Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
UNLV
Rams finish off perfect home season with win over UNLV
11/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 16, 2008
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By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – On Sunday afternoon at Moby Arena, Colorado State volleyball fans honored the Rams’ senior class of Mekana Barnes, Ashley Fornstrom and Jaime Strauss as they made their final regular season home appearance. For Rams fans and players alike, hopefully Sunday’s match wasn’t a goodbye.
Colorado State, which will be hosting a NCAA Regional on Dec. 12-13, finished off its second-consecutive perfect home season as they wrapped up the home portion of their 2008 season with a three-set sweep (27-25, 25-12, 25-22) over UNLV (15-13, 8-7 MWC) to give the Rams a perfect 14-0 record at home.
The Rams (22-3, 12-2 MWC), who also have the possibility of hosting first and second round matches in the NCAA tournament, have work to do before they can think about any tournament play. CSU has two MWC road games remaining that will most likely determine a conference champion. But for this afternoon, the focus was on the seniors and the Rams continuing their perfection at home.
“I thought our seniors did well,” said Head Coach Tom Hilbert. “They put their emotions aside and really played solid. I was proud of them and happy for them.”
Barnes was outstanding as she tallied her first double-double of the season with 14 kills on .360 hitting and 10 blocks. As a team, the Rams tallied 15 blocks and forced the Rebels to hit -0.43 for the match – a Rams opponent season-low.
“From the blocking standpoint, we did a great job,” said Hilbert. Overall, I’m very pleased with the match and how we played.”
The Rams took control of the match in the second set. Early in the set, CSU fell behind before playing some of their finest volleyball of the season. With the Rebels holding a 9-6 lead, Colorado State responded by posting 12 straight points as they finished out the set on a 19-3 run which blew the match open.
In the third and final set, the Rams seniors took control. Fornstrom tallied 10 assists in the set while Strauss tallied three digs and two kills and Barnes posted four kills in seven attempts and added three blocks.
“I think we knew today was going to be special because it was Senior Day,” said Barnes. “It’s always an honor to be recognized like that, but we knew we had work today, so that obviously goes ahead of anything else.”
The Rams raced out to a commanding 9-3 lead in the opening set before UNLV responded with a 7-2 run to get within one point at 11-10. With CSU holding a 12-11 lead, the Rams strung together five straight points, including a pair of blocks by Barnes, to take a 17-11 lead. But the Rebels answered back again and had a set point at 25-24 before the Rams scored the final three points of the set.
The Rams will wrap-up their season with three consecutive road matches. They will play at BYU on Thursday and then travel to Salt Lake City for a showdown with Utah on Saturday that could determine the conference champion. CSU will then finish the season with an out-of-conference trip to Long Beach State on Nov. 29.
“For us to be successful this weekend, it’s going to take very good composed play and understanding that we won’t go in and blow out those teams,” said Hilbert. “Every single set is going to be a battle and we’ve got to take that mentality into both gyms. The environments there are hostile, but I personally feel like we’ve played well at BYU and Utah. We’ve got to play well there and that’s our goal. I expect to come out of next week with two wins.”
