No. 24 Colorado Overcomes Utah in Four

BOULDER – The 24th-ranked Colorado volleyball team (15-3, 6-1 Big 12) defeated Utah (9-8, 1-5 Big 12) in four sets (15-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-19) at CU Events Center on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

The Buffs played from behind in the first set and went into extra points in the second, seeing a momentum-building win, 29-27, in set two. CU was in its groove in set three and went up 5-0 to start set four. The Black and Gold maintained its lead in the fourth, sealing the win over the Utes, 25-19.

"Happy to get the win," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "There are no bad teams in this league, and Utah is a very good team, and they've got a lot of weapons. […] We hit over .300 in a couple of those sets but more importantly, we started to defend. I really enjoyed watching our team get after it tonight, from a defensive standpoint, and kind of got better as the match went on. Every match in this league is going to be a fight. And I think we know that now. So, happy to get the win and ready for the next one."

The Buffaloes out-killed (56-49), out-dug (69-62) and out-blocked (10-8) Utah. CU also hit over .300 in sets two (.375) and three (.317), and held the Utes to .170 on the match.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic led the match with 20 kills and picked up a double-double with 13 digs. She also had two blocks. This is her seventh match this season with 20 or more kills, and her first double-double of the season (seventh of her career).
Sr. S Rian Finley also managed a double-double with 34 assists and 16 digs. She also had one kill and one ace. This double-double marks Finley's first of both the season and her career.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell totaled 12 kills (2e, 30att), four digs, four blocks (one solo) and an assist.
So. MB Maria Splawska had career-highs in both kills and digs with six (1e, 12att) and eight, respectively. She also had five blocks.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan had eight kills, one assist, one ace, 12 digs and two solo blocks.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne had seven kills and two blocks (one solo).
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton managed 10 digs and seven assists.
So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga had one kill, six assists, an ace and three digs.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal totaled three digs and one assist, and So. PIN Gwen Schiff had one kill and one block.
For the Utes, Kamryn Gibadlo led the Utes with 17 kills, and Isabelle Marco had 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs played from behind in set one, but kills from Burilovic and Jordan kept CU in it (8-4, UU). Utah went on a run, but momentum was stilled by a Splawska kill and a Splawska-Dwinell block (11-9, UU). Burilovic kills kept Colorado alive, but it couldn't overcome the Utes' offense, and Utah took the first set (25-15.
CU came out with more fire in set two, and Utah kept it close with 12 tie scores and four lead changes. Payne set the tone early, scoring first to open the set, followed by kills from Burilovic and Jordan (6-5, CU). With a Finley ace, Dwinell kill and Jordan kill, the Buffs were neck and neck with the Utes (15-14, UU). The teams exchanged points lengthily, going into extras with back-to-back kills from Jordan (24-24). Two down the line kills, and a Utah attack error locked in set two for CU, 29-27.
Set three was also close to start, with CU and Utah going back and forth. Back-to-back errors and a Burilovic kill sent the Buffs on a 3-0 run, before kills from Jordan and Dwinell extended the Buffs' lead (11-7, CU). The Utes cut the lead down to two (16-14, CU), but kills from Burilovic, Dwinell and Splawska maintained CU's momentum (21-18, CU). Colorado put set three away off kills from Payne and Jordan (25-21)
The Buffs came out hot in the fourth, going up 5-0 with Splawska serving on five CU points to get the Utes out of system. Finley registered a dump, and Payne had another kill, forcing Utah to take a timeout (8-2, CU). A Salonga ace, Burilovic kill and Dwinell kill saw the Buffs comfortably in the lead (12-7, CU). Colorado continued to capitalize, not giving up the lead once in the set, and finished set four, 25-19.

UP NEXT

No. 24 Colorado stays home with a match against West Virginia on Saturday, Oct. 18. First serve against the Mountaineers is set for 12 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 16-19 all-time against the Utes.
CU has only ever swept Utah on the season twice – this being the second time. The last time Colorado beat Utah in both matches in one season was in 2022.
The Buffaloes got their fourth 3-1 win of the season and are 4-2 in four-set matches.

For more information on the Colorado women's volleyball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsVB.

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Team Stats

Ana Burilović

Lily Dwinell

Sydney Jordan

Cayla Payne

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Gwen Schiff

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Sarah Morton

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Katie Salonga

Gwen Schiff