Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Hawai'i
No. 10 Hawaii drops Rams
8/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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HONOLULU, Hawaii - Sharp hitting and a tenacious block forced another five-game match but the Colorado State volleyball fell to No. 10 Hawaii 3-2 (21-30, 30-22, 30-27, 25-30, 13-15) at the Asics Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ashley Fornstrom led the Rams (0-2) with 58 assists, 6 kills and 9 blocks.
CSU opened their match against the Rainbow Wahine (1-1) with a 4-2 advantage on errorless hitting and kills by Tessa Nelson and Jaime Strauss. Hawaii didn't allow the Rams the keep the lead for long reaching a tie game at five each. The game quickly became a sideout battle with both teams' hitters picking at the other's block and finding alleys in which to hit. The Rainbow Wahine battled to a five-point advantage forcing a CSU timeout at 13-8. The Rams began to use their prowess at the net to get points back by forcing UH hitters to take multiple attempts on the attack. Hawaii's front line found a way through the block led by AVCA All-American Jamie Houston to a 26-16 lead. The Rams fought back using the offensive skills of Ashley Fornstrom to get back to 21-27. The game ended with an ace by UH's Kari Gregory, 30-21.
Strauss had three kills on 12 attempts to lead the team in kills for Game 1. Fornstrom had two kills and hit .500 for the team hitting percentage high. Service errors again hurt CSU as they had six in the first game. The Rams out blocked the Rainbow Wahine 2-0. The Rams hit .222.
The Rams came out of the gates firing, grabbing a 3-0 lead and forcing the UH timeout in Game 3. The Rams continued to gain confidence with a stuff block by Nelson and Fornstrom and an ace by Amanda Fahnestock for the 5-0 lead. CSU continued to find the angle through the UH block and extended their lead to seven at 8-1. The Rainbow Wahine clawed back into the match at 7-15 but found the Rams block too much to handle. CSU extended the lead to 20-10 as Tonya Mokelki got into the match with back-to-back kills. CSU kept the ten-point advantage until UH put together a three-point run on scrappy play. Fornstrom stopped the run with another setter dump and Katelin Batten put in solid serves to go back up nine. The Rams took Game 2, 30-22, after a Mekana Barnes kill straight down the middle.
In the second game Strauss again led with seven kills on 12 attempts. She had a service ace and a block in addition. Setter Fornstrom, who had 15 assists in the game, led on the block with five block assists. CSU had six team blocks, holding Hawaii to just three. CSU hit .381 while holding UH to .184 in Game 2.
CSU picked up where they left off when they took the court for the third game, getting out to a 4-1 lead. The Rams extended the lead to four before UH came back to tie the game at seven using tips and soft shots to the short court. CSU went back to using the power alleys to take back the lead 10-8, before extending it to four points on strong hitting. The Rainbow Wahine tied the match at 19 only to have the Rams take it back on a swing off the UH block and kill by Danielle Minch. CSU took the momentum back and went on a 7-2 run to force the Hawaii timeout. The Rainbow Wahine bounced back cutting the lead to two points. Mokelki nailed a kill through the block then put a serve in the back row that Hawaii was unable to handle for the 30-27 Game 3 win.
Barnes led the team in kills for the third game with six with Mokelki nailing five. Minch hit a team high .286. On the block Barnes had three block assists while Fornstrom had two block assists and a solo block. CSU hit .310 and again held the Rainbow Wahine to under .150 as they hit .132 for Game 3.
Game 4 started with an ace by Fahnestock but the Rainbow Wahine would bounce back, taking a 6-4 lead, their first since Game 1. The Rams battled back for a tie at seven. Hawaii found a rhythm and built a six-point lead for a Rams timeout. The Rainbow Wahine kept their lead until CSU scored a pair of points to make the score 23-19. The Rams surged to cut the lead to two on strong service and good net play to force Hawaii to call time. UH scored three straight points to win Game 4.
Strauss started off Game 5 with a kill for the Rams but the lead would be short lived as the Wahine responded with a pair of kills. Barnes brought the game back to even with a kill and then gave CSU the lead with a key block. The match became a see-saw as both teams struggled to find a solid flow. UH was ahead at the side change 8-6 and held a two-point lead at the CSU timeout. CSU scored three points, the last on a Barnes kills, to take an 11-10 lead. The Rams found themselves down two again but cut it to one, forcing a second match point. Hawaii scored match point off a CSU free ball.
Barnes and Strauss each finished the night with 21 kills, leading four players in double figures. Minch had 12 and Mokelki notched 11 to round out the top four. Fornstrom led the team in hitting percentage at .545 with Barnes a close second hitting .484. CSU led Hawaii in hitting percentage, kills, blocks and total attacks. The Rams were hurt by 20 service errors.
The Rams will conclude the tournament against Michigan in a 3 p.m. HT match Sunday.
