Colorado’s volleyball team had to earn every bit of Sunday’s win, and the Buffaloes did exactly that.
The 21st-ranked Buffs outlasted Arizona in five sets at the CU Events Center, pulling away late for a 25-20, 25-20, 25-20, 25-22, 15-6 victory that moved Colorado to 10-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play. The result gave CU its first conference win of the season, while Arizona dropped to 5-7 and 0-1 in league action.
Colorado didn’t just survive a long afternoon - it leaned on a full team effort. Three Buffs finished with double-doubles, and seven players posted season or career highs as the match swung back and forth before Colorado seized control in the final two sets.
Ana Burilovic was the engine all afternoon. She finished with 28 kills, four aces and 13 digs for 32.0 points, and her serving in the fourth set changed everything.
Burilovic ripped off three straight aces to help fuel a 7-0 run, flipping the momentum after Colorado had dropped the previous two sets. Setter Jenna Ylivainio added two aces in that stretch, including the second and a career high.
Colorado then turned the fifth set into a sprint. Burilovic delivered six kills in the frame, while Sydney Jordan added two kills and an ace as the Buffs raced away.
"I was really proud of our team for how we recovered and reset," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said. "We played some great volleyball, played with a lot of energy.
I think we can beat anybody. It's going to be a great, competitive season.
Every night is going to be like this."
Jordan also played a big role in the comeback effort, finishing with 11 kills and 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. She tied her season highs in kills and digs and set a season high with 32 attacks.
Ylivainio added 58 assists and 11 digs for her second double-double, while Munar Galmes posted 22 digs and six assists. Ylivainio’s 58 assists marked a career high, and she extended her streak to 12 straight matches with 20 or more assists.
Colorado got the opening set under control after an even start. Cayla Payne and Burilovic helped tie it at 4-4, then a block from freshman middle blocker Rakauskaite and Jordan sparked an 8-2 run. Burilovic and Payne pushed the lead to 15-8, and Jordan kept the Buffs in front before Tinons Munar Galmes added an ace and Burilovic finished the set with two more kills.
Set two belonged to Arizona early. The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-4 lead and stayed ahead despite Colorado’s attempts to chip away. Rakauskaite sparked a late push with a kill that started a 6-2 run, and Colorado strung together three straight kills from Rakauskaite, Lily Dwinell and Burilovic, but the Buffs still fell 25-20.
Arizona carried that edge into the third set, opening with a 5-0 burst. Colorado answered with points from Rakauskaite, Burilovic, Jordan and Dwinell, but the Wildcats kept the Buffs at arm’s length. Burilovic hammered her 14th kill of the night, Payne added a block, and Colorado trimmed the gap late with an ace from Avery Bolles, though Arizona closed it out 25-20.
Then came the turnaround. Colorado again stared at an early 5-0 hole in set four, but Burilovic’s serving barrage changed the tone in a hurry.
Her three straight aces cut the deficit to 7-6, and the Buffs followed with a 7-0 run that included three Burilovic kills and two Ylivainio aces. CU held off Arizona from there, with Dwinell and Payne adding kills and a Dwinell-Rakauskaite block helping seal the 25-22 win.
The fifth set was all Colorado. Burilovic and Minor Galmes opened with kills and an ace for a 4-2 lead, then Payne and Katie Salonga added points to stretch the margin.
Jordan and Rakauskaite teamed up on a block, pushing CU to 10-5. A Jordan ace and another Burilovic kill finished the run to match point, and Burilovic ended it with one final swing.
Rakauskaite finished with career highs of six kills and 17 attacks. Dwinell set season highs with 26 attacks and five digs, while defensive specialist Peyton Neal matched her season high with four digs. Payne also had a season-high 25 attacks and matched her season-high with two digs.
Colorado outperformed Arizona in kills, assists, aces and digs, and the win also snapped the Buffs’ six-set losing streak after taking the first set. CU is now 4-0 on the season after splitting the first two sets, and it improved to 8-5 all-time against Arizona in Boulder. The five-set victory was Colorado’s third of the season.
Bolles’ ace put her tied for second on Colorado’s all-time leaderboard in the rally-score era with 105.
Colorado heads to Texas next for a pair of Big 12 matches. The Buffs face TCU on Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. in Fort Worth, then Baylor on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. in Waco. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available on cubuffs.com.
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