Colorado State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts New Mexico & TCU
9/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2006
Weekly Release: Sept. 20
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Last Time Out: Four players recorded double figures in kills as the Rams fell in five games to #19 BYU. Junior right-side hitter Tonya Mokelki led the way with 21 kills, while senior outside hitter Katherine Whitney tallied 16, sophomore outside hitter Jaime Strauss had 14 and freshman middle blocker Tessa Nelson had 11. Strauss also led with 12 digs. The previous night, the Rams dropped a three-game decision to #21 Utah.
More Kills Please: Tonya Mokelki recorded 21 kills against BYU, the most by a Ram this season and the highest total since Dre Downs tallied 29 against CU in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Mokelki's 21 kills is also the most by a right-side hitter since Janie Penfield tallied 21 against Washington State in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 7, 1997 -- a span of 272 matches.
It's All In The Hands: Setter Ashley Fornstrom is the only player on the team to have more service aces than errors with 14 aces and nine errors this season. The sophomore is serving at a .946 clip, as she has attempted 168 serves this year. For her career, Fornstrom has 45 aces and 50 errors in 654 attempts for a .924 accuracy.
Digging Doubles: Freshman libero Katelin Batten has been in double figures in digs in nine straight matches. Her streak ties for the fourth longest in school history and is just four matches shy of tying the school record of 13 by Carrie Appleman in 1992.
Super Primaries: For the first time since 1999 the Rams have three players averaging over 2.5 digs per game. Katelin Batten leads the way with 3.17 a game, while Katherine Whitney is averaging 2.6 and Jaime Strauss is at 2.57 per game. The trio has also received 905 of the opponent's 951 serves this season for a .951 accuracy.
Yours Or Mine?: All five starting hitters for Colorado State have led the team in kills in at least one match this season. Sophomore middle blocker Mekana Barnes has led the team three times, while Tonya Mokelki has led once, Tessa Nelson has led twice, Jaime Strauss has led on three occasions, Katherine Whitney has led once and Strauss and Whitney shared the honors once.
Mountain West Home Openers: Colorado State is a perfect 7-0 in Mountain West Conference home openers with three-game sweeps in five years and two five-game victories, including one last season over Wyoming. In 1999, the Rams defeated New Mexico in straight games in their home conference opener, the only time CSU has opened at home with the Lobos.
Freshmen Phenoms: Freshmen Katelin Batten and Tessa Nelson have both played in all 42 games for the Rams this season. Batten leads the team with 3.17 digs per game, while Nelson leads with 0.98 blocks per game. Nelson is also averaging 2.12 kills per game and hitting at a .252 clip.
Battle Tested: Colorado State just finished up a road swing where they played four ranked teams and five matches in a nine-day stretch. Last season, the Rams only played four ranked teams all season. The Rams went 1-4 on the trip, with all four losses coming to teams in the top 21.
Batten Down The Hatches: Katelin Batten's 3.17 digs per game will be a new single season freshman record if she continues her pace. The current freshman record is 2.55 digs per game held by Angela Knopf in 1998. Batten is also on pace to break the single-season freshman record of 270 digs, held by Nalani Yamashita from 1992. Batten already has 133 digs 11 matches into the season.
Double Digit Digging: Katherine Whitney is now 12th in school history with 34 career double figure matches (Cindy Cox, 1985-88). The school record is 65 by Carrie Appleman (1989-92). The record for a three-year player at CSU is 47 by Lindsey Kerr (2001-03), who spent two seasons as the libero.
Career Highs: Tonya Mokelki shattered her career-high with 21 kills against BYU, bettering her previous high of 13 from Northern Iowa last season. Katherine Whitney also tied her CSU high with 16 kills at BYU on Saturday.
Loving The Lobos: In two seasons (14 games) against New Mexico, Katherine Whitney has tallied 63 digs, for 4.50 per game. Ashley Fornstrom also has 10 aces in 10 games against the Lobos, while Mekana Barnes is averaging 1.60 blocks per game in her 10 games against New Mexico.
Fantastic Fans: Colorado State ranks 15th in the nation in attendance this season. The Rams are averaging 1,694 per match, which is also second in the conference behind the 1,965 that BYU is averaging (10th overall). Hawai'i leads the way with 7,252 fans per match and there are eight teams in the nation over 2,000 fans per game.
Human Shovel: 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.
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:
• Mekana Barnes is eight kills shy of her 350th career kill.
• Junior Amanda Fahnestock is just 19 digs shy of her 100th at Colorado State.
• Fahnestock also needs just three more kills for her 50th at CSU.
• Ashley Fornstrom needs eight kills for 100 in her career.
• With five aces, Fornstrom will record her 50th and she is 21 digs shy of 300.
• Tonya Mokelki is 30 kills shy of 450.
• Tessa Nelson needs 11 kills for the 100th of her career.
• Jaime Strauss needs 34 kills for 200.
• With 12 more digs, Katherine Whitney will record her 700th at CSU.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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 four wins shy of his 250th at Colorado State. In his 10th season, Hilbert sports a 246-58 (.809) 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.
Scouting The Opposition:
New Mexico: The Lobos are 4-8 on the year and are 0-1 in Mountain West Conference play after dropping a three-game decision to Wyoming last Thursday. New Mexico has dropped its last three matches after winning the three prior to that.
Senior right-side hitter Kelly Therkelsen leads the team with 3.00 kills per game, but has been sidelined with an ankle sprain, and is also the only player on the team hitting over .200 for the season. Sophomore setter Sarah Kwasigroch leads the team with 9.71 assists per game, while freshman Jeanne Fairchild leads with 0.50 aces a game. Sophomore libero Gayle Tripp ranks among the league leaders with 4.57 digs per game and sophomore middle blocker Joelle Ingram leads the team with 1.10 blocks per game.
Against Wyoming, Fairchild led the way with 14 kills and two aces, while Tripp had 17 digs and Anna Lehne led the team with three blocks.
Colorado State holds the 33-21 advantage in the all-time series, with a 17-9 mark in Fort Collins. The Rams have won 20 of the last 21 meetings, with the Lobos lone win since 1994 coming last season in Albuquerque. The Rams have also knocked the Lobos out of the last three Mountain West Tournaments.
TCU: The Horned Frogs are 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in Mountain West play with a five-game victory over the Wyoming Cowgirls. The two losses for TCU are against Texas-Arlington and Ole Miss, both in five games.
Senior middle blocker Anna Vaughn leads the team with 3.81 kills per game and a .360 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Nirelle Hampton averages 10.74 assists per game, while middle blocker Kourtney Edwards leads the way with 1.16 blocks per game and senior libero Calli Corley averages a team-best 4.74 digs per game. Both Hampton and Lauren Otto are averaging 0.40 assists per game, while four Frogs already have tallied over 20 aces on the year.
In the victory over Wyoming, Vaughn had 16 kills, leading five in double figures in kills. Otto amassed seven aces in the win, while Corley had 23 digs and Vaughn had seven blocks.
The Rams are 5-1 all-time against TCU and split the regular season meetings last year, with each team winning on its home court. The Rams are a perfect 3-0 in Fort Collins against the Horned Frogs.
