No. 20 Colorado Falls to Kansas State in Three

Saturday, November 8

Manhattan, Kan.

12 PM

Colorado

20-5,10-3Big 12

Kansas State

14-7,7-6Big 12

Colorado

Kansas St.

November 08, 2025 | Volleyball

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By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 20th-ranked Colorado volleyball team (20-5, 10-3 Big 12) fell to Kansas State (14-7, 7-6 Big 12) in three sets (25-20, 26-24, 25-18) at Morgan Family Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The Buffs played a competitive three-set match against the Wildcats, overall seeing 17 ties and six lead changes. CU fought hard but could not complete the comeback.

"One of the tougher matches we've played this year in terms of our performance," head coach Jesse Mahoney said. "I don't believe we've let a team have their way with us offensively the way that Kansas State did. [...] We just didn't make the adjustments we needed to make. [...] It will be good for us to get back to Boulder."

Colorado out-aced (5-3) the Wildcats and hit .312 in the first set.

KEY PLAYERS:

Jr. MB Cayla Payne hit a career-high .778 (7k, 0e, 9att). She also had one dig.
Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic scored 10 kills, four digs and one ace.
Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan recorded 10 digs, nine kills, one ace and one block.
Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell tallied three kills, three digs, two blocks, one assist and one ace.
Sr. S Rian Finley saw 24 assists, three digs and one ace.
So. MB Maria Splawska recorded four blocks, one kill, one ace and one dig.
So. PIN Gwen Schiff scored one kill and one block.
Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton tallied seven digs and one assist.
Fr. S Audrey Asleson saw three assists.
Fr. PIN Inés Losada and So. DS/L/S Katie Salonga recorded one dig each.
For the Wildcats, Aniya Clinton scored 17 kills, and Symone Sims saw 12 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Buffs and the Wildcats traded points early in the first set, with kills from Jordan, Payne and Burilovic (9-9). A three-point run from Kansas State was shut down by a Dwinell kill, assisted by Finley (12-10, KSU). A kill and an ace from Jordan kept the Buffs within two (19-17, KSU). Two Kansas State points sent Colorado into its first timeout (21-17, KSU). Kills from Burilovic and Payne forced a K-State timeout (22-20, KSU). The Buffaloes called their second timeout at set-point for the Wildcats (24-20, KSU). Colorado could not hold off Kansas State, and the Wildcats took set one, 25-20.
Colorado called an early timeout after five unanswered points (7-2, KSU). The Buffs returned to the court to go on a 3-0 run, including an ace from Burilovic and a kill from Payne (7-5, KSU). The Black and Gold tied the set from a four-point run, with an ace from Dwinell and a kill from Burilovic (14-14). Colorado gained the lead from a Jordan kill, followed by a Splawska-Jordan block and a Finley ace, which sent K-State into a timeout (19-18, CU). Two Splawska-Dwinell blocks and a kill from Dwinell forced the Wildcats to call their second timeout (22-20, CU). CU called a timeout of its own after Kansas State tied the set (23-23). The Buffs tried to hold off the Wildcats, but ultimately K-State took the second set, 26-24.
Kills from Burilovic and Jordan ended early K-State runs (8-5, KSU). Colorado called its first timeout after a 4-0 run from the Wildcats (12-5, KSU). The Buffs began to comeback from the seven-point deficit with Jordan, Burilovic and Splawska kills (16-12, KSU). Kansas State called its own timeout when the Buffs came within two (18-16, KSU). Colorado called its second timeout after two K-State points (21-17, KSU). The Wildcats took set three, 25-18.

UP NEXT

No. 20 Colorado will return home for two more ranked conference matches next week, one against TCU on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. MT, and the other versus Arizona State on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. MT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

MATCH NOTES:

The Buffs move to 27-24 versus the Wildcats all-time.
The Buffaloes got their second 3-0 loss of the season and are 9-2 in three-set matches.
Colorado had more aces (5-3) than Kansas 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.