Colorado Buffaloes women's volleyball

The Colorado Buffaloes volleyball team is the intercollegiate women's volleyball team of the University of Colorado Boulder. They compete in the Big 12 Conference and play their home games at the CU Events Center.

Colorado Buffaloes women's volleyball
Founded	1986; 39 years ago (1986)
University	University of Colorado Boulder
Athletic director	Rick George
Head coach	Jesse Mahoney (8th season)
Conference	Big 12
Location	Boulder, Colorado
Home arena	CU Events Center (capacity: 11,064)
Nickname	Buffaloes
Colors	Silver, black, and gold[1]
AIAW/NCAA regional semifinal
1993, 1994, 1997, 2017
AIAW/NCAA Tournament appearance
1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022
Conference tournament champion
1992, 1993
Conference regular season champion
1993

History

The volleyball program at the University of Colorado began in 1986. The Buffaloes' first head coach was Brad Saindon who was replaced by Mike McLean after three seasons. In McLean's first season, Colorado made its first NCAA tournament appearance. Partway through the 1990 season, Saindon returned as Colorado's head coach.^[2] In his second tenure, Saindon led the Buffaloes to two Big Eight championships, two in the tournament and one in the regular season; six NCAA tournament and two semifinal appearances.^[3]

Pi'i Aiu took over as head coach starting in 1997. He became the winningest volleyball coach at Colorado, leading the Buffaloes to a 22–9 record and a semifinal appearance in the NCAA tournament.^[4] The Buffaloes made nine NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure. Aiu was dismissed as Colorado's head coach on January 12, 2009, following two straight losing seasons.^[5]

Following Aiu's dismissal, Liz Kritza was hired to become the head coach of the Buffaloes. She led Colorado to two NCAA tournament appearances. Despite the Buffaloes' record of 57–41 in her last three seasons, Kritza was dismissed after the conclusion of the 2015 season.^[6]

Jesse Mahoney became the head coach of the Buffaloes on December 17, 2015. As of the 2022 season, he has led Colorado to another semifinal appearance and three NCAA tournament appearances.^[7]

Head coaches

• Brad Saindon (1986–1988, 1990–1996)
• Mike McLean (1989–1990)
• Pi'i Aiu (1997–2008)
• Liz Kritza (2009–2015)
• Jesse Mahoney (2016–present)

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Brad Saindon (Big Eight Conference) (1986–1988)
1986	Brad Saindon	6–18	0–5
1987	Brad Saindon	9–20	3–9	T–5th
1988	Brad Saindon	22–13	8–4	3rd
Brad Saindon:		37–51 (.420)	11–18 (.379)
Mike McLean (Big Eight Conference) (1989–1990)
1989	Mike McLean	22–11	10–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
1990[a]	Mike McLean	8–8	0–1	—
Mike McLean:		30–19 (.612)	10–3 (.769)
Brad Saindon (Big Eight Conference) (1990–1995)
1990[b]	Brad Saindon	12–7	9–2	2nd
1991	Brad Saindon	25–10	10–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
1992	Brad Saindon	22–9	10–2	2nd	NCAA First Round
1993	Brad Saindon	26–6	11–1	1st	NCAA Semifinals
1994	Brad Saindon	23–8	10–2	2nd	NCAA Semifinals
1995	Brad Saindon	17–11	8–4	2nd	NCAA First Round
Brad Saindon (Big 12 Conference) (1996–1996)
1996	Brad Saindon	19–10	13–7	3rd	NCAA First Round
Brad Saindon:		144–61 (.702)	71–20 (.780)
Pi'i Aiu (Big 12 Conference) (1997–2008)
1997	Pi'i Aiu	22–9	16–4	2nd	NCAA Semifinals
1998	Pi'i Aiu	22–8	14–6	3rd	NCAA Second Round
1999	Pi'i Aiu	18–12	12–8	6th	NCAA First Round
2000	Pi'i Aiu	17–12	12–8	T–5th	NCAA Second Round
2001	Pi'i Aiu	19–11	13–7	4th	NCAA Second Round
2002	Pi'i Aiu	15–15	9–11	7th
2003	Pi'i Aiu	21–10	13–7	T–3rd	NCAA First Round
2004	Pi'i Aiu	15–14	9–11	T–6th	NCAA First Round
2005	Pi'i Aiu	15–13	10–10	5th	NCAA First Round
2006	Pi'i Aiu	18–12	12–8	5th	NCAA Second Round
2007	Pi'i Aiu	7–22	1–19	12th
2008	Pi'i Aiu	13–16	7–13	T–8th
Pi'i Aiu:		202–154 (.567)	128–112 (.533)
Liz Kritza (Big 12 Conference) (2009–2010)
2009	Liz Kritza	7–22	2–18	11th
2010	Liz Kritza	6–20	3–17	10th
Liz Kritza (Pac-12 Conference) (2011–2015)
2011	Liz Kritza	6–24	1–21	12th
2012	Liz Kritza	14–18	4–16	T–10th
2013	Liz Kritza	18–14	9–12	T–7th	NCAA Second Round
2014	Liz Kritza	21–13	11–9	T–4th	NCAA Second Round
2015	Liz Kritza	19–13	11–9	5th
Liz Kritza:		91–124 (.423)	41–102 (.286)
Jesse Mahoney (Pac-12 Conference) (2016–2023)
2016	Jesse Mahoney	14–16	6–14	9th
2017	Jesse Mahoney	24–10	12–8	T–5th	NCAA Semifinals
2018	Jesse Mahoney	18–14	10–10	T–6th	NCAA First Round
2019	Jesse Mahoney	13–17	5–15	T–9th
2020[c]	Jesse Mahoney	8–12	8–12	8th
2021	Jesse Mahoney	15–14	6–14	8th
2022	Jesse Mahoney	20–11	12–8	5th	NCAA First Round
2023	Jesse Mahoney	16–15	8–12	7th
Jesse Mahoney (Big 12 Conference) (2024–present)
2024	Jesse Mahoney	13–17	6–12
Jesse Mahoney:		128–109 (.540)	67–93 (.418)
Total:		628–519 (.547)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason

