After matching the best start in program history, Colorado’s momentum vanished in a hurry while getting swept in a rivalry battle last week.
Yet the CU volleyball team promptly regained that momentum with one of the program’s biggest wins in years.
The Buffaloes opened Big 12 Conference play on Thursday night by defeating No. 14 BYU in four sets, topping the Cougars 25-14, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 in Provo, Utah.
CU improved to 3-1 in true road games this season, and the victory ended a 10-game losing streak against ranked teams. The Buffs had gone 1-14 against ranked teams since their last road win against a ranked foe late in the 2022 season.
After struggling during a pair of losses last week against Colorado State, the Buffs jumped to a 5-1 lead in the opening set and soon buried the Cougars with an 8-1 run. CU made the plays late in the second set, breaking a 22-22 tie with consecutive points before taking a 2-0 set lead.
The Cougars rallied late in the third set to avoid the sweep, erasing a 23-22 CU lead with three consecutive points, but the Buffs used four consecutive points late in the fourth set to slowly pull away.
CU (10-2, 1-0 Big 12) was sharp throughout the match, posting a .328 hitting percentage while holding BYU to a .185 mark. Ana Burilovic paced CU’s attack with 22 kills, while Cayla Payne added nine kills and five blocks.
Setter Rian Finley finished with 47 assists as four players recorded at least nine kills. Lily Dwinell posted 10 kills and Sydney Jordan recorded nine.
“Huge win. I’m really proud of the team,” CU head coach Jesse Mahoney said in a release. “(We) came in after losing two in a row – we had a great week of practice, we’ve been really focused in on this team and executed a really good game plan.
“(Dwinell] had her best match of the year, [Burilović] had a fantastic match, [Payne] hit for percentage. It takes the whole team playing well, and I thought they did that.”
CU continues a tough, Big 12-opening road trip on Saturday at No. 23 Utah (1 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
CU Buffs volleyball 3, No. 14 BYU Cougars 1
Colorado 25 25 23 25
BYU 14 23 25 21
LEADERS
Kills — Colorado: Burilovic 22, Dwinell 10, Jordan 9, Payne 9. BYU: Davis 15, Kemavor 14.
Assists — Colorado: Finley 47. BYU: Bower 37.
Aces — Colorado: Burilovic 4, Losada 2, Morton 2. BYU: Bower 2.
Blocks — Colorado: Payne 5, Dwinell 4, Finley 3, Splawska 3. BYU: Kemavor 4.
Digs — Colorado: Finley 9, Jordan 9, Morton 9, Burilovic 7. BYU: Uluave 13, Bower 10.