Colorado Volleyball Previews The 2026 Season At Big 12 Virtual Media Day

BOULDER — Colorado volleyball head coach Jesse Mahoney and senior pin attackers Lily Dwinell and Sydney Jordan joined the rest of the Big 12 for virtual conference media day to preview the 2026 season on Tuesday afternoon.

The Buffaloes enter the season in the league's top tier, tabbed as the No. 5 team in the Big 12 preseason poll.

"We're feeling great. We've been at it for 10 days or so, and we hit the ground running because we're such a senior-laden team," Mahoney said. "We're better, we're a little bit older, and our coaching staff has been together for 11 seasons, so there's a lot of consistency."

The Colorado roster returns a veteran core supplemented by six newcomers, with Dwinell and Jordan serving as two of the team's key leaders entering their fourth year with the program. When asked about the role of senior leadership, Jordan pointed to teaching.

"A lot of us have heard the same things in the gym over and over — in the best way possible," Jordan said. "It's knowing exactly what we're doing, and then also teaching the younger girls what our culture is like and how we compete in the gym every day. That's been a really big piece for me."

Though both are key players in the program, Dwinell and Jordan bring different leadership styles to the team.

"I'm definitely very vocal, and Lily is our silent assassin," Jordan said. "She's such a great leader by example and does all the right things. She will always be there for you as a teammate and is just a consistent person."

With seven international players on the roster, preparation for the season extends beyond the court.

"You get to learn so much about each other. Hearing about how they grew up and how it's different from how we grew up, it's really valuable," Dwinell said.

Colorado opens its 2026 season at the Buffs Classic to compete against CSUN (Aug. 28), Central Arkansas (Aug. 29) and Denver (Aug. 30) at CU Events Center.

Fans can purchase their tickets for home CU volleyball matches at CU Events Center here and view the full schedule here.