Thursday, October 2
Boulder, Colo.
7 PM
Colorado
vs
UCF
Photo by: Tony Harman
Colorado Volleyball Hosts UCF and Houston in Conference Home Opener
September 30, 2025 | Volleyball
Junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic receives national and conference honors
BOULDER – The Colorado volleyball team (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) returns home after a big conference opening week, this time to host UCF (10-3, 1-1 Big 12) and Houston (8-5, 1-1 Big 12) in its conference home opener.
The Buffs will go head-to-head with the Knights for the fifth time in program history on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the CU Events Center at 7 p.m. MT. CU will follow up this match with a joust against the Cougars on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. MT. This will be the eighth meeting between Colorado and Houston.
Earlier today, junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic (Split, Croatia/V. Gimnasium "Vladimir Nazor") was named both AVCA Player of the Week and Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week. This marks the Buffaloes' eighth National Player of the Week award. This also marks the first and second weekly conference honors for the Buffs this season.
For just the second time in program history, the Colorado Buffaloes beat back-to-back ranked opponents on the road, the last time being in 2014 at then-No. 15 Arizona State on Oct. 31 and then-No. 19 Arizona on Nov. 2. Last week, the Buffs beat then-No. 14 BYU and swept then-No. 23 Utah. CU's records move to 2-5 all-time against BYU and 15-19 versus Utah.
THIS WEEK
MATCH #14 • Thursday, October 2 • 7 p.m. MT
Colorado (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) vs. UCF (10-3, 1-1 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 4-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (October 13, 2024 • Orlando, Fla.)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-0
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCFKnights.com
MATCH #15 • Saturday, October 4 • 1 p.m. MT
Colorado (9-2, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Houston (8-5, 1-1 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 4-3 (.571)
LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (November 30, 2024 • Houston, Texas)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-3
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UHCougars.com
FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)
ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' matches against UCF and Houston at the CU Events Center will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also follow Colorado matches through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.
THE KNIGHTS WHO SAY CHARGE ON: Colorado will go up against the UCF Knights on Oct. 2 for just the fifth time in program history. Last season, the Buffs met the Knights in Orlando, Fla., closely following Hurricane Milton, which delayed the game from Oct. 9 to Oct. 13. CU saw a five-set victory over UCF, extending its win streak to four in the series.
THE DREAM SHAKE: CU last saw Houston to end the 2024 season, meeting for the first time since 1994. Going into the teams' eighth meeting all-time, the Buffs are hankering for a win, having lost last year's competition 3-0 in the battle for ninth place in the Big 12.
MILESTONE WATCH: R-Jr. S Rian Finley had 485 assists, 15 away from 500. Jr. DS/L Avery Bolles has 94 aces, six away from 100, and 196 digs, four away from 200. Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic has 88 aces, 12 away from 100. Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell has 187 blocks, 13 away from 200.
MILESTONE CHECK: Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan reached 400 career kills against Utah and now sits at 406 (Sept. 27). Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton reached 500 digs at CU (1,273 career-digs) against Utah (Sept. 27).
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.
The Buffs will go head-to-head with the Knights for the fifth time in program history on Thursday, Oct. 2, at the CU Events Center at 7 p.m. MT. CU will follow up this match with a joust against the Cougars on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. MT. This will be the eighth meeting between Colorado and Houston.
Earlier today, junior pin attacker Ana Burilovic (Split, Croatia/V. Gimnasium "Vladimir Nazor") was named both AVCA Player of the Week and Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week. This marks the Buffaloes' eighth National Player of the Week award. This also marks the first and second weekly conference honors for the Buffs this season.
For just the second time in program history, the Colorado Buffaloes beat back-to-back ranked opponents on the road, the last time being in 2014 at then-No. 15 Arizona State on Oct. 31 and then-No. 19 Arizona on Nov. 2. Last week, the Buffs beat then-No. 14 BYU and swept then-No. 23 Utah. CU's records move to 2-5 all-time against BYU and 15-19 versus Utah.
