Colorado State University Athletics
Volleyball Heads To Air Force
10/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 5, 2006
Air Force Notes
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Last Time Out: Another strong blocking performance helped lift Colorado State over Denver in Moby Arena, 30-22, 30-12, 30-19. The win improves the Rams' record to 9-6. Sophomore outside hitter Jaime Strauss led the match with 14 kills and hit a match-high .414 (14-2-29), while junior right side hitter Tonya Mokelki added 10 kills and 11 digs, notching her second straight double-double. Sophomore setter Ashley Fornstrom led the match with 13 digs and freshman libero Katelin Batten notched 10 digs.
Win 250: Head Coach Tom Hilbert won his 250th match at Colorado State on Wednesday against Denver. Hilbert is now 250-60 (.806) in his 10th season with the Rams. He is now just 50 wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history as Rich Feller currently holds the record with 299 victories.
I'm Digging It: Katelin Batten tied the school record for consecutive matches in double figure digs with her 10 against Denver. Batten has now been in double figures in 13 straight matches, knotting the record by Carrie Appleman in 1992. Batten averages a team-best 3.24 digs per game and has been in double figures in ups in all but one match this season (Morgan State).
Brick Wall: Over the last two matches (seven games), the Rams have recorded at least four blocks in each game, averaging 5.9 blocks per game. Prior to the Wyoming match, the Rams were averaging 2.05 blocks per game and have increased that average to 2.95 in the four days.
Swinging Away: Tonya Mokelki's next swing will be the 1,000th of her career. She sits at 999. The junior is also closing in on 500 kills as she needs just 44 more for the milestone.
A Glimpse Of The Future: The 29th point of game three against Denver showed Ram fans what they have to look forward to as freshmen Katie O'Hara and Sydney Blancarte combined for a block.
Blockheads: The two starting outside hitters have identical blocking numbers this season as both Jaime Strauss and senior Katherine Whitney have 10 solo stops and 28 block assists in 2006.
Serve It Up: For just the second time this season, the Rams recorded more aces than errors in a match, notching eight aces with just seven mistakes against the Pioneers. Senior defensive specialist Lindsey Hillegass led the way with four aces, while Katherine Whitney added two.
Start At The Beginning: Colorado State is 7-1 this season when winning game one and 0-5 when losing the first stanza. The Rams are also a perfect 7-0 when winning the first two games of the match. The lone loss for the Rams after winning game one came at the hands of BYU in Provo.
Setters Share Honors: Ashley Fornstrom was named the co-Mountain West Player of the Week, along with Utah setter Sydney Anderson. Fornstrom recorded the first triple-double in the MWC this season and had a conference best 11 blocks for a conference match, but it was not enough for her to win the honors alone as Anderson tallied a career-high in assists and the Utes hit .315 against BYU.
Toil And Trouble: Tonya Mokelki, for the first time in her career, has recorded back-to-back double doubles. Against Wyoming the junior notched 10 kills and 12 digs and against Denver she tallied 10 kills and 11 digs.
Block Party: All six starters for Colorado State either tied or tallied a career-high in blocks against Wyoming, en route to 26.0 total team blocks, the fifth most blocks in school history and a new Mountain West Conference record. Ashley Fornstrom led the way with 11 blocks, while Amanda Fahnestock and Tessa Nelson each tallied nine, Tonya Mokelki and Jaime Strauss each had six and Katherine Whitney had four. The 46 block assists for the Rams also tied the school record for most in a match.
Triple Threat: Ashley Fornstrom recorded the first triple double this season in the Mountain West Conference and the first at Colorado State since Angela Knopf in 2001. Her triple double against Wyoming is only the 14th in school history and she tallied 53 assists, a career-high tying 14 digs and a career-high 11 blocks.
Outside Looking In: Colorado State is 8-1 this season when at least one of the two starting outside hitters (Jaime Strauss, Katherine Whitney) hit .300 or better for the match with at least 10 kills. The lone loss came at the hands of Texas A&M in the season opener. Last season, the Rams were 4-0 when one of the two outside hitters (Casey Bauer, Tess Rogers) hit .300 or better.
You Can Go Home: Playing in her home state for the first time in almost a year, Ashley Fornstrom made the most of it. She notched a career-high 11 blocks against Wyoming, which is the most by a Ram this year, is the second highest total in the Mountain West this year (behind the 12 by Utah's Emillie Toone -- the nation's leading blocker) and is a new CSU record for a setter, breaking the previous record of 10 by Cindy Cox in 1988.
Rally Rams: For the first time this season, five Rams recorded double figure digs in the same match. Against Wyoming, Jaime Strauss and Ashley Fornstrom led the way with 14 digs each, while both Tonya Mokelki and Katherine Whitney had 12 digs and Katelin Batten added 11.
The Ones You're Supposed To: Colorado State has won eight straight matches against non-ranked teams this season and has the longest winning streak of the season right now with four consecutive victories.
Made To Be Broken: The 26.0 total team blocks by Colorado State against Wyoming is a new Mountain West Conference record, breaking the old record of 24.5 held by BYU in both 2000 and 2004. It marks the first time since 1996 the Rams tallied more than 25 blocks in a match and ties for the fifth most in a match in school history.
