Colorado State University Athletics
Match notes: CSU looks to continue winning ways
10/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 4, 2011
Weekly Release #7 - Oct. 4, 2011
Series vs. Seattle . . .
• Thursday will be the first meeting between CSU and Seattle.
• The match is being labeled as, `Dig Pink Night.' Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
Series vs. Wyoming . . .
• The Rams come into Saturday's match at Wyoming with a 51-18 all-time record.
• The Rams have won 26 consecutive matches over the Cowgirls, last falling in 1997, Hilbert's first season at CSU. All-time, Hilbert is 27-1 vs. Wyoming.
• CSU's 51 wins vs. Wyoming is more than any other opponent.
• The Rams and Cowgirls will meet for the 70th time on Saturday. CSU has played just two other teams more times than Wyoming (BYU, 75 and Utah, 74).
• The Rams have swept the Cowgirls in the teams' last five meetings.
• The program's top two team-kill totals both came against Wyoming (102 kills in 1985 and 99 in 1996).
• In 2006, the Rams recorded 46 block assists vs. the Cowgirls, tied for the most in program history. That night, Ashley Fornstrom had 11 blocks en route to one of 15 triple-doubles in CSU history.
• In her career, Megan Plourde has averaged eight kills and 3.75 blocks on .433 hitting in four matches vs. Wyoming. Brieon Paige has recorded 11 kills on .474 hitting in two career matches against the Cowgirls. Last season, Katelyn Steffan recorded 16 kills at hit .323 in a pair of matches vs. Wyoming.
Last week's recap
The Rams are coming off one of their best stretches of the season, winning four straight, including two tough matches on the road this past weekend.
The road trip begain with a five-set thriller at UNLV, in which CSU fought off the pesky Rebels behind a career-high 28 kills from senior Katelyn Steffan. The total was the most by an MW player at the time, and seven more than her previous career high. The outside hitter was effective, hitting .411, and getting points when the Rams needed them most, including the match's final two.
After the match, Head Coach Tom Hilbert called Steffan unbelievable, saying "Kate was the sole reason we won that match."
On Sunday, in front of a national-television audience, Steffan was on her game again, leading all players with 18 kills on .385 hitting. Juniors Dana Cranston and Brieon Paige contributed with 11 and eight kills, respectively, while Megan Plourde tallied nine kills and seven blocks. The Rams hit. 355 as a team in the 3-1 win.
About Seattle
The Redhawks enter the week 3-12 on the season, and idle since Sept. 17. Seattle played an exhibition match on Sept. 29, but the team's last official match came against UC Davis more than two weeks ago. Two of the Redhawks' three wins have come in their past four contests, however.
Seattle is paced by senior Cristin Richards, who in just 27 sets has recorded 130 kills (team high) on .354 hitting. She is also among the team leaders in digs per set (2.19). Sophomore Sarah Jaeckel and junior Kaytlyn Dill also average 2.81 and 2.26 kills per set, respectively, and Jordan Keller, a senior, paces the team with 1.00 blocks per set.
About Wyoming
The Cowgirls enter the week with an 11-7 record overall and a 2-2 mark in the Mountain West after splitting with San Diego State and UNLV last weekend. Wyoming is currently led by Jodi Purdy who is averaging a team high 3.61 kills plus 2.97 digs per set. She ranks second in service aces, third in kills and points and ninth in digs in the league. She is followed by redshirt freshman Erin Kirby, who is adding 1.98 kills and 1.16 blocks, along with hitting .339 (127-34-274). Reese Plante is averaging 2.12 kills and 1.09 blocks, while Becky Stewart is leading the way with 3.92 digs per set. As a team, they are averaging 13.03 kills, 14.20 digs and 2.41 blocks per set. They rank second in blocks, third in hitting percentage and fourth in aces and digs.
Winning ways
CSU has won four consecutive matches dating back to Sept. 22, marking the longest win streak of the season. The Rams began the season with three straight wins, the team's previous high.
Opening up conference play
Over the weekend, the Rams improved to 4-0 in MW play, continuing their success in MW action, especially to open up the conference slate.
