Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
San Diego State
Volleyball Sweeps San Diego State
9/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2005
In the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams, the Colorado State volleyball team swept the San Diego State Aztecs, 30-19, 30-25, 30-20 to improve to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Aztecs fall to 8-5 on the year and 0-1 in conference action.
Senior outside hitter Casey Bauer led the match with 13 kills, while senior outside hitter Tess Rogers notched 12 and senior middle blocker Dre Downs notched 11 and hit a match-high .667. She also led the match with nine blocks. Junior libero Katherine Whitney tied for match-highs with eight digs and four different Rams recorded an ace serve on the evening.
"Dre was amazing tonight," said head coach Tom Hilbert. "We blocked the ball very well and were able to take San Diego State out of rhythm from the very beginning."
Lindsey Noll led the Aztecs with eight kills, while libero Aime Cordeiro and Melanie Greene each had eight digs. Noll also led the squad with seven blocks, including two solo. Leah Lathrop had the team's only ace.
The Aztecs scored the first two points of the first game, but Mokelki slammed a kill for the first Rams point. The two teams traded points until 5-3 SDSU, when the senior outside hitters recorded back-to-back kills to pull within one, 6-5. After an Aztec kill, the Rams rattled off three in a row, with Barnes getting a kill and combining with Mokelki for a block and the 8-7 lead. SDSU scored another point and then the Rams scored six of the next seven points for a 14-9 lead. The Aztecs scored the next three to close within two, but the Rams answered with five straight for the 19-12 advantage. After trading points to 21-14 the Rams committed back-to-back errors for the 21-16 lead and Hilbert called for a timeout. The Rams scored the next four out of the break, including an ace by Rogers for the 25-156 lead and they would go on to win 30-19. CSU hit .424 in game one, holding SDSU to .071. The Rams also recorded three aces and five blocks in the first game.
Game two started with the two teams trading points until the score was knotted at 4-4 when Rogers recorded a kill for the CSU lead. The Aztecs scored the next five points, including two blocks for the 9-5 SDSU lead when Hilbert called for a timeout. The Rams scored six of the next eight points, with three kills, a block and a couple of Aztec errors to knot the score again at 11-11. The teams were tied at every point from 12 to 16 when CSU scored three of the next four points off kills by Mokelki, Bauer and Downs and a Rogers-Downs block for the 22-18 lead After a SDSU timeout, they scored four of the next five with two blocks to pull within one at 23-22, but the Rams scored three straight to match their biggest lead at 26-22. The Aztecs called their final timeout and scored three of the next four, but the Rams put up a huge block, stuffing the last three point for the 30-25 victory. The Rams hit .237, while the Aztecs hit .108 and the Rams again tallied five blocks, with Downs in on four of them.
Bauer opened the third game with a kill, then the Aztecs scored the next two off kills. The Rams answered with three straight of their own, then SDSU scored five of the next six points with two CSU errors and an Aztec block to lead 7-5 and CSU called for a one-minute break. Scoring three of the next four points, the Rams were energized with the speech, getting an ace and two kills by Rogers and a Barnes kill for the 9-8 lead. The score was knotted at 9 and 10 when the Rams again went on a run, scoring five of the next six for the 15-11 advantage. The next three serves were missed, making the score 16-13 when Rogers tallied another kill and then paired with Barnes for a block and the 18-13 lead. After an Aztec timeout the Rams scored three of the next four for a seven-point lead at 21-14. SDSU rallied to score four of the next five points, but the Rams rallied off four straight with two Bauer kills to lead 26-18. Downs recorded two kills, while Rogers had one and the duo paired for a block in the final five points to give the Rams the 30-20 win.
