Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Volleyball Prepares for Texas Tech
10/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 11, 2005
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Taking A Break: Colorado State has a bye-weekend scheduled for Mountain West Conference action, but the Rams will not be resting on their laurels. CSU will face Texas Tech of the Big 12 Conference on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Red Raiders are 9-7 overall and play at Nebraska on Wed. evening.
Utah Recap: Behind a season-high 21 kills by senior outside hitter Tess Rogers and 11 blocks by senior middle blocker Dre Downs, Colorado State improved to 10-4 on the season and 4-1 in Mountain West Conference play with a five-game thriller over Utah. Rogers hit .293 with four blocks, while senior outside hitter Casey Bauer added 16 kills, five blocks and five digs, Downs had 14 kills and 11 blocks and sophomore right-side hitter Tonya Mokelki chipped in 12 kills and four blocks. Junior libero Katherine Whitney notched a season-high 22 digs with two aces.
BYU Recap: Tess Rogers recorded a team-high 13 kills, while Casey Bauer tallied a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs and also tied her career-high with two solo blocks, ending the evening with five total stops in the three-game loss to BYU. Katherine Whitney led the match with 14 digs and Dre Downs continued her blocking prowess, notching a match-high eight blocks, while freshman setter Ashley Fornstrom recorded six blocks.
Brick Wall: Colorado State is now averaging 4.45 blocks per game in conference matches, which would be a new Mountain West Conference record, breaking the former record of 4.12 held by the 1999 BYU team. The 3.79 per game average against all opponents would also break the school record of 3.53 per game from the 2001 season.
Downtown: Dre Downs became just the 12th player in school history to record double figure blocks in multiple matches in the same season with her 11 against Utah (also had 12 against Wyoming). Downs has tallied at least seven blocks in all five conference matches and in six of the last seven matches. She is averaging a league-best 1.76 blocks per game against all opponents and is netting 2.35 blocks per game in conference play.
Moving On Up: Tess Rogers moved into the top five in career kills in Mountain West matches this weekend. Rogers now has 577 kills in league matches, surpassing the 569 by Michelle Rauter of Wyoming (2000-03) for fifth in league history. Rogers also tied for fourth in league history with her 28th solo block against Utah. In her career, Rogers has 1,372 kills, which ranks eighth in school history and sixth in MWC history and her 62 solo blocks is eighth on the CSU charts.
Liking TV: Colorado State is now 3-0 against Utah on CSTV. The Rams won the regular season meeting in Salt Lake last year, the Mountain West Conference Championship in Moby last November and Sunday's meeting in Moby.
Taking The Handoff: Colorado State starts three seniors in Casey Bauer, Dre Downs and Tess Rogers. The seniors are accounting for 64.9 percent of the team's kills, along with 30.9 of the team's aces, 27.4 percent of the digs and 53.2 percent of the blocks. On the flip side, the trio of freshmen (Mekana Barnes, Ashley Fornstrom and Jaime Strauss) are averaging 16.6 percent of the kills, 23.6 percent of the aces, 28.0 percent of the digs and 32.3 percent of the blocks.
Oh So Close: Dre Downs needs just one more kill to become the 17th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills. The senior sits at 999 kills and with her next kill, ties for 16th on the career charts. She will also become the 17th player in Mountain West history to tally 1,000 kills in a career and the third one this season (Shelly Sommerfeldt, Utah; Kristin Hamlett, Air Force).
A Tale Of Two Digs: Against BYU on Friday, the Rams averaged 17.0 digs per game, tallying 51 in the three-game match. On Sunday against Utah, the Rams managed just 11.2 digs per game, or 56 in the five games. The 11.2 is the second lowest average this season behind the 9.7 against San Diego State (three game win), while the 17.0 per game against BYU is the third highest total.
Leaps and Bounds: Tess Rogers and Dre Downs have already climbed up the career charts quite a bit in the first half of the season. Rogers has moved up six spots on the solo blocks chart from 14th to eighth with 62 solo stops. She has climbed five spots in the career attacks chart to sixth with 3,258 and has moved up four spots on the career kills chart to eighth with 1,372. Downs has moved up eight spots on the block assists chart to eighth with 319, up six spots to 12th in blocks per game with 0.98, up five in total blocks to 12th with 361 and up two spots in career kills to 17th with 999.
Kat-Like Reflexes: Katherine Whitney is averaging 3.76 digs per game this season which is the third highest single-season average in school history and the second highest average by a libero. The school record is 3.90 digs per game held by libero Lindsey Kerr from 2002. Whitney has now tallied double figure digs in the last four matches and in 10 of the last 11 and ranks fifth in the Mountain West against all opponents and second in the league in conference matches.
Home Sweet Home: Colorado State is currently 7-1 in the friendly confines of Moby Arena and have enjoyed great success at home, posting an all-time record of 242-66 (.786). With Tom Hilbert at the helm, the Rams are an amazing 125-15 (.893) in Moby Arena.
