No. 21 Colorado gets right back to Big 12 play Sunday, welcoming Arizona to the CU Events Center at 1 p.m. after a rough conference opener against Utah.
The Buffs enter at 9-2 overall and 0-1 in league action after falling in three straight sets to the Utes. Arizona comes in at 5-6 and is opening Big 12 play of its own.
This is a matchup both sides know well. Colorado and Arizona have met every year since 2011, and the Wildcats still hold the edge in the series at 15-13.
The Buffs have taken two of the last three meetings, though, including a four-set win in Boulder in the teams’ last matchup on Oct. 8, 2025.
At home, Colorado is 7-5 against Arizona.
The Buffs are ranked No. 21 in this week’s AVCA-Taraflex Poll, and that mark carries some weight in program history: Colorado has now spent 150 total weeks in the rankings.
Arizona arrives with some familiar names on the attack, led by outside hitters Destiny Ndam-Simpson and Carlie Cisneros. Ndam-Simpson has piled up 110 kills this season, good for 2.89 per set.
Cisneros is averaging 2.05 kills and 2.44 digs per set, and she was named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Charita Stubbs is in her fourth season as Arizona’s head coach and her 23rd year with the program.
There’s also a little overlap in the schedules. Colorado and Arizona have both seen USC and Oregon State already this season. The Buffs beat both, while Arizona lost to USC and beat Oregon State.
Colorado has a few individual milestones in view as well. Senior pin attacker Lily Dwinell went past 750 career kills and 300 career blocks against Utah. Senior defensive specialist/libero Peyton Neal is 16 digs away from 1,000 for her career, and senior middle blocker Cayla Payne is 19 blocks shy of 400.
The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available at CUBuffs.com.
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