THIS WEEK
MATCH #14 • Thursday, October 2 • 7 p.m. MT
Colorado (11-2, 2-0 Big 12) vs. UCF (10-3, 1-1 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 4-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (October 13, 2024 • Orlando, Fla.)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-0
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCFKnights.com
MATCH #15 • Saturday, October 4 • 1 p.m. MT
Colorado (9-2, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Houston (8-5, 1-1 Big 12)
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 4-3 (.571)
LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (November 30, 2024 • Houston, Texas)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-3
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UHCougars.com
FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)
- CU is led by 10th-year head coach Jesse Mahoney, who has led the Buffs to a 152-128 (.543) 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 154-166 (.481) in Big 12 conference play.
- Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic was named both AVCA Player of the Week and Big 12 Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week. This marks the Buffaloes' eighth National Player of the Week award. The last time Colorado won the award was outside hitter Alexa Smith on Sept. 18, 2017. This is the first weekly conference honor for the Buffs this season. This is also the first time the Buffs have been named for a Big 12 weekly award since returning to the Conference last season. These awards are both a first for Burilovic herself.
- Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic finished the weekend first in conference for both points per set (5.74) and kills per set (4.83), landing her at 12th and 18th in the NCAA, respectively. She is also second in conference for aces per set (0.61). Against then-No. 14 BYU, she matched her season-high 22 kills (hitting .333), and she had four aces, seven digs and a block (Sept. 25). Up against the then-23rd-ranked Utes, Burilovic had 19 kills (hitting .341) with three aces, eight digs and a solo block (Sept. 27).
- R-Jr. S Rian Finley is second in the Big 12 and 10th in the country (via NCAA) for assists per set with 10.90. Finley saw 47 assists against BYU, as well as an ace, a kill, nine digs and three blocks (one solo) (Sept. 25). Against Utah, she had 37 assists, three digs, four kills and an ace (Sept. 27).
- Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton sits at fifth in the Big 12 for digs per set with 3.61. Morton saw her 10th double-figure dig match of the season against then-No. 23 Utah, totaling 14 digs along with an assist (Sept. 27).
- Jr. MB Cayla Payne is seventh in the Big 12 for hitting percentage (.377) and hit .467 at then-No. 14 BYU along with nine kills and five blocks (one solo) (Sept. 25). She also hit .333 against then-No. 23 Utah with eight kills, one dig and one block (Sept. 27)
- Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan is seventh in conference for aces per set with 0.46. Jordan had an ace against then-No. 14 BYU as well as nine kills, nine digs and two assists (Sept. 25). She also had nine kills, fie digs, an assist and a solo block against then-No. 23 Utah (Sept. 27).
- As a team, the Buffs are third in conference for aces per set (1.90). CU is fifth in the Big 12 for points pet set (17.66), and seventh in three categories – hitting percentage (.258), assists per set (12.46) and kills per set (13.34).
ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' matches against UCF and Houston at the CU Events Center will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also follow Colorado matches through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.
THE KNIGHTS WHO SAY CHARGE ON: Colorado will go up against the UCF Knights on Oct. 2 for just the fifth time in program history. Last season, the Buffs met the Knights in Orlando, Fla., closely following Hurricane Milton, which delayed the game from Oct. 9 to Oct. 13. CU saw a five-set victory over UCF, extending its win streak to four in the series.
THE DREAM SHAKE: CU last saw Houston to end the 2024 season, meeting for the first time since 1994. Going into the teams' eighth meeting all-time, the Buffs are hankering for a win, having lost last year's competition 3-0 in the battle for ninth place in the Big 12.
MILESTONE WATCH: R-Jr. S Rian Finley had 485 assists, 15 away from 500. Jr. DS/L Avery Bolles has 94 aces, six away from 100, and 196 digs, four away from 200. Jr. PIN Ana Burilovic has 88 aces, 12 away from 100. Jr. PIN Lily Dwinell has 187 blocks, 13 away from 200.
MILESTONE CHECK: Jr. PIN Sydney Jordan reached 400 career kills against Utah and now sits at 406 (Sept. 27). Sr. DS/L Sarah Morton reached 500 digs at CU (1,273 career-digs) against Utah (Sept. 27).
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.
Players Mentioned
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