CSU set to play Loyola Marymount to open NCAA Tournament

Dec. 1, 2015

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2015 Postseason Guide  | Season Stats | Roster | Tournament Central (Stanford)

No. 13 Colorado State vs. Loyola Marymount
Thursday, Dec. 3 | 5:30 p.m. MT/4:30 p.m. PT | Stanford, Calif. | Maples Pavilion
Live Stream | Stats

No. 13 Colorado State/Loyola Marymount vs. Stanford/New Mexico State  
Friday, Dec. 4 | 8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT | Stanford, Calif. | Maples Pavilion
Live Stream | Stats

Quick Hits - Colorado State: Colorado State (26-3, 18-0 MW) will be riding a 20-match win streak as it enters the NCAA Tournament, its 21st straight apperance... The Rams went unbeaten in Mountain West play for the second time in program history... CSU has not lost since a Sept. 15 match at Texas A&M... The Rams also boast the Mountain West Player of the Year (Adrianna Culbert), Newcomer of the Year (Alex Reid) and three other all-conference selections - Acacia Andrews, Alexandra Poletto and Jaime Colaizzi... CSU’s three losses all came to NCAA Tournament teams (No. 3 Texas, No. 15 Texas A&M and Arizona State), and the Rams own victories over a pair of participants - Iowa State and Northern Iowa.

Quick Hits - LMU: Loyola Marymount (22-8, 13-5 WCC) tied for third in the West Coast Conference and ranked 29th in the final RPI and is receiving votes in the last regular season AVCA Coaches Poll… The tournament appearance is LMU’s 13th all-time, and third in the past four seasons… In both 2012 and 2014, LMU also opened the tournament at Stanford… The Lions own wins over then-No. 12 BYU at home and then-No. 20 UCLA on the road this season.
Series History – CSU vs. LMU: CSU is 4-5 all-time against LMU, but has won the two most recent meetings (1999 and 2000)… The Rams also won the first two matches in the series, before losing five straight form 1992-98.

Quick Hits - Stanford: Stanford (22-6, 16-4 Pac-12) is the No. 8 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished third in the Pac-12… Stanford reached the Final Four last season, falling to eventual champion Penn State… Under 15th-year head coach John Dunning, Stanford has reached six of the last 14 NCAA title matches and has won two national championships… Stanford is one of just two schools to participate in all 35 NCAA Tournaments.
Series History – CSU vs. Stanford: The Rams are 0-11 all-time against the Cardinal, including a 3-0 loss in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Palo Alto… Stanford has won 33 of the 36 total sets played between the programs… Eight of the 11 meetings have occurred while both teams were ranked in the top 25.

Quick Hits - NMSU: New Mexico State (28-5, 14-0 WAC) earned the WAC automatic bid by winning the league’s tournament championship… The Aggies also held a pair of five-set losses to top non-conference competition, Texas A&M and Arizona State, and trio of wins over NCAA Tournament teams – Wichita State, Denver and Robert Morris.
Series History – CSU vs. NMSU: CSU is 21-10 all-time against New Mexico State, including a sweep last year in Las Cruces… The Rams have won 21 of the last 26 meetings after the Aggies won the first five between 1976-79… The two sides have only met on a neutral court once – a five-set New Mexico State win in the 1979 IAIAW Regionals in Logan, Utah. 

RAMS ENTER POSTSEASON ON A ROLL
Colorado State is riding a 20-match win streak entering its 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Rams will be making their second NCAA Tournament trip to Stanford in the past six seasons, as the Rams also went to Palo Alto in 2010, winning in the first round before falling to the Cardinal in the round of 32.

CSU is ranked 13th in the latest AVCA Division I Coaches Poll, 13th in the PrepVolleyball.com rankings and 31st in the RPI. CSU has played five teams that are in the NCAA Tournament - Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.

Overall, the Rams have not lost since falling at now-No. 15 Texas A&M on Sept. 15. The 20-match win streak is the longest to end a regular season in program history. CSU finished the season with a pair of thrilling five-set victories - a road win to close league play at Wyoming on Nov. 24 and a home win on Senior Day against Iowa State on Nov. 28.

