Colorado Volleyball Signs Four Standout Buffs to 2026 Roster

BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team welcomes the addition of four freshmen to the 2026 roster, head coach Jesse Mahoney announced Thursday, Nov. 13.

The Buffs' quad of first-year players includes Kensley Hennessy (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic HS) Chukwudumebi "Dumebi" Okoye (Surrey, British Columbia/Guildford Park Secondary School), Elle Richardson (Orem, Utah/Mountain View HS), and Barbora Rakauskaite (Vilnius, Lithuania/Vilnius Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium).

"We are thrilled to welcome such a deep and talented class of student-athletes to Boulder for the upcoming year," Mahoney said. "This group checks all the boxes in terms of athleticism, skill and depth at our key positions of need. These exceptional young women will represent the University of Colorado well on the court, in the classroom and in our Boulder community."

A 6-2 middle blocker from San Diego, Calif., Kensley Hennessy comes to the Buffs from Cathedral Catholic High School and played club volleyball for Northern Nevada Juniors and Wave VBC. Hennessy helped Cathedral High School to the California Open State Championship in 2024 and received academic honors all four years of high school. She helped her club team finish fifth in the nation at the 2025 Junior Nationals and was part of the Volleypalooza All-Tournament team.

"Hennessy is a long, lean and dynamic middle attacker with a great amount of upside in the position," Mahoney stated. "She attacks well in front of the setter and is especially adept behind on the slide. She has a tremendously high motor and competitive spirit that will serve her well at the collegiate level. We are excited to have Hennessy enrolling this January to get a great head start on her development."

Six-foot-one pin attacker Chukwudumebi "Dumebi" Okoye joins CU from Guildford Park Secondary School and originally hails from Benin City, Nigeria. Okoye has been recognized as the Guildford Park Outstanding Athlete of the Year (2025), Guildford Park MVP (2024), and Guildford Park All-Star Athlete (2024). A current resident of Surrey, British Columbia, she was also named to the All-Canadian team in 2024 and was placed on the Honor Roll all four years of high school.

"Okoye is a bit of a sleeper, but touching 10-6, she is one of the highest attackers in the class," Mahoney noted. "We look forward to Okoye's continued development and see her as a future six-rotation player at the collegiate level."

Standing at 5-11, Elle Richardson joins Colorado as a setter from Orem, Utah, attended Mountain View High School, and played club for Elevate Athletics VBC and South County VBC. Richardson was a two-time First Team All-State selection in Utah (2023, 2024) and a two-time All-Region and All-Valley honoree (2023, 2024).

"Richardson has all the traits we look for in a setter," Mahoney stated. "She consistently sets hittable balls with great location and deception, can run a fast-tempo offense, and has the leadership traits necessary to run a collegiate team. Coming from a volleyball family, she is a bit of a gym-rat, and we expect her to develop quickly in our system. Along with Hennessy, Richardson will be joining us in January."

The second of two international players in the class, middle blocker Barbora Rakauskaite will travel across the world from Vilnius, Lithuania, to join the herd. With her high school in Vilnius, she helped her team to first place in the school's volleyball championship in back-to-back years (2023, 2024) and to earn third place in the Lithuanian High School volleyball championship. Rakauskaite brings elite national team experience in addition to her high school resume, boasting eight different top-three finishes in four years on Lithuania's U15, U16, U18 and U21 teams.

"Physically, Rakauskaite is everything we hope for in an elite middle," Mahoney shared. "At 6-4,she has great size and length, is explosive as an attacker, and has the feet to cover ground quite well laterally as a blocker. With Rakauskaite's extensive experience representing her country at the international level, she will be ready to transition to the collegiate game quickly."

Although signing day is over, Coach Mahoney commented that he and his staff are planning on bringing more Buffs into the fold before next season.

"We are still actively recruiting for the 2026 class and expect to announce further additions this spring," Mahoney said.

Kensley Hennessy Highlights

Chukwudumebi "Dumebi" Okoye Highlights

Elle Richardson Highlights

Barbora Rakauskaite Highlights

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.

Colorado University Athletics

Colorado Volleyball Signs Four Standout Buffs to 2026 Roster

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