Buffaloes Clash with Cyclones, No. 24 Colorado Beats Iowa State in Four

Saturday, October 25

Boulder, Colo.

1 PM

Colorado

18-3,9-1Big 12

Iowa State

16-4,6-3Big 12

Iowa St.

Colorado

Buffaloes Clash with Cyclones, No. 24 Colorado Beats Iowa State in Four

October 25, 2025 | Volleyball

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By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The 24th-ranked Colorado volleyball team (18-3, 9-1 Big 12) defeated Iowa State (16-4, 6-3 Big 12) in four sets (25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23) at the CU Events Center on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The Buffs were well-matched with the Cyclones, winning three out of four sets by three points or fewer. After playing from behind in set three, an energy shift dedicated to eight CU team blocks pulled the Buffs ahead to take the match in four.

"That's a really good team that we just played," head coach Jesse Mahoney stated. "They pass and defend as well as anybody that we've seen this year, and it's definitely very frustrating. We're a team that has had success throughout the season with serving really well, getting teams out of system and having a good transition game. When we couldn't do that as well as we needed to, it got really frustrating, but we made some really nice adjustments. In that last set, we had some big plays down the stretch, especially from a blocking standpoint, and that's a really important win for us this season."

The Buffaloes out-blocked (14-12) and out-aced (7-1) the Cyclones. Colorado held Iowa State to .068 hitting in set one.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic led the match in solo blocks with a career-high three. She also earned her second double-double of the season, eighth of her career, from 19 kills and 10 digs. Additionally, she recorded five blocks and one ace.
So. MB Maria Splawska recorded six kills, four digs, three blocks, including one solo block, two aces and one assist.
So. PIN Gwen Schiff hit .500 (4k, 0e, 8att), matching her career high. She also saw two digs.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne scored nine kills and eight blocks for the Buffs.
PAYNE ON TEAM MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: "Sometimes we can make those adjustments and be a little bit better, a little bit quicker. Today we had a great start in the first set. That was a big switch. We wanted to make sure that we were coming out strong, I think we did that. We just need to continue doing that throughout all the sets, which can be hard but needs to be done."
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan saw 11 digs, six kills, two assists, one ace and one block.
Sr. S Rian Finley recorded 36 assists, six digs, three blocks, two kills and one ace.
Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal earned five digs, three assists and one ace.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell tallied six kills, four blocks and three digs.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton saw eight digs and two assists.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton saw eight digs and two assists, and So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga recorded six digs and four assists.
For the Cyclones, Alea Goolsby had 19 kills and Rachel Van Gorp had 19 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Kills from Burilovic and two aces from Finley opened scoring for CU (7-6, ISU). The Buffs went on a 5-0 run to force a Cyclone timeout with a Burilovic -Splawska block and two more kills from Burilovic (12-7, CU). Burilovic saw a solo block and another kill, and Splawska found the floor for a kill to keep the Buffs up five (15-10, CU). Iowa State went on a 3-0 run to narrow the gap, but more kills from Burilovic and a kill from Schiff kept Colorado ahead (19-14, CU). A Splawska-Dwinell block and a Payne-Dwinell block, followed by back-to-back Payne kills, locked down set one for the Buffs, 25-22.
The Buffs started on a 3-0 run with a kill from Dwinell and an ace from Jordan (3-0, CU). The Cyclones answered with a 6-0 run of their own, but an ace and a kill from Splawska kept CU in it (6-5, ISU). Colorado capitalized off Cyclone errors and a Payne kill to get back in the lead (10-9, CU). Both teams kept it close, with the Buffs registering kills from Splawska, Payne, Burilovic and Jordan (19-19). Schiff had another kill, as well as Dwinell and Jordan (23-22, CU). A kill from Burilovic and an ace from Splawska put the Buffs on top of set two (25-23, CU).
CU struggled in set three, giving up a 10-0 Cyclone run after kills from Payne and Finley (13-4, ISU). The Buffs managed a few kills from Jordan, Burilovic and Splawska (16-9, ISU). A Burilovic kill, Neal ace and Burilovic solo block narrowed the gap for CU (19-14, ISU). Colorado notched another Payne kill and a Salonga ace, but Iowa State took it, 25-16.
While the Buffs played from behind once again in set four, CU got going on kills from Jordan, Burilovic and Splawska, as well as a Splawska solo block (11-6, ISU). After two Dwinell kills, Colorado went on a 4-0 run off a kill and an ace from Burilovic, a Payne-Jordan block and a Payne-Finley block (14-12, ISU). Finley crafted a setter dump and assisted kills by Jordan and Schiff (17-15, ISU). Colorado went on a 5-0 run, grabbing its first lead of the set off two Payne-Dwinell blocks (20-18, CU). The Buffs' energy shifted after another 3-0 run, seeing a Payne kill, Burilovic solo block and a Payne- Burilovic block (23-19, CU). Totaling eight team blocks in the fourth set, the Buffs took the match on a Payne-Finley block, 25-23.

UP NEXT

No. 24 Colorado will travel to Greeley, Colo., to face the Northern Colorado Bears on Tuesday, Oct. 28. First serve is set for 6 p.m. MT. The Buffaloes will return home for a Halloween matchup against Baylor on Friday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. MT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 42-17 versus the Cyclones all-time.
The Buffaloes got their fifth 3-1 win of the season and are 5-2 in four-set matches.
Colorado had more blocks (14-12) and aces (7-1) than Iowa State.

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.