No. 23 Colorado to Play Two Halloweek Matchups Against Northern Colorado and No. 18 Baylor

BOULDER – The 23rd-ranked Colorado volleyball team (18-3, 9-1 Big 12) has its second split week in a row, going briefly on the road at Northern Colorado (9-12, 6-3 Big Sky) on Oct. 28 before a ranked matchup with No. 18 Baylor (12-6, 7-3 Big 12) back at home on Oct. 31.

The Buffs battle two sets of Bears this week – UNC for the eighth time in program history at 6 p.m. MT in Greeley, Colo., and Baylor for the 35th time ever at CU Events Center on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. CU looks for a bit of Halloween revenge, coming off losses to both those teams last season. The Black and Gold are 6-6 when playing opponents on Halloween and 8-4 all-time on Oct. 28.

Last week, Colorado locked down two more conference wins to improve to 9-1 in conference. The Buffs went the distance at Texas Tech for a five-set thriller and got the best of Iowa State in four sets. Junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic had back-to-back matches with double-doubles, and junior pin attacker Sydney Jordan and junior middle blocker Cayla Payne each reached 500 career kills.

THIS WEEK
MATCH #22 • Tuesday, October 28 • 6 p.m. MT
No. 23 Colorado (18-3, 9-1 Big 12) vs. Northern Colorado (9-12, 6-3 Big Sky)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 5-2 (.714)
LAST MEETING: L, 3-2 (September 11, 2024 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 5-2
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UNCBears.com

MATCH #23 • Friday, October 31 • 7 p.m. MT
No. 23 Colorado (18-3, 9-1 Big 12) vs. No. 18 Baylor (12-6, 7-3 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 23-11 (.677)
LAST MEETING: L, 3-0 (November 1, 2024 • Waco, Texas)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-8
OPPONENT WEBSITE: BaylorBears.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

CU is led by 10th-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, who has led the Buffs to a 159-129 (.552) record as CU's fifth head volleyball coach. Coach Mahoney has been extended through 2027 and has led the Buffs to three NCAA appearances. Mahoney also picked up his 150th win as head coach at CU against Denver at CU Events Center (Sept. 14). He becomes the third coach in Colorado Volleyball history to reach 150 wins, joining the likes of Pi'i Aiu and Brandon Saindon.
In its second year back in the Big 12, Colorado was picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. The Buffs are 161-167 (.491) all-time in Big 12 conference play and second in the conference standings.
For the first week this season, the Buffs are ranked 23rd in the AVCA Coaches' Poll. This is the seventh week this season that the Buffs have received votes in the poll, and their fourth week in a row in the top-25.
CU is looking at its best overall start in program history after 21 matches with an 18-3 overall record and a 9-1 record in conference. In 1998, the Buffs went 17-4 overall to start the season.
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic is the Volley Buffs stat champion for yet another week this season. She is first in the Big 12 for kills per set with 4.81, landing her at ninth in the NCAA. Burilovic is also first in conference for points per set with 5.62, seventh in the country, and second in the Big 12 for aces per set (0.45). Burilovic had back-to-back matches with double-doubles, managing 26 kills and 11 digs at Texas Tech (Oct. 22) and 19 kills and 10 digs against Iowa State (Oct. 25).
R-Jr. S Rian Finley sits at fourth in the Big 12 for assists per set with 9.83. At Texas Tech, Finley had 45 assists, six digs, three blocks and one kill (Oct. 22). Against Iowa State, she had 36 assists, one ace, three blocks, six digs and two kills (Oct. 25).
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan is fourth in the Big 12 for aces per set (0.38). Jordan also had her fourth double-double of the season, 10th of her career, at Texas Tech with 10 kills and 12 digs (Oct. 22). She also had three aces on the week, two at TTU and one against Iowa State (Oct. 25).
Jr. MB Cayla Payne is ninth in the Big 12 for hitting percentage (.343). At Texas Tech, Payne set her career-high in hitting percentage with .750 off 15 kills, no errors and 20 swings (Oct. 22). She also had nine kills and eight blocks against Iowa State (Oct. 25).
As a team, the Buffs are second in the Big 12 for aces per set (1.59), third for opponent hitting percentage (.172), fifth for blocks per set (2.55) and sixth for hitting percentage (.255).

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' matches at Northern Colorado and against No. 18 Baylor will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also follow Colorado matches through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

LIONS, AND TIGERS, AND BEARS! OH MY!: The Buffs are 5-2 against the UNCo Bears all-time and 1-1 in Greeley. Last season, CU hosted Northern Colorado in September between two tournaments and fell in five sets (Sept. 11, 2024).

BEARS (RAWR): No. 23 Colorado matches up with No. 18 Baylor for the 35th time in program history. The Buffs are 10-5 when playing the Bears at home and 23-11 overall. Almost a year ago to the day, CU traveled to Waco and fell in three sets (Nov. 1, 2024). The last nine matches between the Buffs and the Bears have been sweeps in either direction.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic had her second and third double-doubles of the season (eighth and ninth of her career), managing 26 kills and 11 digs at Texas Tech (Oct. 22) and 19 kills and 10 digs against Iowa State (Oct. 25). Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan had her fourth double-double of the season, 10th of her career, at Texas Tech with 10 kills and 12 digs (Oct. 22).

MILESTONE WATCH: So. MB Maria Splawska has 98 blocks, two away from 100. Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal has 913 digs, 87 away from 1,000. Sr. DS/L Sarah Moton has 1,357 digs, 143 away from 1,500, and 83 aces, 19 away from 100. Jr. MB Cayla Payne has 283 blocks, 17 away from 300.

MILESTONE CHECK: Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan and Jr. MB Cayla Payne each reached 500 career kills last week, Payne at Texas Tech and Jordan against Iowa State. Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic reached 100 aces against TTU, putting her at second in program history for career aces in the rally-scoring era. Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell reached 600 kills against Iowa State. R-Jr. Rian Finley reached 800 assists. Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal reached 200 assists.

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.

No. 23 Colorado to Play Two Halloweek Matchups Against Northern Colorado and No. 18 Baylor

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Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

Colorado University Athletics

No. 23 Colorado to Play Two Halloweek Matchups Against Northern Colorado and No. 18 Baylor

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lily Dwinell

Rian Finley

Sydney Jordan

Peyton Neal

Cayla Payne

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