New era of CU Volleyball begins with sweep of Cleveland State

Colorado middle blocker Cayla Payne celebrates with her teammates during a Friday win over Cleveland State. (Photo via CUBuffs.com)

The Colorado Buffaloes (1-0) won against the Cleveland State Vikings (0-1) after a competitive three-set match to start the season. 

Setter Rian Finley recorded a career-high 34 assists, and Sydney Jordan and Ana Burilović both had 12 kills, with Burilović hitting 500 career kills.

Fourteen of CU's 15 players saw the floor on Friday, with coach Jesse Mahoney seeming to want all his players to gain experience. 

Each set started off competitive, but eventually the Buffaloes pulled away. The Vikings pulled closer each set, but ultimately the game ended in a Buffalo sweep.

"Really happy to start the season out with a win, especially a sweep," Mahoney said. "Cleveland State was a tournament team a year ago, so they're definitely really well coached and have a really good system. I thought our team did a really nice job of adjusting to what [Cleveland State] were trying to do pretty early."

The team is back against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 1 p.m. on Saturday for its second leg of the Rumble in the Rockies, streaming on Mountain West Network.

The Buffaloes kicked off their 2025 season in Laramie, Wyoming, starting with Cleveland State on Friday before bouts with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and Wyoming Cowgirls. They’ll have veteran leaders like Ana Burilović and Sydney Jordan returning, along with fresh faces like Olivia Grenadier and Inés Losada. 

After finishing with a record of 13-17 last season, the Buffs look to improve in somewhat of a transition year for the team.