Block Party: Five of the six starters for the Rams (Dre Downs, Mekana Barnes, Ashley Fornstrom, Casey Bauer and Tess Rogers) rank among the top 20 in the Mountain West Conference in blocks. The Rams are the only team in the league to have five ranked. Downs leads the league with 1.76 blocks per game, while Barnes is fourth at 1.24, Fornstrom is tied for ninth with 1.04, Bauer is 17th with 0.88 and Rogers is tied for 20th with 0.84. The Rams lead the Mountain West with 3.79 blocks per game.
Double Time: Both senior outside hitters have recorded double figure kill totals in 13 of the 14 matches this year. Casey Bauer leads the team and is second in the Mountain West with 4.00 kills per game, while Tess Rogers is averaging 3.76 kills per game for second-best on the team and fifth in the league. Rogers now has recorded double figures in kills in 84 career matches, which is fifth most in school history and she is just six shy of tying the school record of 90 held by Jill Johnson (1987-90). Rogers has also been in double figures in 11 straight matches, while Bauer had hit double figures in eight straight. The 11 match streak for Rogers ties for the 18th longest streak in school history, with the record being 24 by Rainie Rogers in 1995 and 96.
Facing The Big 12: Colorado State is 10-5 against the Big 12 since joining the Mountain West. The Rams are 1-0 against Baylor, 7-1 against Colorado, 2-1 against Kansas State and 0-3 against Nebraska. The Rams have not faced Texas Tech since joining the Mountain West. The Rams are 3-0 against the Red Raiders but have not faced them since 1985. Against Texas schools, the Rams are 46-19-1 all time.
Getting It Done: When taking a 2-0 lead in a match, Colorado State has won 71 straight matches. The Rams are 147-1 since the beginning of the 1999 season (and the Mountain West), losing only the Mountain West Championship to Utah in 2001.
Helping Hands: Ashley Fornstrom now ranks fourth on the freshman assists chart with 501 this season. The freshman record for assists in a season is 1,334 by Analisa Saylor in 1994. Fornstrom also ranks fifth in blocks per game (1.04) and ninth in digs per game (1.94) on the freshman charts, while her 10.66 assists per game ranks third. On the career charts, Fornstrom ranks seventh in assists per game at 10.66 and 11th in total assists with her 501.
Honored: Casey Bauer was named the Mountain West Player of the Week after leading the Rams to a pair of victories at San Diego State and UNLV. For the week, Bauer averaged 5.57 kills and 2.71 digs per game, while hitting .360 (39-8-86). She also totaled six blocks and three aces, earning her first career award.
League Leaders: Colorado State continues to lead the Mountain West in kills (16.27), assists (15.16) and blocks (3.79) per game. The Rams also rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.163). Individually, Dre Downs leads the conference with 1.76 blocks per game and Casey Bauer is second in kills per game with 4.00. In conference matches only, the Rams lead in blocks (4.45) and are second in opponent hitting percentage (.136). Downs leads the league with 2.35 blocks per game, while Katherine Whitney is second with 3.80 digs per game and three Rams rank among the top seven in blocks per game.
A Lot of Wins: Colorado State won the program's 600th victory against San Diego State on Sept. 22. The Rams are 603-328 in the 30th year of volleyball. The team has been through four coaches in the 30 years, with the majority of wins coming from Rich Feller (299-167) and Tom Hilbert (230-49). Since the turn of the century, the Rams have posted a 150-34 record (.815).
Passing Fancy: Katherine Whitney has passed 278 serves in the first 14 matches this season and has been aced just eight times for a 97.1 reception percentage. The junior has also passed 73 straight serves without an error, dating back to game three against Wyoming.
Moby Maniacs: Colorado State ranks 16th in national attendance this week with an average of 1,590. The rams have seen 12,716 fans in eight home matches. Hawai'i, the perennial attendance leader, sits atop the rankings this season with 7,247 per match, while Nebraska is second with 4,681. BYU ranks 12th in the nation with 1,970 and is the only other Mountain West school ranked among the top 30.
When It Counts: In the three fifth games this season, Tess Rogers has proven to be the go-to player. She has 12 kills (4.00 per game) and is hitting .526 (12-2-19). She also has nine serves with no errors, six receptions with no errors, two blocks and one dig in game fives.
1000-350: Dre Downs will become just the seventh player in school history to record 1000 kills and 350 blocks in her career with her next kill. The senior currently has 999 kills and 361 blocks in her three-plus seasons with the Rams. She will join Angela Knopf (1599k-630b), Diane Saba (1331k-482b), Kristen Walton (1299k-430b), Janie Penfield (1283k-421b), Judy Rexroth (1122k-420) and Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon (1070k-395b).
News & Notes:
* Mekana Barnes is just three kills shy of her 100th career.
* Casey Bauer needs 28 kills for the 600th of her career.
* Bauer is also 24 digs shy of her 300th.
* The next kill for Dre Downs will be her 1,000th.
