No. 24 Colorado Go the Distance, Beat Texas Tech in Five

Wednesday, October 22

Lubbock, Texas

5 PM

Colorado

17-3,8-1Big 12

Texas Tech

8-12,0-8Big 12

Colorado

Texas Tech

No. 24 Colorado Go the Distance, Beat Texas Tech in Five

October 22, 2025 | Volleyball

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Both Buff middle blockers, sophomore Maria Splawska and junior Cayla Payne, had zero hitting errors on the match

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

LUBBOCK, Texas – The 24th-ranked Colorado volleyball team (17-3, 8-1 Big 12) defeated Texas Tech (8-12, 0-8 Big 12) in five sets (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12) at United Supermarkets Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

The Buffs came back from being down 2-1 in sets in a scrappy five-set thriller match against the Red Raiders. CU had zero attack errors in sets one and five, hitting .400 in the first and .500 in the fifth. Both starting middles for the Buffs – Maria Splawska and Cayla Payne – were without hitting errors as well, hitting .636 and .750 on the match, respectively.

"Always happy to get a win," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "Playing on the road is always tough. […] We had some really nice offensive performances, and then we were efficient in most of our other positions as well. […] We didn't make the right adjustments early enough. But this team, this year, has found a way to win some ugly matches. […] We found a way to win."

Colorado's match against Texas Tech saw 21 ties and six lead changes. CU hit over .400 in three sets, and it out-blocked TTU (10-4).

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. MB Cayla Payne managed a career-high hitting percentage with .750 off 15 kills, zero errors and 20 attacks. She also had two blocks.

So. MB Maria Splawska matched her career-high for hitting percentage with .636 off seven kills (0e, 11att). She also had seven blocks (one solo).
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic led the Buffs in kills with 26 kills (4e, 56att, hitting .393). She also had a double-double with 11 digs – her second of the season, eighth of her career. Burilovic also managed two blocks (one solo), one ace and one assist.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan also had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs – her fourth of the season, 10th of her career. She also had two aces, one assist and two blocks.
Sr. S Rian Finley totaled 45 assists, six digs, three blocks and a kill.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal led the Buffs in digs with 13, and she had one assist.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell had six kills, two blocks and one assist.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton had five digs and four assists.
So. PIN Gwen Schiff had one kill and a dig, and So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga had three assists and a career-high seven digs.
Fr. PIN Inés Losada had one ace and two digs, and Fr. S Audrey Asleson had one assist – earned on the final point of the match.
For the Red Raiders, Kallista Jioshvili ravva led their team with 25 kills and Sierra Grizzle

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs had zero attack errors in set one, managing a .400 hitting percentage. CU started the set ahead off an early 3-0 run with Burilovic kills and a Finley-Payne block (4-1, CU). A kill from Splawska, an ace from Losada and a Splawska-Jordan block kept the Buffs in the lead (14-10, CU). Errors plagued the Red Raiders, as two Jordan kills, a kill from Dwinell and another Finley-Payne block sent CU up by four (20-16, CU). Colorado didn't give up the lead for the whole set and went on a 4-0 run to finish and take set one off kills from Payne and Burilovic, and a Burilovic ace (25-18).

Texas Tech kept it close to start the second set, but a 3-0 Buff run put them in the lead with kills from Dwinell and Splawska (8-5, CU). Colorado saw kills from Dwinell, Payne and Schiff, but a 3-0 run from TTU gave the Raiders the lead (16-15, TTU). Two more 3-0 runs force CU to use both its timeouts (23-18, TTU). The Buffs had two more kills from Jordan, but couldn't come back, dropping set two, 25-21.
CU came out slow in set three, playing behind for much of the set. Kills from Payne, Splawska and Burilovic stopped Raider runs (8-6, TTU). The Buffs had back-to-back kills from Payne and Splawska to tie it up (12-12). Another two kills from Payne kept Colorado in the set, but it took its first time out down four (19-15, TTU). After taking its second timeout, CU went on a 4-0 run with consecutive Jordan aces, a Jordan- Splawska block and a Burilovic kill to narrow the Raiders' lead (23-21, TTU). Texas Tech finished the set with two kills and went up 2-1 in the match (25-21, TTU).
Colorado opened set four on a 5-0 run with three kills in a row from Burilovic and a kill from Payne (5-1, CU). Tech responded with a 5-0 run of its own, but the Buffs went on another 4-0 run with kills from Jordan and a Dwinell-Splawska block to take back the lead (12-10, CU). The teams traded blows before the Buffs had two 3-0 runs with kills from Payne, Jordan and Splawska to extend their lead (22-15, CU). A kill from Burilovic and a Splawska-Burilovic block put the Buffs on top of set four and forced a fifth set (25-19).
Both teams came out swinging in set five, neither wanting to give up the thriller, and CU notched kills from Payne, Burilovic and Splawska (5-5). Splawska closed the net for business, registering back-to-back blocks with Finely and Dwinell (9-8 TTU). Burilovic put on a show, notching a solo block and three kills, and combined with two Payne kills to wrap up the match (15-12, CU).

UP NEXT

No. 24 Colorado will return home for its second match this week against Iowa State on Saturday, Oct. 25. First serve against the Cyclones is set for 1 p.m. MT. The matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 29-5 versus the Raiders all-time.
The Buffaloes got their fourth 3-2 win of the season and are undefeated (4-0) in five-set matches.
This is the Buffs' second match this season with two players earning double-doubles.

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.