Colorado Volleyball Schedule 2026

2026 Season Outlook

Jesse Mahoney's phrase at Big 12 media day was senior-laden, and the roster backs it up. The core of last year's 23-win team is back, supplemented by six newcomers. Ana Burilovic is the headline: the senior pin attacker from Split, Croatia has 1,061 career kills, was named to the AVCA National Player of the Year preseason watch list, and won both an AVCA Player of the Week and two Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week awards last season - including a 41-kill weekend sweeping BYU and Utah on the road and a career-high 32 kills against UCF. She is joined on the Big 12 preseason team by senior middle blocker Cayla Payne, with fellow senior pins Lily Dwinell and Sydney Jordan handling much of the leadership.

Four seniors in the primary rotation is unusual in the portal era and is the real reason for the fifth-place projection. The schedule is fair: Colorado opens with two home tournaments and does not leave Boulder until September 11, six matches to sort out rotations before anything counts. October is the grind, with five of eight on the road.

Program History & Tradition

Colorado volleyball began in 1986 and is 664-546 all-time. The Buffaloes have made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the second round twelve times, most recently in 2025 against Indiana. Thirteen 20-win seasons are on the books, and the 23-win 2025 campaign ties for the third-most in program history and is the best since 2017. The move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 in 2024 reset the competitive picture, and the fifth-place preseason projection in 2026 is the highest the program has been slotted since 2018.

Home matches are at the CU Events Center in Boulder, at 5,430 feet.

Head Coach Spotlight

Jesse Mahoney is in his eleventh season and is 164-135 at Colorado through 2025, with the program's move into the Big 12 and its best win total since 2017 both on his watch. The staff has worked together for eleven seasons - rare continuity in a sport where assistants turn over annually, and something Mahoney points to directly when explaining why this group started fall camp ahead of schedule. Sanders Lobato was promoted to associate head coach and offensive coordinator in the 2026 offseason.

What to Watch in 2026

The altitude in Boulder is not a gimmick: serves carry differently, and visiting teams arriving the day before a match routinely fade in fourth and fifth sets. It is the most underrated home-court factor in the Big 12. Colorado plays an 18-match league schedule with home-and-home series against Utah, Baylor, BYU and Iowa State. BYU on November 5, Colorado State on September 17 and Baylor on November 15 are the home dates that sell first.

October is the grind - five of eight on the road, including trips to TCU, Baylor, Arizona State, Iowa State, BYU and Utah in a five-week stretch. Colorado is marking its 40th season with celebrations and themed giveaways through the fall. The Big 12 holds no volleyball tournament, so the regular-season standings decide the title.

Colorado Volleyball 2026 Schedule Overview

Schedule and scores checked October 12, 2026 · Official source: cubuffs.com

Colorado opens the 2026 season on August 28 against Cal State Northridge and closes November 27 against Iowa State: 28 matches, ten non-conference and 18 in the Big 12, with 16 at the CU Events Center. This is Jesse Mahoney's eleventh season and the Buffaloes' third in the Big 12, coming off a 23-9 campaign that went 12-6 in the league and reached the NCAA second round. Colorado was picked fifth in the Big 12 coaches poll, the highest the program has been slotted since 2018. The schedule is fair: two home tournaments to open, and the Buffaloes do not leave Boulder until September 11 - six matches to sort out rotations before anything counts.

Big 12 play opens September 25 against Utah. Full dates, times, venues and streaming details are below.