* Downs is 39 blocks shy of her 400th.
* Ashley Fornstrom needs nine digs for her 100th and the next block will be her 50th.
* Tonya Mokelki is 19 kills away from her 200th.
* Tess Rogers is 28 kills shy of her 1400th.
* Katherine Whitney needs 10 digs for 350 at Colorado State and is 11 shy of her 700th career dig.
* Whitney also needs just two more service aces for the 100th of her career (has 30 at CSU).
* With 50 more kills, Rogers will tie for seventh in career kills at CSU.
* Downs is two kills shy of taking over 16th on the career kills charts.
* Fornstrom needs 194 assists to move into the top 10 in career assists.
* Downs needs 13 block assists to take over seventh on the career chart.
* Downs also needs just 15 total blocks to move into 11th in on the career charts and 17 to crack the top 10.
* Whitney's 22 digs against Utah ties for the 18th most in a five-game match in school history.
* Downs' 11 blocks assists against Utah ties for sixth most in a match and ties for third-most in a five-game match, while her 11 total blocks ties for 11th most in a five-game match.
* The 39 block assists by the Rams against Utah is the third most in a match in school history and the second-most in a five-game match, while the 21.5 total blocks is 13th in all games and sixth-most in a five-game match.
* The 15.0 total blocks versus BYU ties for the 14th most in a three-game match.
* Bauer's 10.90 attacks per game would place her third in school history, while the 4.00 kills per game ranks 18th.
* Colorado State is a perfect 15-0 against Air Force, 14-0 against New Mexico, 14-0 against UNLV and 13-0 against Wyoming since the inception of the Mountain West.
Nationally Ranked: In the NCAA statistics through Oct. 2, Colorado State ranks 5th in blocks per game (3.65), 8th in assists per game (15.44) and 14th in kills per game (16.53). Individually, Dre Downs ranks 10th in blocks per game with 1.65.
Going The Distance: Colorado State is 2-1 in five-game matches this season, and a perfect 2-0 at home. Since head coach Tom Hilbert joined the team in 1997, the Rams are 12-5(.706) in Moby in five-game matches with three of those losses coming either in the Mountain West or NCAA Tournament. Overall, the Rams are 23-11 in five-game matches in Hilbert's tenure (.676).
Streaks: Colorado State has won eight straight matches when recording more kills than the opponent, dating back to the loss at Denver on Sept. 6. The Rams have also won nine straight matches where they have recorded a higher hitting percentage. The last time the Rams hit better than an opponent and lost was against Northern Iowa in the Pepperdine Classic on Sept. 3.
PreSeason All-Conference: Tess Rogers was named the Mountain West Conference Preseason Co-Player of the Year along with Lindsy Hartsock of BYU and Dre Downs was also named to the Preseason All-Conference team.
Picked Third: CSU was chosen by the Mountain West coaches and selected media to finish third in the regular season race in the preseason poll. The Rams were also chosen to finish third in 2002, a year they won the regular season title. CSU has won at least a share of the last five regular season titles in the Mountain West Conference, with the first year of the league, 1999, being the only season the Rams have not had their hands on a regular season title. The Rams have also won the last two Mountain West Conference Tournament titles.
Sisters, Sisters: Ashley and Brittany Fornstrom are one of 25 sets of sisters playing volleyball at the same Division I school, and the Rams are one of 23 teams to sport at least one pair of sisters. Colorado State and Utah (Amy Tingey and Emillie Toone) are the two schools in the Mountain West Conference with sisters on the same team and Utah is the only opponent of the Rams this season to have siblings on the squad together.
Tuesdays With Tom: Join head coach Tom Hilbert, along with a player or two, every Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. at the Hilton. Learn the inside scoop on the previous week, the upcoming matches and obscure statistics and strategies.
Scouting The Opposition:
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are 9-7 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play and will face top-ranked Nebraska on Wednesday before facing the Rams on Saturday. Both Colorado State and Texas Tech have defeated San Diego State this season with the Rams sweeping the Aztecs and the Red Raiders winning in four games. Last week, Texas Tech was swept by Iowa State and then rebounded to defeat Colorado in five games in Lubbock. The Red Raiders have won three of their last five matches.
Philister Sang leads the team with 4.60 kills per game, while Jamye Pauley is hitting a team-best .320 and Emily Ziegler leads with 7.05 assists and 0.45 aces per game. Desiree Batista is getting a team-best 3.87 digs per game, while Brianna Florous is the only Red Raider over one block per game at 1.08.
As a team, the Red Raiders are hitting .195 with 14.12 kills, 12.62 assists, 1.55 aces, 13.93 digs and 2.23 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .221 with 14.77 kills, 13.75 assists, 1.47 aces, 14.50 digs and 2.28 blocks per contest.
Head Coach Nancy Todd is in her third season at Texas Tech and sports a record of 30-41 for her career. She has never faced Colorado State. The Red Raiders will also face Wyoming in Laramie on Sunday before returning to Big 12 action.