The Colorado Buffaloes have made 21 NCAA tournament appearances, including four regional semifinal appearances. The Buffaloes have a record of 14–20 in the postseason.^[2]

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1989	First round	Minnesota	L 0–3
1991	First round	Penn State	L 2–3
1992	First round	Nebraska	L 1–3
1993	Second round Regional semifinals	Illinois Penn State	W 3–0 L 2–3
1994	Second round Regional semifinals	Northern Iowa Nebraska	W 3–1 L 0–3
1995	First round	Northern Iowa	L 0–3
1996	First round Second round	Oral Roberts Hawaii	W 3–1 L 0–3
1997	First round Second round Regional semifinals	Tennessee Tech Oral Roberts Stanford	W 3–0 W 3–2 L 0–3
1998	First round Second round	San Jose Illinois	W 3–0 L 1–3
1999	First round	Utah	W 3–0
2000	First round Second round	Georgia Tech Colorado State	W 3–1 L 2–3
2001	First round Second round	American Colorado State	W 3–0 L 2–3
2003	First round	Michigan	L 0–3
2004	First round	Hawaii	L 1–3
2005	First round	Colorado State	L 1–3
2006	First round Second round	New Mexico State Washington	W 3–0 L 0–3
2013	First round Second round	Iowa State Minnesota	W 3–1 L 2–3
2014	First round Second round	Northern Colorado Colorado State	W 3–1 L 2–3
2017	First round Second round Regional semifinals	James Madison Baylor Nebraska	W 3–0 W 3–0 L 0–3
2018	First round	South Carolina	L 2–3
2022	First round	Rice	L 1–3

Facilities

The Buffaloes play their home games at the CU Events Center on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder. Previously, they played in the Balch Fieldhouse from 1986 to most of the 1987 season.^[2]

Top home attendance figures

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Result	Date
1	4,883	UNLV	L, 1–3	August 25, 2023
2	4,111	Nebraska	W, 3–2	November 11, 2006
3	3,708	Nebraska	L, 0–3	October 6, 2007
4	3,685	Nebraska	L, 0–3	November 16, 1994
5	3,367	Nebraska	L, 0–3	November 25, 1999
6	3,117	Arizona State	W, 3–2	October 12, 2012
7	2,987	Nebraska	L, 0–3	September 19, 2001
8	2,973	Nebraska	L, 0–3	November 13, 2010
9	2,906	Nebraska	L, 0–3	September 27, 1995
10	2,879	Nebraska	L, 2–3	November 4, 1992
11	2,851	Arizona	L, 1–3	October 14, 2012
12	2,846	Stanford	L, 2–3	October 17, 2014
13	2,843	Texas	L, 2–3	September 3, 1989
14	2,817	Nebraska	W, 3–1	October 29, 2008
15	2,777	UCLA	W, 3–2	September 27, 2013

Notes

1. Until October 6.
2. From October 12.
3. Played in Spring 2021 on a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.