Colorado quickly settled in on college volleyball’s biggest stage. And the Buffaloes made quick work of American University.
CU’s first match in the NCAA Tournament in three years was short but sweet on Thursday afternoon, as it swept American for a 25-16, 25-19, 25-16 victory in a first-round matchup at Indiana’s Wilkinson Hall. The fifth-seeded Buffs advance to the second round for the first time since 2017 and will play the fourth-seeded hosts, the Indiana Hoosiers, on Friday afternoon (4 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
Indiana swept Toledo in the second first-round match on Thursday.
“I thought we started off really strong. We looked really comfortable all week in practice,” CU head coach Jesse Mahoney said. “We served particularly well and followed our game plan early, and in all three sets we were able to go on long scoring runs early to give ourselves some cushion.”
CU (23-8) jumped to a 12-4 lead in the opening set and never trailed, recording only two attack errors during the opening frame while setting the tone with a .364 hitting percentage.
American briefly led at 5-3 early in the second set before the Buffs broke loose, reeling off a dominant 15-2 burst that turned the two-point deficit into an 18-7 lead. The Buffs scored the first six points of the third frame before cruising to their first victorious sweep in an NCAA Tournament match since a first-round win against James Madison in 2017.
“I thought we scouted them really well and had a really good sense of what they wanted to do offensively,” Mahoney said. “Once we started slowing them down from what they wanted to do, they just didn’t get comfortable doing things they weren’t comfortable doing. That’s a testament to (assistant) Lee (Maes) who runs our scouting, and our team for executing, especially early.”
Offensively, CU leaned heavily all season on Ana Burilovic, who landed the program’s first first-team all-conference honor since 2022. But the Buffs have been at their best when getting contributions across the rotation, and that held true against American.
Sydney Jordan turned in an impressive all-around game, posting a .500 hitting percentage with 15 kills, five digs and three blocks. Middle blockers Maria Splawska (.667, eight kills, six blocks) and Cayla Payne (.385, six kills, three blocks) controlled the center of the floor, while setter Rian Finley dished out 33 assists. Lily Dwinell also recorded six kills and three blocks and defensive specialist Sarah Morton, a senior playing collegiately in her home state for the first time, posted 16 digs.
The Buffs posted a hitting percentage of .327 and finished with only 11 attack errors, while American suffered 20.
“This is what we want to be,” Mahoney said. “Ana played well, but she was probably our least efficient attacker. I thought Syd was really good. When we can find points in other places when we don’t feel like we have to rely on one person, we’re obviously a better team. And it gives those players some confidence, because we’re going to need it (Friday).”
(5) CU Buffs volleyball 3, (12) American University 0
American 16 19 16
Colorado 25 25 25
LEADERS
Kills — American: Adeele Hollas 10, Dufour 7, Sciborski 7. Colorado: Jordan 15, Burilovic 9, Splawska 8, Dwinell 6, Payne 6.
Assists — American: Dakak 23. Colorado: Finley 33.
Aces — American: Ioannou 1, Sterling 1. Colorado: Burilovic 2, Jordan 2, Losada 2.
Blocks — American: Dakak 3, Sterling 2, Zeck 2. Colorado: Splawska 6, Dwinell 3, Jordan 3, Payne 3.
Digs — American: Marrero 13, Dufour 8. Colorado: Morton 16, Finley 7, Burilovic 5, Jordan 5, Neal 5.