Colorado State University Athletics
CSU volleyball concludes season ranked No. 12
12/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following an historic season on many levels, the Colorado State volleyball team finished the year ranked No. 12 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Behind an 18-match win streak midway through the season, CSU recorded 31 victories, the second-most in program history. CSU’s .912 winning percentage (31-3) was also second-best, trailing only last season’s .933 mark (28-2). It was tied for the third-best in the NCAA in 2014, behind only Stanford (.943) and Penn State (.923).
Dating back to the start of the 2013 season, CSU is 59-5 (.922), the second-best two-year winning percentage in the nation.
- The No. 12 national ranking is CSU’s highest since finishing the 2001 season ranked No. 10. It is tied for the fifth-highest finish in program history.
- CSU has been ranked in the final poll in 17 of 33 seasons (T-15th nationally), including six of the past seven since 2008.
- The Rams have been ranked in 29-consecutive polls dating back to September 2013, the third-longest stretch in CSU history.
- All-time, CSU has been ranked in 266 of 477 polls (14th in the NCAA).
Sixth-straight Mountain West title
For the sixth-consecutive season, CSU won the Mountain West title, going 17-1 and leading the conference wire to wire. No other program nationally has won its conference title each of the past six seasons.
In the Mountain West’s 16-year history, CSU has won 12 regular-season titles. Seniors Deedra Foss, Marlee Reynolds and Kelsey Snider graduated with five conference championship rings, three of just five players in CSU history to accomplish that feat.
How sweet it is
After building quality wins and a strong RPI, CSU was selected to host NCAA tournament sub-regional matches at Moby Arena. The Rams opened the tournament with a straight-sets victory over Denver before beating then-No. 19 Colorado in a five-set instant classic. The win advanced CSU to the regional semifinal (Round of 16) for the first time since 2009, and the 10th time in program history.
CSU has qualified for the NCAA tournament all 18 years under Head Coach Tom Hilbert, and dating back to 1995, has played in the postseason in 20-consecutive seasons. The streak is the seventh-longest active streak in the nation and the 10th-longest in NCAA women’s volleyball history.
All-America and other postseason honors
Senior Deedra Foss was named an AVCA All-American on Dec. 17, becoming the 12th Ram to earn the classification, including the fourth in the past four seasons. In total, CSU has 14 AVCA All-America selections, a figure which ranks 18th in the NCAA.
Foss was one of two setters nationally to rank in the top 10 for both assists and team hitting percentage, and led all Pacific North Region setters with 0.73 blocks per set. Foss concluded her career with 4,833 assists, fifth-most in CSU and Mountain West history, including the highest total since sets were changed from 30 to 25 points.
In addition to Foss, junior opposite hitter Adrianna Culbert was named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention for the second-straight season. She was one of five Rams named to the All-Mountain West team, joining seniors Marlee Reynolds and Kelsey Snider, junior Jaime Colaizzi and Foss – the 2014 Mountain West Player of the Year.
A large reason for CSU’s success was the team’s balance all around. The Rams were the only team in the country to rank in the top 30 for hitting percentage (.280; seventh), opponent hitting percentage (.151; 12th), assists (13.23 per set; 17th), kills (14.18; 18th) and blocks (2.67; 27th).
Record-breaking attendance
CSU averaged 3,231 fans per match in 2014, a figure which ranked sixth in the NCAA and was the second-best in program history. For CSU’s match vs. Wisconsin on Sept. 6, 7,018 fans were in attendance, setting CSU and Mountain West records. In total, three of the Rams’ top-eight single-match crowds came during the 2014 season, also drawing more than 5,000 against Denver (5,399) and Colorado (6,011). The Rams have ranked in the top 25 nationally for attendance every season the NCAA has tracked the figure. The No. 6 ranking is CSU’s highest since ranking fourth in 2001.
CSU went 16-1 at Moby Arena in 2014, and since the start of the 2011 season, CSU has gone 56-4, the fifth-best home winning percentage in the nation. Away from home, the Rams were also stellar, however, going 12-1 in road matches. From Oct. 27, 2012-Oct. 30, 2014, CSU won 28-straight true road matches, a program record and streak which led the nation at the time.
Top-ranked opponents
The Rams defeated three ranked teams in 2014, the most since 2008. In addition to No. 18 Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., and No. 19 Colorado during the second round of the NCAA tournament, CSU also upset No. 9 BYU on a neutral court in Las Cruces, N.M. It was CSU’s first over a top-10 opponent away from Moby Arena since 2006.
Overall, five of CSU’s opponents finished the season ranked – BYU (No. 3), Wisconsin (4), Texas (5), Colorado (21) and Arizona State (22) – while four others received top-25 votes throughout the season – UC Santa Barbara, Marquette, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Two of CSU’s three losses were to teams which advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals (Wisconsin) and semifinals (Texas). Additionally, CSU defeated national runner-up BYU. It marked the first time in school history that CSU has beaten a team which advanced to the national championship.
High in the RPI
The Rams finished the season ranked No. 13 in the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), the team’s second-highest ever (CSU ranked No. 11 in 2003). The computer system which ranks teams based off of their winning percentage (25 percent), their opponents’ winning percentages (50 percent) and their opponents’ opponents’ winning percentages (25 percent) generally plays a large role in NCAA tournament sub-regional hosting.
CSU is one of eight teams to rank in the top 50 of every season’s RPI.
Rise of the Rams
It has been a great year all around for CSU athletics. In addition to volleyball’s success, both the football and men’s basketball teams have also been ranked. CSU is one of just 11 programs nationally to attain top-25 rankings in 2014-15 in football, men’s basketball and volleyball, joining Arizona, Duke, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
The football team earned a second-consecutive bowl berth and finished the season 10-3, the Rams’ fourth 10-win season in program history. The Rams were ranked as high as No. 21 earlier this fall. The men’s basketball program is currently one of nine unbeaten teams in the nation, and enters play this week ranked in both the Associated Press (No. 24) and USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 25).
Additionally, CSU women’s basketball team also opened the season receiving votes in the AP preseason top-25 poll, and the Rams’ men’s cross country program peaked at No. 19 in the USA Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USATFCCCA) Top-30 poll after placing in that spot at the NCAA Championships in November.