1-2-3 Punch: The trio of sophomores, #1 Jaime Strauss, #2 Ashley Fornstrom and #3 Mekana Barnes are accounting for 42% of the team's kills, 91% of assists, 46% of aces, 37% of digs and 42% of the team's blocks in 2006.
Hall of Honor: Tom Hilbert will be inducted into the Colorado State Hall of Honor, announced the CSU Former Athletes Association. Hilbert will be honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet Nov. 3. He will be honored along with five former student-athletes who achieved national prominence in their respective sports during induction ceremonies, including former volleyball standout Angela Knopf (1998-2001).
I'll Take Digs For 50: Katherine Whitney recorded 12 digs against Wyoming, marking the 50th time in her career and the 37th time at CSU she's tallied double figures in digs. Whitney has 1,060 digs for her career and has 711 as a Ram, needing just 34 more to appear on the school's career charts in that category.
Enjoying In State: Colorado State is 76-20 all-time against teams from Colorado, including an 11-1 record against Wednesday's opponent Denver, and a 24-1 record against Air Force, which the Rams play on Friday.
Making An Appearance: Middle blocker Tessa Nelson etched her name into the CSU record books. The freshman has 62 total blocks this season, which ranks her 10th on the school's single-season freshman lists. Nelson is also just 66 kills shy of appearing on that freshman list and her 1.13 blocks per game ranks fourth in school history.
Offense Getting Defensive: No setter in school history has ever ended the season averaging a block per game or more. Ashley Fornstrom currently is averaging 1.02 blocks per game for second on the team and it is the highest average by a setter in CSU history. Last season, she ended the year with 0.97 blocks per game and her 0.99 career per game average is by far the best-ever by a setter. Allison Peckham (1998-2001) holds the career blocks per game average by a setter at 0.73 (286b-393g).
Tuesday Afternoon Club: Join Head Coach Tom Hilbert and at least one player every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., at the Hilton. Learn the inside scoop on the previous week, the upcoming matches and obscure statistics and strategies.
Whose Turn Is It?: All five starting hitters for Colorado State have led the team in kills in at least one match this season. Jaime Strauss has led the team a team-high six times, while Mekana Barnes has led the team three times, Tessa Nelson and Katherine Whitney have led twice, Tonya Mokelki has led once and Strauss and Whitney shared the honors once.
By The Numbers:
• Katelin Batten needs 22 digs for the 200th of her career.
• Batten is eight digs shy of 10th on the freshman single-season dig list.
• Junior Amanda Fahnestock is just nine digs shy of her 100th at Colorado State.
• Fahnestock's next block will be the 100th of her career.
• Ashley Fornstrom's next ace will be the 50th of her career.
• Fornstrom is also 124 assists shy of 2,000.
• Tonya Mokelki is 44 kills shy of 500.
• Jaime Strauss needs 27 digs for 300.
• Whitney is four kills away from 600 in her career and 25 kills shy of 200 at CSU.
• With 28 digs, Whitney will move into 20th on the career charts at CSU.
Fantastic Fans: Colorado State ranks 15th in the nation in attendance this season. The Rams are averaging 1,581 per match, which is also second in the conference behind the 2,380 that BYU is averaging (7th overall). Hawai'i leads the way with 7,252 fans per match and there are 11 teams in the nation over 2,000 fans per game.
Over The Airwaves: The majority of Colorado State's matches this season can be heard on Yahoo.com. Cole Weinman will be doing the play-by-play, while Lance Moorman will be handling the color commentary. Select matches will also be aired on 90.5 FM, KCSU.
A New Role: Katherine Whitney is one of the Rams' starting outside hitters in 2006. In 2005, Whitney spent the first five matches as the team's starting setter and the last 25 as the starting libero and in 2004, she played defensive specialist. As a freshman at Seton Hall in 2003, Whitney was a starting outside hitter, earning Big East Conference Rookie of the Year honors.
Tough Schedule: Of the 10 non-conference opponents on the 2006 schedule, six were in the NCAA Tournament last season. American, California, Florida Atlantic, Missouri State, Pepperdine and Texas A&M, like Colorado State, all advanced to the tournament a year ago. The Rams face more NCAA Tournament teams than any other team in the Mountain West Conference (Utah 5, BYU 4, San Diego State 3, UNLV 2, Wyoming 2, New Mexico 1 and TCU 1).
Scouting The Opposition:
Air Force: The Falcons are 1-12 on the season and have not played a match since Sept. 28 at Wyoming. They are also 0-5 in conference play this year. The lone win for Air Force came against Norfolk State on Sept. 1. In addition to the five conference foes, the Falcons and Rams have also both faced Morgan State with the Rams sweeping the Bears and Air Force dropping a four-game decision. Air Force has yet to play a five-game match this season and has lost 20 straight games.
Sophomore Kristina Stewart leads Air Force with 2.63 kills per game, while freshman Jocelyn Booker is hitting a team-best .153. Junior setter Kim Kallabis leads with 6.10 assists per game, and she is one of three players with more than 10 aces on the year. Jaclyn Fleming leads with 3.68 digs per game and Booker leads the Falcons with 0.85 blocks per game.
Air Force has dropped 24 straight matches to the Rams with its only win being the first meeting between the squads in 1982.