No. 21 Colorado Meets West Virginia and Cincinnati in Final Big 12 Road Trip of Season

Wednesday, November 19

Morgantown, W.Va.

4 PM

Colorado

West Virginia

No. 21 Colorado Meets West Virginia and Cincinnati in Final Big 12 Road Trip of Season

November 18, 2025 | Volleyball

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By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The 21st-ranked Colorado volleyball team (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) takes its final regular season road trip of 2025. The Buffs will face West Virginia (15-11, 3-11 Big 12) on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. MT, and Cincinnati (14-10, 6-8 Big 12) on Friday, Nov. 21, at 4:30 p.m. MT.

In just the third match up in program history with both teams, the Buffs look to pick up two road wins ahead of their postseason aspirations.

Last week, CU overcame then-No. 16 TCU in a five-set thriller – with two sets going into extra points. The Buffs also fell to then-No. 8 ASU in five sets after going down 2-0 and managing to force a fifth. The Black and Gold improve to 1-1 against TCU all-time and move to 13-16 versus ASU.

THIS WEEK
MATCH #28 • Wednesday November 19 • 4 p.m. MT
No. 21 Colorado (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) vs. West Virginia (15-11, 3-11 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: Tied, 1-1 (.500)
LAST MEETING: W, 3-2 (October 18, 2025 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-1
OPPONENT WEBSITE: WVUSports.com

MATCH #29 • Friday, November 21 • 4:30 p.m. MT
No. 21 Colorado (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) vs. Cincinnati (14-10, 6-8 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: Colorado Leads, 2-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W, 3-0 (November 9, 2024 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-0
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoBearcats.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

CU is led by 10th-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, who has led the Buffs to a 162-132 (.551) 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 163-170 (.489) all-time in Big 12 conference play and third in the conference standings.
For the first week this season, the Buffs are ranked 21st in the AVCA Coaches' Poll. This is the ninth week this season that the Buffs have received votes in the poll, and their sixth week in a row in the top-25.
Colorado has 20 wins this season, marking the program's 13th 20-win season and its first since 2022.
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic currently ranks first in points per set (5.53), which is good for sixth in the NCAA. She is also first in kills per set (4.75), as well as third in service aces per set (0.44) in the Big 12. She is ninth in kills per set and 40th for aces per set in the NCAA. Burilovic managed a double-double against TCU (24k, 11d) and had another match with over kills against ASU, finishing the night with 28. Through the weekend, she also totaled four blocks (three solo) and five aces.
R-Jr. S Rian Finley is sixth in the Big 12 for assists per set with 9.53. Finley totaled 50 assists in the Buffs' win over TCU, as well as three aces, three kills, nine digs and two blocks. Against ASU, she had 41 assists, two aces, eight digs and one kill.
Jr. MB Cayla Payne is ninth in the Big 12 for hitting percentage (.341). Payne finished the weekend with 20 kills, seven blocks (one solo) and three digs. She also hit .444 against ASU.
So. MB Maria Splawska is ninth in the Big 12 for blocks per set with 1.19. She had five kills, two aces, three digs and four blocks against TCU. Splawska also had six kills (0e, 9att), nine blocks (one solo), two digs and one assist.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan is 10th in the Big 12 for aces per set (0.33). Jordan had 12 kills, one ace, one assist, one block and eight digs against TCU. She also had 10 kills, 12 digs, two blocks (one solo) and two assists.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell had her first career double-double against then-No. 16 TCU with 13 kills and 13 digs. Dwinell also managed one ace and four blocks.
As a team, the Buffs are third in the Big 12 for aces per set (1.60), fifth for blocks per set (2.52) and sixth for hitting percentage (.248).

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' matches at West Virginia and Cincinnati will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also follow Colorado matches through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

HELLO AGAIN, MOUNTAINEERS: Colorado faces West Virginia on its turf and for just the third time in program history. The Buffs hosted the Mountaineers earlier this season, beating them in five-sets at CU Events Center.

BRING ON THE BEARCATS: This is also Colorado's third time playing Cincinnati as a program. The Buffs played the Bearcats at home last season and swept them. Colorado look to remain undefeated against UC all-time, currently leading the rivalry 2-0.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING: Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic had her fourth double-double of the season, 10th of her career, against then-No. 16 TCU with 24 kills and 11 digs. Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell managed her first career double-double, also against TCU, with 13 kills and 13 digs. Against then-No. 8 ASU, Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan had her sixth double-double of the season, 12th of her career, with 10 kills and 12 digs.

MILESTONE WATCH: Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton has 1,412 digs, 82 away from 1,500. Jr. DS/L Peyton Neal has 936 digs, 64 away from 1,000. Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic had 990 kills, 10 away from 1,000.

MILESTONE CHECK: R-Jr. S Rian Finley reached 1,000 career assists, becoming the 15th Buff to do so. Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan reached 500 career digs. Jr. MB Cayla Payne reached 300 blocks. So. MB Maria Splawska reached 100 kills.

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.