CU Volleyball looks to stay the course with senior leadership
After a breakout season from the Colorado Buffaloes last year, the boat won’t rock too much going into 2026.
With 23 wins, CU was largely led by senior hitter Ana Burilović. Burilović led the Big 12 last season with 4.71 kills and 5.47 points per set. The All-American and All-Big 12 first-teamer was the cornerstone of Colorado’s 22nd playoff berth in program history. She helped the Buffs beat American in a three-set sweep before falling to four-seed Indiana on its home court in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year, Colorado is picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 and is ranked 23rd in the nation in the preseason AVCA rankings. Head coach Jesse Mahoney is looking to build on last year’s success with the roster retention he’s maintained.
“I think last year we weren't on everyone's radar, maybe as much as we will be this season,” Mahoney said at the Big 12 Volleyball Opening Set. “I don't know about big changes. You know, we return our top four point scorers.”
Outside Burilović, fellow seniors Sydney Jordan, Cayla Payne and Lily Dwinell round out the top four producers for the Buffs. Jordan, another attacker, is a vocal leader who recorded 0.31 aces per set last year, good enough for 10th in the conference.
Payne was featured on the All-Big 12 second team during her junior season and made the preseason Big 12 team alongside Burilović this year. The senior blocker had the eighth-best hitting percentage in the Big 12 with .338%. Dwinell is another attacker who contributed over 200 kills last year for the Buffs.
With such experience from their senior class, the Buffs have grown together since their freshman years, despite having different personalities.
“Our class specifically has been through so much together,” Jordan said at the Big 12 Volleyball Opening Set. “I think that it's allowed us to really just lean on each other, know our system, trust each other, and we're kind of building on that.”
With an incoming class of four freshmen – including three international students – leaning on the seniors to maintain that culture has been a priority for the Black and Gold, despite the different backgrounds.
“I think having different perspectives and different experiences, and frankly, our international players have played at a really high level all over the world,” Mahoney said. “It's just been a huge benefit for us.”
“It’s just knowing exactly what we're doing, teaching the younger girls what our culture is like and also how we compete in the gym every day,” Jordan said.
This freshman class includes 6-foot-2 middle blocker Kensley Hennessy, who helped her high school to the California Open State Championship in 2024. Setter Elle Richardson brings experience as a two-time First Team All-State selection in Utah.
International additions include freshman blocker Barbora Rakauskaite from Vilnius, Lithuania. Rakauskaite helped her team to first place in the school's volleyball championship in consecutive years.
Another freshman, Chukwudumebi "Dumebi" Okoye, will also join the Buffs as a 6-foot-1 attacker. Originally from Benin City, Nigeria, and a resident of British Columbia, Okoye was the Guildford Park Outstanding Athlete of the Year in 2025. The four freshmen will be big parts of the roster in years to come.
“We've kind of stuck with the old model, which is, recruit freshmen, develop freshmen, let them get older, let them grow. Last year we saw the fruit of that,” Mahoney said. “Our coaching staff has been here together for - this is our 11th season, so there's a lot of consistency, and once you have some consistency and you have players in the program for a while, you can grow and develop.”
The program graduated two seniors last year in libero Sarah Morton and setter Rian Finley. Mahoney has brought in new talent to fill those gaps.
“We've added a transfer setter, and we've added a transfer libero,” Mahoney said. “I really feel like our ball control is as good as it's ever been at this point, our first and second contact.”
Washington State transfer junior Tinons Munar Galmés will fill the libero spot for the Buffs. Galmés had over 300 digs and 35 aces in all 28 matches for the Cougars last season.
The Buffs also added senior setter Jenna Ylivainio from Hämeenlinna, Finland. She won the Finnish Cup in 2022-23 and brings experience to the roster.
After three ranked wins last season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, this group has begun to mold into a cohesive unit.
“I think that something that we've talked about and kind of our goal-setting process is being where our feet are,” Jordan said.
“We just want to make sure we're not looking ahead too far and getting ahead of ourselves and just really focusing on each day at a time and taking every game one at a time,” Dwinell said.
The Buffs will compete in a competitive Big 12 conference that features six teams in the top 25. Colorado opens its season with the Buffs Classic at the CU Events Center Aug. 28-30, hosting CSUN, Central Arkansas and Denver.
Following that tournament will be the Buffs Invitational, where CU will host Wichita State, New Mexico and Northern Colorado at the CU Events Center Sep. 4-6. Colorado will then be on the road to play Oregon State and USC in Los Angeles, California before a home-and-home against in-state rival Colorado State. They will then begin Big 12 play against Utah in Boulder on Friday, Sep. 25.
Though there isn’t much change, the Buffs are ready to run it back and build on the momentum they’ve been garnering.
“We saw a taste of success last year, made it to the second round … if you want to be successful in the tournament, if you want to make the round of 16, you have to set yourself up to be playing on your home floor that first weekend, so I think that's a big goal for us,” Mahoney said.
“I think just kind of remembering who we are,” Dwinell said. “We know that we have a great opportunity ahead of us, so just really taking advantage of all the training sessions we had in the spring and not getting complacent.”
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