No. 23 Colorado survives first test of season against New Mexico
- Aditya Makam
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
For the first time this season, the No. 23-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (5-0) found themselves in unfamiliar territory against the New Mexico Lobos (1-3).
For the first time this season, the Buffs were up against the wall, and they were forced to respond. After cruising through their opening matches, the five-set battle gave Colorado an early test on how it would respond when the game didn’t go its way.
When we were up, we were really, really good, and when we were down, we were not as good as we needed to be,” Mahoney said.
The Buffs were at a hitting percentage of .394 compared to the Lobos at .213. Pin hitter Ana Burilovic led the team in kills with twenty-five, along with Cayla Payne and Lily Dwinell adding seventeen and fourteen, respectively.
The match opened on a 3-0 run from the Lobos with a service error from defensive specialist Avery Bolles. A kill and an ace before another kill from Burilovic ended it. The Buffs then quickly responded to that run and turned it into one of their own.
Neither team created separation in the first set, with both sides consistently responding to keep it tightly contested.
Every time the Buffs needed a way to fight their way back into the set, they reached for their star, Burilovic. All knotted at 18 apiece, the Buffs rode the wave of a 7-0 run with kills from Burilovic and Dwinell, including a service ace from libero Tinons Munar-Galmes to end the first set 25-18.
The second set followed the script of the first, with neither team able to create distance. A 7-1 run by the Buffs let them pull away, before the Lobos fought back with a 9-3 run to take a 20-19 lead.
The Buffs were down one after a service error from Bolles, but two kills brought them to set point. Both teams reached 25 points, sending the set into deuce; the Lobos fired back with a kill and an ace due to a Buffs miscommunication, and Colorado dropped its first set of the season, 25-27.
With sets tied at one each, it was virtually a best of three, and the third set became the tightest of the match, with no team creating any breathing room. As soon as the Lobos went on a run, the Buffs fought back with one of their own.
Two attack errors from Dwinell and Burilovic gave the Lobos the third set, 25-23, putting Colorado one set away from its first loss.
After falling behind two sets to one, the Buffs knew their ranking alone would not get them out of trouble.
“We weren’t gonna win that game easily,” Payne said. “Just continuing to be aggressive and just going out there and fighting for every point.”
The fourth set remained tightly contested early, with neither squad surrendering. Colorado took control midway through the set, holding a 18-16 advantage.
From there, the Buffs slammed the door with seven unanswered points, with in-hitter Sydney Jordan serving the last six points of the run.
New Mexico used both of its timeouts to try and stop the Buffs’ momentum, to no avail. Middle blocker Maria Splawska recorded three kills during the closing run, including the final point, to give the Buffs the fourth set 25-16.
Then came the all-deciding fifth set, and the Buffs stopped playing with their food.
Colorado jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind kills from Splawaska, Burilovic and middle blocker Payne, forcing an early New Mexico timeout. The Buffs never looked back, extending their lead to 12-4.
At match point, Splawska and Burilovic combined for the final block, sealing the fifth set 15-6 and the match for Colorado.
“Every season you’re going to have matches like this, and I’m happy that in that fifth set, we played like the team we could be instead of being scared,” head coach Jesse Mahoney said.
The Buffs come back to the CU Events Center on Sunday to take on in-state opponent Northern Colorado Bears (1-3) at 3 p.m. (ESPN+).
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