After a five year hiatus from being ranked, Colorado (16-3) is ranked 24th for the third consecutive week in the AVCA Top 25 Poll. CU is enjoying its second best start ever to a season and is doing it by frustrating opposing offenses. The Buffs have held the foes to a .170 hitting percentage, which ranks 22nd in the NCAA. Ana Burilović is seventh in the country in points per set (5.59) and has been even more effective in conference matches (5.98 per set). CU faces some very tough competition down the final stretch of the season, including six teams that are ranked in the top 30 right now, but five of those matches will be in Boulder, where the Buffs have a 7-1 record.
Colorado State (13-6) has won three straight matches and now plays the next three matches at home. The Rams have a 6’7” wall at the net, known as Kekua Richards. Richards ranks 11th nationally in blocks per set at 1.44 and has 10 matches with at least five blocks. She has been the leading force in propelling CSU to rank 23rd in the country in blocks per set.
Northern Colorado (9-11) is on a four-match winning streak with a big home match against CU looming next week. Zoe Gibbs has a .390 hitting percentage, which ranks 40th in the country and the best of any Colorado player in Division I right now. In her last four matches she has 43 kills and just seven hitting errors, for a .480 hitting percentage. With limited action her first three years with the Bears, Gibbs won’t have enough attacks to qualify for the school’s career record for hitting percentage, but right now her career .333 hitting percentage would be the highest ever in UNC history.
For the first time this season the University of Denver (13-7) has lost consecutive matches. The Pioneers play three home matches to go with four road matches in four different states to close out the regular season. DU has improved on its service and reception aspects this season compared to last year. In 2024 the Pioneers had just four more aces than their opponents, but this year they are a plus 38. The leading server is Izzy Rawlings, who has 28 aces. Rawlings, who is a graduate student playing in her first season with DU, is an efficient attacker as a setter as well, with 13 kills in 28 attacks without a single hitting error (.464 hitting percentage).
Another team playing some strong defense is Air Force (11-10), which is holding opponents to a .169 hitting percentage (21st in the country). The Falcons’ record though, has followed the path of the government shutdown and gone from 7-0 to a current 11-10. Senior libero Jordan Suan measures 5’4” but her level of frustration on opposing hitters is sky high. Last year Suan recorded 353 digs, which was the eighth highest total in program history as a Division I team. This season Suan has already accumulated 306 digs, with 15+ in each of her seven matches in October.
Metro State Denver (15-3) owns a six-match winning streak, with all of those wins coming in sweeps. The Roadrunners remain as the 12th ranked team in the AVCA Division II poll and are tied for first place in the RMAC with a 7-1 conference record. Freshman setter Karyna Werley is hitting .356, the highest among Colorado players in Division II. Werley is the only setter among the top 65 players nationally in hitting percentage, a tribute to both the frequency of her attacks as well as the efficiency. Metro finishes October with three matches against Colorado teams, and all of them will be home matches.
Colorado Mesa (12-6) is receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. The Mavericks have a match this month against 12th-ranked Metro State Denver, giving Mesa a chance to improve their RMAC standings as well as chances for returning to the Top 25. For the second season, Aesha Alrashed is leading the team in blocks (1.03 per set). Mesa head coach Austin Albers, who is in his first season at CMU, just surpassed 250 career wins.
University of Colorado Colorado Springs (16-2) has a chance to revenge one of its two losses this season with a home match against CSU Pueblo. There is currently a three-way tie for first place in the RMAC and this match will prove to be huge. Payton Tomkins is just a sophomore but is on pace to be the ninth Mountain Lion to reach 1,000 career kills. She leads the team this season in kills (3.40 per set) and is closing in on 600 career kills with still about a third of the season remaining.
CSU Pueblo (13-5) is one of the three teams leading the RMAC with a 7-1 league mark, and on the season is 6-0 in all home matches. The next two ThunderWolves matches are against the other two teams that are also 7-1. Senior Caelyn Gunn is 15th nationally in kills per set (4.25), which puts her comfortably in position to break the school record for the highest average in a season, which stands at 4.01 currently.
Colorado Mines (14-4) also has proven tough to beat at home, sporting an 8-1 home record. The Orediggers have a pair of home matches before facing co-leader in the RMAC, UC Colorado Springs, in a neutral site. Sophomore Jenna McLaughlin leads the team in points per set (3.42) and hitting percentage (.322) and is second in both kills per set (2.79) and blocks (1.01).
Fort Lewis (12-5) is currently in fifth place in the RMAC with a 6-2 league record. Adams State (10-9) has won six consecutive matches while Colorado Christian (9-9) has lost six in a row. Both Regis and Western Colorado have 1-17 overall records.
In the junior college polls, Northeastern (26-3) of Sterling is ranked fourth. The Plainswomen have won 34 consecutive league matches, with their last conference loss coming in October 2022.
