No. 23 Colorado walked into the Galen Center and left with a statement win, knocking off No.
16 USC in four sets, 26-24, 23-25, 25-13, 26-24, on Saturday night. The Buffs stayed unbeaten at 8-0 and picked up the first victory in Colorado volleyball history at the Galen Center.
Colorado set the tone early in a tight opening frame. USC grabbed the first small surge, but the Buffs answered with a 6-0 run of their own after capitalizing on Trojan errors.
Senior pin attacker Sydney Jordan had two kills in that stretch, and junior defensive specialist Katie Salonga added an ace. The teams traded punches from there, with senior pin Ana Burilovic, senior setter Jenna Ylivanio and senior middle blocker Cayla Payne helping Colorado fight back to level the set at 14-14.
Late in the frame, Lily Dwinell delivered a big kill to push the Buffs in front, and after USC drew close again, Maria Splawska finished a kill before two Trojan errors tied it at 23-23. Burilovic then put away a kill, and Payne teamed with Ylivanio on a block to close out the set for Colorado.
USC answered in the second, holding the edge for much of the set and building its largest lead of the night at four points. Colorado chipped away anyway.
Jordan helped trim the deficit, then Payne and Dwinell combined on back-to-back block assists to pull the Buffs within one. The Trojans regained control, but Colorado kept responding, including a 3-0 stretch that featured two Jordan kills assisted by Ylivanio.
The Buffs stayed steady even as USC held on to take the set 25-23.
Then Colorado blew the match open.
With junior libero Tinons Munar Galmes serving, the Buffs ripped off the first seven points of the third set. Burilovic, Dwinell and Payne all landed kills in the opening surge, and Colorado kept pouring it on with blocks from Payne, Burilovic and Ylivanio.
A Ylivanio ace stretched the lead to nine, and from there the Buffs never let USC breathe. Dwinell sparked another run, Burilovic added more damage at the net, and Ylivanio finished the set with her first solo block of the night as Colorado cruised 25-13.
The fourth set turned into another grind, but Colorado had the answers when it mattered. Dwinell, Burilovic, Payne and Jordan all scored early off Ylivanio assists as the Buffs took control.
Ylivanio kept feeding the offense and reached 30 assists for the seventh straight match. The set stayed tight, tied four different times, until Jordan landed a kill and Dwinell put up a block to give Colorado a late edge.
Ylivanio then delivered a solo block to bring up match point, and Jordan finished it with another solo block to seal the upset.
Afterward, head coach Jesse Mahoney praised how his team handled the moment.
"Really proud of our team. That was a ranked opponent on the road and I was really happy with the way we started the match, the way we responded when put under pressure," Head Coach Jesse Mahoney said.
"I thought we played with a lot of poise. Our players did a really nice job of following the game plan and made some clutch plays at the end."
Mahoney also pointed to the experience on his roster.
"We're a veteran team that did a lot of good things last year, but it's good for us to see that hard work pay off, and understand that there's not a match this season that we're not going to be in a position to win."
Colorado got major production from its senior core. Jordan finished with a season-high 11 kills on .429 hitting and added two blocks.
Burilovic led the Buffs with 15 kills, two blocks and an ace. Dwinell had 12 kills and four blocks for 14.5 points.
Payne added seven kills and seven blocks, while Ylivanio totaled 35 assists, five blocks and matched her season-high with three kills.
The numbers backed up the night’s bigger picture, too. Three Colorado players reached double-digit kills for just the second time this season, and Burilovic, Dwinell and Jordan all hit double figures in kills during the fourth set alone.
The Buffs also continued a strange little trend: in every match that has gone beyond three sets this season, they’ve won the fourth by the widest margin. And for the fifth time this year, Colorado went to extra points - with two of those extended moments coming in this match.
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