 8-12 against Pac-12 opponents. A significant win for the Buffs took place against 17th-ranked Arizona State last year. The Buffs took down the Sun Devils in three sets, completing the sweep and earning CU's only win against a ranked opponent in the 2023 season. Colorado also swept Arizona (Oct. 20) and Washington (Nov. 19) and finished seventh in the Pac-12.

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.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Taylor Simpson

Players Mentioned

Avery Bolles

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Taylor Simpson