Match Notables: CSU volleyball vs. San Jose State

Nov. 19, 2014

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No. 9 Colorado State improved to 27-2 on the year, and 15-1 in Mountain West play, with a sweep over San José State (26-24, 25-14, 25-14).
With the win, CSU clinched its sixth-straight Mountain West championship, and its 20th-straight NCAA tournament berth. CSU leads second-place UNLV by two matches with two matches to play, meaning CSU can finish no worse than tied for first place. The Rams hold the tiebreaker over UNLV.
The Rams are now 9-4 all-time against the Spartans, including 5-1 under Head Coach Tom Hilbert. CSU has swept San José State all three times since the Spartans joined the Mountain West in 2013.
CSU improved to 13-1 at home on the year and is now 53-4 at Moby Arena since the start of the 2011 season, the fourth-best home winning percentage during that period.
Overall, CSU owns the third-best winning percentage in the NCAA this season (.931). The winning percentage would be the second-best in program history, trailing only last year (28-2, .933).
The Rams have dropped just five sets in their 14 matches at Moby Arena, winning 36 of the 40 total sets.
CSU's defense fueled the Rams to victory. The Rams out-blocked the Spartans 10.0 to 5.0, and limited San José State to .039 hitting for the match.
In CSU’s last six home matches, opponents are hitting just .065 against the Rams. CSU ranks fifth in the NCAA this season, holding opponents to .135 hitting.
In her first career start, redshirt freshman middle blocker Jaliyah Bolden registered a career-high eight kills on .462 hitting, also adding four blocks. Her four blocks fell just one shy of her career high.
Joining Bolden in the middle was freshman middle blocker Alexandra Poletto, who racked up eight kills on .400 hitting and five blocks in her third career start.
In three career starts, Poletto has tallied 31 kills (3.10 per set) and 14 blocks (1.40 per set) at a .542 clip (31-5-48).
Junior right-side hitter Adrianna Culbert led the Rams with 10 kills, giving her double-digit kills in nine of her past 11 matches.
Culbert started the match with four errors on six swings before registering her first kill late in the first set. After that point, however, Culbert racked up 10 kills and no errors on her final 12 swings to finish with a .333 (10-4-18) attack percentage.
The Rams won the first set for the 21st-straight match, and 27th time this season. The last time CSU dropped the opening set was vs. BYU on Sept. 12.
CSU out-dug San José State, 37-27, led by nine from junior libero Jaime Colaizzi. Sophomore Cassidy Denny (8) and Culbert (7) also provided back-row defensive help. The Rams are 25-0 this season when out-digging their opponents.
In addition to 35 assists, senior setter Deedra Foss recorded four kills and three blocks.
The first set featured eight ties and three lead changes, with the Rams trailing for most of the set. After leading 9-8, CSU trailed for the remainder of the set until finally taking the lead again at 25-24. Down 23-20, the Rams ended Set 1 on a 6-1 run to win it, 26-24. The final point was CSU's first multi-point lead of the set.
In Set 1, Bolden racked up five kills and one error on seven attacks, while senior outside hitter Marlee Reynolds added four kills and no errors on seven swings. Reynolds finished the night with nine kills on .438 efficiency (9-2-16).
The Rams led from start to finish in Set 2, forcing San José State into 11 attack errors and a -.128 hitting percentage.
CSU hit .500 in the final set, led by Culbert who was a perfect six-for-six in the frame.
After hitting just .190 in the opening set, CSU finished the match with a .300 attacking clip, marking the 13th time this season that it has hit .300 or better as a team. The Rams are 13-0 in those instances.
CSU used a different starting lineup in all three sets. Additionally, during the second set, sophomore middle blocker Acacia Andrews played on the left side.
Prior to the match, CSU recognized Dave "Super Dave" Culbertson, a fixture in the volleyball program for more than 30 years. Culbertson is retiring from his ball-shagging duties at the end of the season.
CSU can win the conference outright with one win or one UNLV loss. The Rams will next play at Nevada (Saturday, 2 p.m. MT), followed by Senior Night vs. Border War rival Wyoming on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Following the match, CSU will be presented the MW trophy.

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Match Notables: CSU volleyball vs. San Jose State

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Match Notables: CSU volleyball vs. San Jose State

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