Volleyball recap: Rams sweep Cowgirls for 12th-straight win

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Oct. 7, 2014

Final Stats | Photo Gallery 

LARAMIE, Wyo. – The No. 7 Colorado State volleyball team came away from the first installment of the Border War victorious, sweeping rival Wyoming in front of a rowdy UniWyo Sports Complex crowd (25-16, 25-21, 25-23). The win is CSU’s 12th in a row overall, and extends the Rams’ nation-leading road winning streak to 24 matches dating back to Oct. 27, 2012.

The Rams now lead the NCAA with 17 victories on the season (17-1, 5-0 MW). CSU improved to 58-19 all-time against Wyoming (13-5, 2-3 MW), including 34-2 under Head Coach Tom Hilbert.

“This was as gutsy and as mentally tough as I’ve seen us play in a number of ways,” Hilbert said. “There were so many different elements to this match, and we played so mature. It is raucous in this place; it’s full and it’s loud. These kids are great, though. We compete, at times, so well that I am blown away.”

Entering the match, CSU and Wyoming ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Mountain West for hitting, with both percentages ranking in the top-10 nationally. The Rams out-hit the Cowgirls, .343 to .167, however, led by a season-most 15 kills from senior middle blocker Kelsey Snider. 

“Snider had three errors, and they were all stuff blocks,” Hilbert said. “When she didn’t get blocked she was very efficient and getting kills almost every time. Jasmine (Hanna) was on (Courtney) Chacon, and Deedra (Foss) was using that matchup all night. I thought we were very alert and really honed in on what we knew the game plan was. Deedra’s set choices were excellent.”

Snider’s 15 kills came on just 21 swings (.571 hitting), while Hanna had 14 on .393 efficiency. Foss posted her fifth double-double in eight career matches against Wyoming, recording 41 assists and 11 digs.

“We played great defense,” Hilbert said. “We served tough enough to drive them out of what they wanted to do, and then dug them. That’s a great thing to do on the road.”

Junior opposite hitter Adrianna Culbert was one of three players in double digits for digs, pacing CSU’s back row with 15, in addition to eight kills and three blocks.

CSU out-hit Wyoming .367 to .000 in the opening frame, securing nine of 10 points to take a commanding lead after a 7-7 tie. Despite fighting off three set points, the Cowgirls couldn’t overcome the deficit the Rams had built.

Things tightened up even more in Set 2. CSU trailed by a season-most nine points, allowing Wyoming to jump out to a 12-3 lead, but the Rams never gave in.

“We had called our second timeout, and we were passing terribly,” Hilbert said. “It wasn’t anything I said, because I told my team, ‘We just need to settle down as passers; we’re probably going to lose this set, but we need to get some momentum and feeling back.’ Next thing you know, we’re tied at 15-15.”

After tying the score by using a 12-3 run of its own, the two teams would again be tied at 17-17, 18-18 and 19-19. Each time after CSU tied the score, a service error gave the Cowgirls the lead once again.

That changed at 20-20. After a Marlee Reynolds kill to tie the score, Acacia Andrews finished a long rally – seeing impressive plays from both sides – with a kill straight into the ground. That gave CSU its first lead of the set, 21-20, and despite the Cowgirls tying the score at 21-21 on the next point, the Rams closed on a 4-0 run to win the set, 25-21.

“I think it shows how competitive we are,” Snider said. “We don’t like to be down, and we’re going to do whatever we can to not let it happen.”

During the 4-0 run to end the frame, Hanna had two kills and a block and Snider had a kill and a block. CSU led for just five points all set, despite winning by four. The Rams out-hit the Cowgirls in the frame, .300 to .091, even though Wyoming was leading in the category, .545 to -.071 through the set’s first 15 points.

“I thought it would demoralize Wyoming more, but they came back and played a great third set; they played better than they did in Set 2,” Hilbert said. “Wyoming is a good team, and they have middles who are as athletic as ours.”

CSU jumped out to an early lead in the final frame, but Wyoming chipped away to tie the score at 13-13 and 14-14. CSU went on a 6-3 run to take a 20-17 lead, and despite keeping it within a few points for the remainder of the set, CSU maintained control, winning, 25-23.

“We just don’t give a lot of stuff away through points,” Hilbert said. “You know, it’s amazing to me sometimes how great this team is.”

The Rams will be back in action Saturday to host Fresno State at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

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