Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
TCU
Volleyball Wins In Four
10/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2006
The Colorado State volleyball team battled back from a game one loss to win the next three against the TCU Horned Frogs, 26-30, 30-23, 30-20, 30-24 to improve to 13-6 overall and 7-2 in Mountain West Conference action. TCU fell to 16-7 on the year and 4-5 in league play.
Sophomore outside hitter Jaime Strauss tied her career-high with 19 kills and also had five blocks, while freshman middle blocker Tessa Nelson added 12 kills and had a match-high eight blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Mekana Barnes chipped in 11 kills and hit a team-best .500 on the evening. Senior outside hitter Katherine Whitney led the match with 18 digs, while freshman libero Katelin Batten continued her double figure dig streak with 12 digs.
"I'm very impressed with our only 18 errors, 10 unforced on the night," said Head Coach Tom Hilbert. "We attacked the ball with incredible maturity. The first game was us playing with some jitters and over playing a little bit. We composed ourselves and took control of what we can control. Jaime had one of her best hitting nights ever -- she hit the ball high and Ashley (Fornstrom) got a lot of balls to her."
TCU was led by outside hitter LeMeita Smith with 13 kills, while senior middle blocker Anna Vaughn had 10 kills and freshman Kourtney Edwards led the team with four blocks. Senior libero Calli Corley led the Horned Frogs with 14 digs, while defensive specialist Loren Barry added 10 and two of the team's four aces.
Strauss got a kill to start the match and then TCU rattled off four straight points with two kills by Devon Kirk to take the early 4-1 lead. The Rams responded with three straight points, including two kills by Nelson to tie the score at 4-4. The teams traded points, then TCU scored four of the next five to lead 9-6. Whitney got a Rams kill, but TCU scored the next four before Strauss tallied a kill to make the score 13-8. The teams traded points to 15-9, when the Rams scored three straight with a Fornstrom-Nelson block included to make the score 15-12. The Frogs scored two straight, then the Rams rattled off four of the next five to close within two, 18-16. After again trading points, TCU scored six of seven in a row to take its largest lead at 25-18. Colorado State scored four straight behind the disruptive serving of Mokelki to pull within three at 25-22, but could not get any closer, dropping game one, 30-26. Nelson led the Rams with five kills, while Fornstrom had three block assists.
The second game was a battle of wills early. After TCU scored three of the first four points, the Rams rattled off four of the next five to take the 5-4 lead. TCU scored four of the next five to lead by two at 8-6, but the Rams answered with four of five to lead 10-9. The score was then tied at 11 and 12 before the Frogs scored two straight for the 14-12 lead. The Rams answered with four of the next five points for the 16-15 lead and the score was tied at 16, 17 and 18 before the Rams scored four straight with kills by Barnes and Mokelki, a solo block by Strauss and then she and Barnes combined for one to take the 22-18 advantage. TCU did not go away, however, scoring three of the next four to pull within two, 23-21 and after a Strauss kill, Mokelki stepped back to the service line. She served for two straight points, then a ball was ruled out by a line judge, overruled by the down judge and then after a lengthy discussion by the officials, was replayed. She proceeded to serve another bullet, and then a fourth when TCU called a timeout with the Rams leading 28-21. After a 60-second break, Edwards got a kill for the Horned Frogs, but the Rams went on to win 30-23. Both Strauss and Nelson had four kills with no hitting errors and Strauss had three blocks for the Rams.
The score of the third game was tied at every possible digit from one to 13 before the Rams rattled off three straight, two off Whitney kills for the 16-13 lead and TCU called a timeout. Otto and Vaughn scored three of the next four points in the match as TCU pulled within one at 17-16 and the teams traded points for the 18-17 score. After a Mokelki kill, Barnes served five straight for the Rams with an ace for the 24-17 lead, when TCU called its final timeout. Mokelki and Nelson then combined for a block before the Frogs scored a pair to come within six at 25-19. Mokelki got a kill, then both sides were warned for taunting through the net and Mokelki stepped back and served three straight with an ace and the Rams went on to win 30-20. Strauss led with six kills and she and Nelson each had two blocks, while the team hit .516 in game three.
Game four started in the same fashion as game three, with a lot of ties early, in fact, it was tied at every point from one to five before the Rams scored five of six with two kills by Barnes included to give CSU the 10-6 lead. Fornstrom was called for two straight double contact violations but then Mokelki recorded a kill and combined with Barnes for a block to give the Rams a four-point lead at 12-8 and TCU called a timeout. The teams traded points after the break to 17-12, when TCU scored four straight to close within one 17-16. Barnes tallied a loud kill after the minute rest, then a TCU error made the score 19-16. Otto tallied a TCU kill then Mokelki and Strauss notched back-to-back kills and Barnes had a huge one-handed solo block on Vaughn for the five-point lead, 22-17. TCU scored two straight, then the Rams rattled off four in a row with two kills by Strauss to lead 26-19. The Horned Frogs answered with four straight, but the Rams scored four of the final five, including two more kills by Strauss for the 30-24 victory.
Colorado State will play at the University of New Mexico tomorrow evening, with the match scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. The Rams then return home to host the second installment of the border war against Wyoming on Thursday evening.
