By BuffZone.com

Last year, the Colorado volleyball team secured a victory at Colorado State via a reverse sweep, winning three straight sets after falling behind 2-0. The Rams had done the same to the Buffaloes one night earlier in Boulder.

This time around, it was outlasting the Rams in a wild third set that led the way for a rivalry road win for the Buffs.

For the second year in a row and the third time in the past four visits to Fort Collins, CU posted a win at Moby Arena, topping the rival Rams 25-23, 18-25, 32-30, 25-20 on Thursday night in the opening round of the teams’ home-and-home set.

The Buffs hosted three-game tournaments each of the past two weekends and haven’t played many road games, but Thursday’s result gave CU victories in both of its true road games so far this season.

After splitting the first two sets, it was the Buffs (7-4) who gained the upper hand in an epic third set.

Neither team led by more than two points in a frame that featured 21 ties. The Rams pushed the Buffs to set point on three occasions, the last of which was at 29-28. But CU rallied to score two straight points, then answered a CSU point with two more capped by a kill from Sydney Jordan.

The fourth set also stayed close throughout, but the Buffs were able to use a pair of mid-set 5-2 runs to pull away.

CU entered the match with a hitting percentage of just .212, ranking 11th in the Big 12, but posted a .257 mark against the Rams, who countered by hitting .298. Jordan led CU’s attack with a game-high 17 kills while also adding nine digs. Ana Burilovic finished with 15 kills and Lily Dwinell recorded 13.

Middle blocker Cayla Payne posted nine kills and five blocks. Libero Sarah Morton missed the previous two matches but returned to the rotation to post a team-high 13 digs.

The rivals collide once again on Friday night at the CU Events Center (7 p.m., ESPN+).