Colorado State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Coors Invitational
8/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2006
Volleyball Game Notes: Coors Invitational
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Coors Invitational: The Rams resurrect the Coors Invitational after a four-year hiatus, with the last tournament taking place in 2002. This will be the seventh time the Rams have hosted the tournament and all three participants, Florida Atlantic, James Madison and Wake Forest are making their first appearance. This will be the first time in school history the Rams have played Florida Atlantic and Wake Forest and the Rams defeated James Madison in the only other meeting, a three-game sweep in 1998.
All-Tournament: Sophomore middle blocker Mekana Barnes earned Hilton Classic All-Tournament team honors after leading the Rams in kills and blocks in both matches in which she played.
Hilton Classic Recap: The Rams opened the season 1-2 at the Hilton Classic, defeating Morgan State in three games and dropping a four-game decision to Texas A&M and a five-game decision to Missouri State.
On The Right Foot: Mekana Barnes ranks among the top 10 in the Mountain West Conference statistics in kills, aces and blocks per game, as well as hitting percentage. The sophomore ranks sixth in blocks, ninth in aces and 10th in both kills and hitting percentage.
Human Shovel: Sophomore outside hitter Jaime Strauss became the first non-libero since 2001 to record more than 20 digs in a five-game match, tallying 22 against Missouri State. She shattered her previous career high of 13 from the five-game match against Northern Iowa last season.
Double Trouble: Sophomore setter Ashley Fornstrom and senior outside hitter Katherine Whitney both recorded double-doubles in the matches against Texas A&M and Missouri State, while Jaime Strauss tallied the first double-double of her career against the Aggies.
Bring On The Big 12: In her career, Mekana Barnes is hitting .405 with 40 kills in three matches against teams from the Big 12 conference. On Friday, Barnes recorded a career-high with 19 kills against Texas A&M and hit .432, while she hit her career-best .474 against Texas Tech last season.
Defensive Trio: Jaime Strauss, freshman libero Katelin Batten and Katherine Whitney are all averaging at least three digs per game. Strauss leads the way with 3.17 per game, while Batten is at 3.08 and Whitney averages 3.00 a contest.
In Comparison: The Rams started the 2005 season 1-2 as well, and the Rams are doing several things better this season than one year ago. The Rams are averaging 1.58 aces and 2.75 errors from the service line in 2006, compared to just 1.00 aces and 3.64 errors. The Rams are also quite a bit better defensively, averaging 15.83 digs and 2.67 blocks per game, compared with 15.36 digs and 1.95 blocks.
Career Highs: Junior right-side hitter Tonya Mokelki tied her career-high with 14 digs against Missouri State, while Mekana Barnes' 19 kills against Texas A&M is a new high. Jaime Strauss recorded a career-high in each match with 15 kills against Texas A&M, three blocks against Morgan State and 22 digs against Missouri State.
Easy As 1-2-3: On eight occasions already this season, Jaime Strauss (#1) has received a serve and passed to Ashley Fornstrom (#2) for a first-swing kill by Mekana Barnes (#3). The trio make up the 2008 class on the Colorado State roster, as Tessa Nelson redshirted her first season with the Rams.
A Perfect 300: The match against Florida Atlantic will mark head coach Tom Hilbert's 300th match at Colorado State. Hilbert is 242-56 (.812) in his 10th season with the Rams. He is also just 58 wins shy of becoming the winningest coach in school history.
Court Ruling: A total of six new players saw action in at least one match over the weekend. Katelin Batten and Tessa Nelson started all three matches as freshmen, while senior Lindsey Hillegass played in all three in her first year of eligibility with CSU. Freshmen Sydney Blancarte and Katie O'Hara and junior transfer Jenni Hirneisen all played in at least one game.
Balanced Attack: Colorado State already has four players this season that have tallied double figures in kills in two matches. Mekana Barnes, Tonya Mokelki, Jaime Strauss and Katherine Whitney have all been in double figures in kills twice.
Led In The Middle: A middle blocker has led Colorado State in kills in all three matches thus far. Mekana Barnes led the Rams with 19 kills against Texas A&M and 13 kills against Missouri State, while Tessa Nelson led with 11 kills against Morgan State.
Tournament Connection: James Madison has the lone Colorado player on the Coors Invitational visiting rosters in senior right-side hitter Bayli Stillwell. Stillwell played at Steamboat Springs High School.
Milestone Recorded: Katherine Whitney recorded her 600th dig at Colorado State against Morgan State and now has 614 with the Rams and 963 for her career.
Picked Third: Colorado State was picked to finish third in the Mountain West Conference this season in a vote by the league's head coaches and selected media. The Rams received two first-place votes and 102 points, while Utah and BYU tied for first place with six first-place nods each and 116 points. This marks the second-straight season the Rams have been picked third in the pre-season standings.
By The Numbers:
• Katherine Whitney is just 37 digs shy of her 1,000th career dig.
• Whitney is also just 22 kills shy of 500 for her career.
• Mekana Barnes needs 28 kills to reach 300 for her career.
• Barnes is also just 10 blocks shy of her 150th.
• Junior Amanda Fahnestock needs 18 digs for the 200th of her career.
• Ashley Fornstrom is 141 assists shy of her 1,500th career assist.
• Tonya Mokelki is 10 kills shy of her 350th.
• Jaime Strauss needs 36 digs for the 200th of her career.
The Returners Bring: Colorado State returns 67.6 percent of its service aces from a year ago, along with 61.9 percent of its digs, 50.9 percent of its blocks and 95.9 percent of its assists. The Rams also return 36.7 percent of their offensive firepower from the 2005 squad.
Injury Report: Ashley Fornstrom is listed as day-to-day with a left knee injury. The setter went down in game five against Missouri State.
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).
She Digs It: Last season, Katherine Whitney tied the school single-season record for matches with 20 or more digs, hitting the mark five times. Her five matches of 20 or more digs also ties for the third most in a career in school history, with the school record being nine by Carrie Appleman.
Aces Wild: Both Katherine Whitney and Ashley Fornstrom recorded 30 or more aces in 2005, marking the seventh consecutive season the Rams have had at least a pair with 30 or more points each from the service line.
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.
Winning Ways: Colorado State has the best winning percentage in Mountain West Conference history. In the six years of the conference, the Rams are 190-40 overall (.826) and are 89-11 (.890) against league foes. The next best winning percentage in the league is Utah at .736 (162-58) overall and .770 (77-23) in conference play. With 10 more victories, the Rams will become the first team in the Mountain West to win 200 matches.
Closing In: Head Coach Tom Hilbert is just eight wins shy of his 250th at Colorado State. In his 10th season, Hilbert sports a 242-56 (.812) record with the Rams.
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.
