Match notes: CSU heads west to UNLV, SDSU

Sept. 27, 2011

Weekly Release #6 | Sept. 27, 2011 in PDF format

Last week's recap
The Rams opened up conference action last week with two impressive wins. Coming off a tough loss at Denver the week prior, CSU rebounded with a resounding 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-14, 25-20) over Air Force, the team's 35th consecutive win over the Falcons. Also with the win, the Rams improved to 13-0 all-time in Mountain West home openers.

Junior Megan Plourde got the night going with three kills in the match's opening five points, as CSU ran out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back. Plourde set a season-high with 10 kills on .438 hitting, also tallying five blocks. Junior Brieon Paige contributed with seven kills and a team-best six blocks, and redshirt freshman Kelsey Snider took advantage of increased playing time, setting a career high in kills (7), attack percentage (.538) and blocks (5).

Two days later, CSU improved to 2-0 after sweeping Boise State (25-13, 25-17, 25-20) in the Broncos' first trip to Moby Arena as members of the MW. CSU was dominant from start to finish, hitting .374 while holding the Broncos to .039, including .000 in each of the match's first two sets. Senior Katelyn Steffan was extremely efficient, recording 14 kills on just 21 attempts, also recording zero errors (career-high .667 hitting). Setter Deedra Foss also has a solid performance, recording a career-most four kills.

Lights, cameras, action
CSU will play a rare Sunday match this weekend because the contest against SDSU will be aired live on CBS Sports. Once again, Colorado State will be among the most televised teams in the Mountain West in 2011. CSU's 3-0 sweep over UNC on Sept. 10 was aired on CET, while at least four other matches this season, including contests at San Diego State (Oct. 2), 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.

About UNLV
The UNLV Rebels are 8-6 on the season, most recently sweeping Nevada-Reno (Sept. 21) and San Diego State (Sept. 23). After the surprising win over the Aztecs, UNLV sits at 1-0 in MW action and is 4-3 on its home court.

The Rebels are led by Makenzie Moea'I, a sophomore, who averages 2.92 kills per set (eighth in MW). Sophomore Madeline Westman is the team-leader in blocks (1.16 per set; fourth in MW), and also ranks first in total points (171.5) and is near the top in kills, with 2.25 per set. Setter Stephanie Thelen ranks fifth in the MW in assists (9.27 per set), and on Monday was named the MW Player of the Week.

As a team, UNLV hits just .200, but holds its opponents under that, at .191. The Rebels rank sixth or seventh in each statistical category, except blocks, in which they are third. Cindy Fredrick is in her first season leading the Rebels.

About San Diego State
The Aztecs opened the season tabbed to finish third in the MW, and they did not disappoint in preseason action, going 7-3, including a five-set win over Cal State Fullerton. SDSU ranks in the top half of most statistical categories, including third in both kills (13.38 per set) and service aces (1.36 per set). Sophomore Johnna Fouch leads the conference in assists (11.05 per set), while pre-season all-MW selection Andrea Hannasch, a junior middle blocker, is second in blocks (1.59 per set), fifth in points (3.71 per set), eighth in service aces (0.29 per set) and 10th in kills (2.76 per set).

As a team, seven different players are averaging at least two kills per set. Deitre Collins-Parker is in her third season with the Aztecs.

SDSU connections
Freshman outside hitter Kaila Thomas grew up in Murrieta, Calif., about 45 minutes north of San Diego. Her mom, Darci, played volleyball for two seasons at SDSU before wrapping up her collegiate career at Cal Poly. Tori Brummett's hometown--Redlands, Calif., is less than two hours away from SDSU's campus, and one of her teammates at East Valley High School, Kyla Oropeza, is a true sophomore on SDSU's roster.

Opening up conference play
The Rams opened up conference action last week with a pair of wins over Air Force and Boise State. With the win over the Broncos, CSU improved to 13-0 all-time in MW home openers, and on the weekend, extended its conference-leading winning percentage all-time.

With a win on Thursday, the Rams would improve to 3-0 in MW action for the 11th time in 13 seasons. CSU has done so in each season except 2006 and 2007.

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.

Consecutive wins to begin conference play
1999: 4
2000: 9
2001: 10
2002: 5
2003: 14 (undefeated)
2004: 5
2005: 3
2006: 0
2007: 2
2008: 6
2009: 8
2010: 11

Road Woes
CSU, historically a good road team, has dropped consecutive road matches. The first came Aug. 29, at then-No. 17 Oklahoma, and the most recent coming last Friday at DU. It is the first time in nearly three years that the Rams have dropped back-to-back road matches. The last time CSU did so came at BYU and No. 22 Utah, Nov. 22 and Nov. 22, 2008. Since the turn of the century, CSU is 87-40 in true road matches.

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 ninth in the nation. CSU's record crowd against Nebraska is the fifth-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 three matches 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
CSU dropped one spot in this week's AVCA Top 25 Coach's Poll, to No. 21. However, the Rams have now been ranked for 25 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 at UNLV, CSU ranks among the best in the Mountain West in several statistical categories, including first in both hitting percentage (.256) and blocks (2.89 per set).

It comes as no surprise that the Rams are the conference's best blocking team, and rank 13th nationally, as they have three players in the top 10, including Megan Plourde's average of 1.59 blocks per set, which is good for first in the league and ninth in the country. Rounding out the top 10 in the MW is senior Katelyn Steffan (0.89 per set, fifth) and junior Brieon Paige, who ranks eighth with 0.77 per set.

Steffan, who has led the Rams in kills eight times this season, ranks second in both kills (3.77 per set) and third in points (4.54 per set). Setter Deedra Foss also is second in both assists (10.59 per set) and service aces (0.38 per set). Plourde and Paige also rank eighth and ninth with hitting percentages of .296 and .295, respectively, while defensive specialist Izzy Gaulia is third with 4.68 digs per set. As a team, CSU has the 32nd-best hitting percentage in the nation.

Up next
The Rams will return to Moby Arena for a non-conference match against Seattle (Thursday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.). The match is being marketed as `Dig Pink Night' to help support breast cancer. It will also be the first time the two teams have ever faced each other.

Two nights later, CSU gets back into conference action by hosting rival Wyoming on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.

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