In 12 seasons with the MW, CSU has led the charge, winning eight conference championships, including four MW tournament titles in eight seasons. UNLV is the only other current MW team to take home a conference title (tying CSU for first place in 2007). Utah won or shared three titles during its 12 seasons with the conference, while BYU won or shared a pair of championships.
With a win on Saturday, the Rams would improve to 5-0 in MW action for the ninth time in 13 seasons.
Player of the Week
Senior outside hitter Katelyn Steffan was named Mountain West Co-Player of the Week on Monday, marking the second time in her career she has won the award. The Dickinson, N.D. native earned the honor after leading the Rams to consecutive road wins and recording 5.11 kills per set on .400 hitting. Steffan set a career high with 28 kills in CSU's 3-2 win at UNLV.
After switching to a new position during the offseason, Steffan has excelled, leading the Rams in kills in 10 of the team's 13 matches, recording double-digit kill totals 11 times. Prior to 2011, Steffan had never recorded 10 or more kills in consecutive games, let alone five in a row.
In the Rams' last three matches (Sept. 24-Oct. 2), Steffan has averaged an incredible 20 kills per match, all while hitting .448. She has also recorded a total of three service aces and 11 blocks during the stretch.
Junior middle blocker Megan Plourde, who was selected as the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year in August, was named the Mountain West Volleyball Player of the Week on Sept. 5, after averaging 1.64 kills, 1.09 blocks, 0.64 digs and 0.09 aces per set, while hitting .295 and accounting for 2.27 points per set on the week. The award was the second of Plourde's career (also Sept. 27, 2010).
Weekend success
If the Rams were superstitious, the day of the week would matter. CSU is a perfect 6-0 on Saturday matches. The Rams are also perfect on Sundays (1-0) and Thursdays (2-0). Fortunately for the Rams, 11 of their final 12 matches fall on a Thursday or Saturday.
Sixty
Setter Deedra Foss recorded 60 assists in CSU's five-set win over UNLV on Sept. 29, marking the first time in nearly two years that a Ram has recorded that many assists. The last time it happened was when former setter Evan Sanders tallied 60 on Nov. 21, 2009, also vs. UNLV.
Block party
The Rams take pride in their ability to out-block their opponents, and in 2011, it's no different. CSU has recorded more blocks than its opponent in 10 of its 13 matches, going 9-1 in those situations. CSU is also 1-0 when tying with its opponent in blocks. Nationally, the Rams rank 10th in the country with 2.89 blocks per set. Junior Megan Plourde, who averages 1.56 per set, ranks fifth in the country, and finished 2010 ranked second.
On Thursday vs. UNLV, the Rams recorded a season-high 14.0 team blocks, marking the ninth time this season they have recorded at least 10 team blocks.
Defending the attack
The Rams lead the MW with a .321 hitting percentage in conference matches, but also rank first in opponent hitting percentage, allowing their conference opponents to hit just .144 on them. Overall, CSU opponents hit just .165 against the Rams, and have hit below .100 three times.
Moby was rockin'
Moby Arena has always been known as a hostile environment, ranking among the best in national attendance averages each season. On Sept. 2, however, a record 6,750 fans watched CSU upset then-No. 5 Nebraska. The previous record was also held by CSU, when the Rams beat the Duke Blue Devils, Aug. 26, 2010, in front of 6,333 fans.
On the season thus far CSU is averaging 2,444 fans per game, good for 10th in the nation. CSU's record crowd against Nebraska is the sixth-highest figure around the nation this season. Among the top 15 single-match figures in 2011, the CSU-Nebraska match at Moby Arena is one of only fourmatches that did not take place at Hawaii. The Rams finished the 2010 season ranked 13th nationally in attendance with 2,180 fans per match.
With big crowds comes big success. Hilbert is 205-27 (.884) in 14-plus seasons in Fort Collins, including 24-11 against nationally ranked teams.
In the polls
Despite winning four straight matches and being the only team to knock off No. 6 Nebraska, CSU dropped two more spots in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coach's Poll, to No. 23. However, the Rams have now been ranked for 26 consecutive weeks dating back to the 2009 season. The last poll CSU was not featured in was Nov. 2, 2009.
Best in the West
Entering Thursday night's match vs. Seattle, CSU ranks among the best in the Mountain West in several statistical categories, including first in both hitting percentage (.267) and blocks (2.89 per set).
