The 2025 season was a banner campaign for the Colorado volleyball team.
The Buffaloes finished 23-9, tying the fourth-highest win total in program history. CU went 12-6 in the Big 12, finishing fourth, and more than held its own against the nation’s best, going 4-4 against ranked foes. The Buffs reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in 10 seasons under head coach Jesse Mahoney, defeating American University in the opening round before losing in four sets at No. 15 Indiana in the second round.
Itap quite a list of accomplishments. And the Buffaloes understand none of them mean anything this season.
With the bulk of that lineup returning this year, expectations for the Buffs are soaring going into Friday’s season opener at home against CSUN on Friday (6 p.m., ESPN+).
“I think something that we’ve talked about and are realizing is that we haven’t done anything yet,” fourth-year pin attacker Sydney Jordan said. “We still have such high goals for ourselves. Even though last season was good, we’re still going to have to work tenfold to be better this season than we were last year. I think thatap what we’ve talked about is to not be satisfied. Kind of take it one point at a time, one game at a time, and not get ahead of ourselves.”
If the Buffs maybe snuck up on a few teams last year, especially when they opened Big 12 play with road wins against ranked foes at BYU and Utah, CU will instead have a target on its back this year.
The Buffs were picked fifth in the Big 12’s preseason coaches’ poll and enter the season ranked No. 23 in the AVCA Top 25. Fourth-year pin attacker Ana Burilovic was a third-team AVCA All-America selection last year and returns as one of the top players in the Big 12, yet the Buffs boast a wealth of talent and experience beyond Burilovic.
Jordan and Lily Dwinell are four-year players who give the Buffs dependable options on the attack. Cayla Payne, another player from the fourth-year class that has stuck together, combines with second-year middle blocker Maria Splawska to give CU a solid defensive presence. CU will have a new starting setter this year, but the Buffs will welcome back Avery Bolles, the starting defensive specialist/libero early last year until an injury ended her season after seven matches. Peyton Neal, who took over at defensive specialist/libero the rest of the way, also returns.
“One of the nice things about success is it leaves you wanting more,” Mahoney said. “I don’t think there’s anyone that left that floor at Indiana last year that felt satisfied with how our season ended. We felt like we played well. We felt like we grew. But we certainly didn’t feel like we maxed out our potential. I think that was the sentiment in our spring. Our spring was really a positive spring for us. We had a lot of growth.
“A lot of people ask me the difference last year as opposed to two years ago when we had a little bit of a rough season. We retained everybody and the answer is growth. We had a breakout season from Ana but outside of that, everyone got better. Thatap what we expect this year. We expect everyone else to get better and hopefully get another couple breakout seasons from some other players. I think since that last match up until now, we’ve been working towards this season.”
