Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Illinois State
Volleyball advances to Round 2 after sweep of Illinois State
11/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Jaime Strauss had her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 14 digs as the Colorado State volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Friday night, sweeping Illinois State. Katelin Batten broke the CSU single-season dig record, which she set in 2006 with 438 digs, after digging 15 balls for 449 digs on the season. CSU hit .322, with Tessa Nelson also adding 10 kills. Mekana Barnes led all players with five blocks. She also had nine kills and hit .300 for the match.
"I am very proud of our defense," said Head Coach Tom Hilbert. "We were getting to balls well and our persistence paid off. Mekana and Tessa were hitting high tonight. They were killing the ball well."
CSU started the first game of the match with a confidence that comes from having been to the tournament before. The Rams started things off with a 4-1 run that included a kill by Barnes. CSU kept things rolling as Strauss went to the service line and served three-consecutive aces, something she had never done in her volleyball career. The Rams scored five points in the run and pulled out to a seven-point lead. CSU never looked back from that point, holding Illinois State to just .154 hitting.
"I have never served three aces in a row," Strauss said. "I don't even know that I have had three in a game. This isn't just college; I haven't done it in club or in high school, either."
The Rams won Game 1 despite the Redbirds notching more kills, the first time the Rams have won a single game without the lead in kills. Nelson tallied a game-high five kills and was hitting a blistering .667 for the game. Strauss had three kills for the game. The Rams added three blocks with Barnes in on two of the three.
The Redbirds did not go down without a fight, jumping out to a 6-4 lead in the second game. CSU tied things up at nine and took the lead as Ashley Fornstrom teamed up with Barnes for a block in the middle. CSU forced back-to-back attack errors by ISU for a 12-9 advantage. Fornstrom went to the service line with the score 13-10 and served for a run of three to gain the 16-10 Ram lead. Hitting errors continued to plague the Redbirds. CSU outscored Illinois State 14-10 to take Game 2, 30-20.
The Rams hit .321 with an astounding 71-percent sideout percentage. The Rams had 19 kills and just three errors in the game. Batten had 10 digs, keeping several plays alive for CSU. Barnes and senior Tonya Mokelki each had six kills and hit better than .350 in the game.
CSU quickly controlled the third game, taking the lead on the first point and not looking back. The Rams held Illinois State to -.116 hitting. CSU tallied just two errors with 15 kills while the Redbirds had 12 errors. The block for CSU was solid with three team blocks and forcing ISU to attack the ball 43 times.
Jacque Davisson had 11 digs for the Rams and Danielle Minch finished with eight kills. The Rams tallied four service aces and finished with a team total 42 digs. Every front-row player for CSU had a block with Nelson tallying the only solo block of the night.
The Rams are now undefeated in matches when they have won the first two games, and have swept their opponent in 18 matches this season.
"I think every team still in this regional wants it and they all think they can win," said Hilbert. "We can hopefully get some rest tonight and come out hitting hard tomorrow."
The Rams will play the winner of the Miami (OH)/Michigan match this evening. The first serve will be at 5 p.m. MST Saturday and can be heard live on KCSU Radio 90.5 FM.