It comes as no surprise that the Rams are the conference's best blocking team, and rank 10th nationally, as they have three players in the top 10, including Megan Plourde's average of 1.56 blocks per set, which is good for first in the league and fifth in the country. Rounding out the top 10 in the MW is junior Brieon Paige, who ranks eighth with 0.89 per set, and senior Katelyn Steffan, who averages 0.86 blocks per set.
Steffan, who has led the Rams in kills 10 times this season, ranks second in both kills (4.05 per set) and points (4.78 per set). The figures rank 47th and 27th nationally. Setter Deedra Foss also is second in assists (first in MW action) and third service aces (0.35 per set). Her 10.83 assists-per-set average ranks 42nd in the nation.
Paige and Plourde also rank sixth and ninth in attack percentages, while defensive specialist Izzy Gaulia is fourth with 4.39 digs per set. As a team, CSU has the 20th-best hitting percentage in the nation.
Lights, cameras, action
Last Sunday, CSU defeated San Diego State in front of a live national audience, as the match was broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. Once again this season, Colorado State will be among the most televised teams in the Mountain West. CSU's 3-0 sweep over UNC on Sept. 10 was aired on CET, while at least three other matches this season--including contests vs. New Mexico (Oct. 13) and at TCU (Nov. 10)--will be aired on national TV. Additionally, all matches in the MW tournament (Nov. 18-20) will be televised live.
Also, new this year, CSU fans can view live streaming of all home matches (except Oct. 13 vs. New Mexico) through the All-Access subscription. Video will be linked to the local radio broadcast, and can be viewed over the computer. Go to www.CSURams.com/AllAccess for more details and to subscribe.
Follow the Rams online
Colorado State offers fans and media several options for following the CSU volleyball team. In addition to CSURams.com, which is updated daily with all the latest news on CSU athletics, fans can also log onto RamVolleyball.colostate.edu for an inside look into all things Rams Volleyball.
Get all the updates on Facebook & Twitter
CSU volleyball and Head Coach Tom Hilbert are both on Twitter, at twitter.com/CSUVolleyball and twitter.com/CoachHilbert. Rams volleyball is also on Facebook, giving fans unprecedented access to CSU volleyball.
Ram Report
The Ram Report, featuring football Head Coach Steve Fairchild, volleyball Head Coach Tom Hilbert and Voice of the Rams Brian Roth, has debuted. The show, produced by CSU's award-winning Communications & Creative Services team, is available to fans four ways. Viewers can tune in on television to NoCo 5, CSU-TV (Comcast Channel 11) or The Mtn., or catch the show on CSURams.com each week. Air times:
CSU-TV, Comcast Channel 11: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, at both 7:30 and 9 p.m.
The Mtn.: Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., and other times to be announced (check local listings)
NoCo5: Wednesdays at 5:30 and 10:35 p.m.
For every edition, Rams football and volleyball athletes will join other coaches, along with Fairchild, Hilbert and Roth, who also will dissect highlights and game analysis each week. Also, fans can get an inside look from the coach's perspective.
Coach's Show
The Tom Hilbert Coach's Show is back for another season, occurring every Tuesday, from 5-6 p.m., at the Beach House Grill. Fans are encouraged to join Hilbert, who will speak about past matches, the upcoming schedule, answer fans' questions and give a "chalk talk", breaking down a specific aspect of volleyball. Hilbert will also be joined by a different player each week.
Media guide
For all history, facts and information about CSU volleyball, please view the 2011 media guide, which can be found online on CSU's athletic Web site, www.CSURams.com.
Up next
The Rams will return to Moby Arena for a pair of conference matches against some of the toughest competition in the league: New Mexico and TCU. The two teams were picked to finish second and fourth, respectively, in the preseason standings, and, entering this week, TCU sits at second and is receiving votes in the AVCA top-25 poll with a record of 16-1, while New Mexico is in third. Thursday's match vs. New Mexico (Oct. 13) will be bumped up to a 6 p.m. start to accommodate the live television audience. The match will be broadcast on The Mtn. Less than 48 hours later, the Rams return to the court for a noon start (Oct. 15) against the Horned Frogs.