The Rams received a significant amount of recognition from the Mountain West in regards to postseason awards, with Adrianna Culbert becoming the seventh straight CSU player to receive MW Player of the Year honors. Alex Reid was named Newcomer of the Year, while Acacia Andrew and Alexandra Poletto were also named all-conference. Jaime Colaizzi earned honorable mention status, as well.

MOUNTAIN WEST DOMINATION
CSU has won 60 of its last 62 Mountain West matches, and overall, the Rams have won more than 87 percent of their MW contests all-time (232-33, .875 winning percentage), far greater than any current or former opponent. CSU has also started league play with at least 10 wins three-straight years and six times since joining the Mountain West in 1999. The Rams went unbeaten in league play this season for the second time since joining the league, with the other being a perfect 14-0 mark in 2003, when CSU wound up advancing to the Sweet 16.

20 ONCE AGAIN
With its four-set win at Air Force on Nov. 5, CSU reached the 20-win plateau for the 21st straight season, marking every year since 1995. Entering 2015, only Nebraska (39 entering 2014), Penn State (37), Florida (23) and Hawai’i (20) have longer streaks than CSU. In 18 complete seasons under Head Coach Tom Hilbert, CSU has averaged 25.67 wins per season.

RAMS NO. 13 IN AVCA DIVISION I COACHES POLL
The Rams checked in at No. 13 in the latest AVCA Division I Coaches Poll, and have now been ranked in 44 consecutive polls, the third-longest streak in program history. The Rams began the 2015 campaign ranked No. 12, and reached a season-best No. 9 national ranking after CSU closed the first week of the season with a 3-0 record. CSU has been ranked in 279 total polls, a figure which ranks 14th in the NCAA. CSU has been ranked in the top 10 for a total of 76 weeks in its history, which ranks 18th among all schools. CSU spent 12 weeks ranked in the top 10 last season, reaching No. 6 on Oct. 13 - the Rams’ highest national ranking since 2004.

PERFECT IN LEAGUE PLAY
The CSU Rams finished unbeaten in league play, including 13 sweeps. Offensively, the Rams were led by senior Alex Reid, who averaged 3.41 kills per set on .263 hitting in Mountain West play. Junior Acacia Andrews maintained her efficient offense, converting 2.33 kills per set on .393 hitting. Sophomore Jasmine Hanna earned more attack opportunities, resulting in 2.27 kills per set. Alexandra Poletto also averaged 2.00-plus kills with 2.16 on .366 hitting. As a team, CSU converted attacks at a .288 rate while holding opponents to .117. On the defensive side, both Andrews and Poletto were forces at the net, averaging 2.89 blocks per set combined, leading the Rams to 3.11 blocks per set as a squad. Jaime Colaizzi provided 4.28 digs per set, while Reid, Adrianna Culbert and Cassidy Denny each have 2.00-plus digs per set in league action. Also, both setters (Culbert and Crystal Young) posted 6.00-plus assists per set.

RIGHT SIDE OF HITTING PERCENTAGE
CSU is ranked 14th in hitting percentage (.274) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.137), making them one of just two teams (Hawaii) in the nation that are ranked in the top-15 in hitting percentage and top-five in defensive hitting percentage. In Mountain West Play, CSU is hitting .288 while holding its opponents to .117. The Rams have held 13 opponents to sub-.100 hitting, including 10 times in league play. CSU also held both New Mexico (Nov. 7) and Fresno State (Nov. 21) to negative hitting percentages.

SPREAD OFFENSE
The Rams have been able to attack opposing defenses from multiple areas this season, and that’s due in large part to CSU spreading the attacking opportunities around. Five Rams are averaging 2.20-plus kills per set - Alex Reid, Adrianna Culbert, Alexandra Poletto, Acacia Andrews and Jasmine Hanna. All five of those players have also reached the 10-kill plateau at least once in a match this season. Freshman Julia Cubbedge almost reached that mark at Utah State on Oct. 24, recording nine kills. CSU’s setters, Culbert (5.86 assists per set) and Crystal Young (6.22) have combined to help CSU rank second in the Mountain West in team assists.

CULBERT MAKES HISTORY WITH QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE
Senior Adrianna Culbert, who has totaled seven triple-doubles this season, had a legendary performance at San Jose State on Oct. 17, posting the first quadruple-double in the NCAA in five years. Culbert had 10 kills, 20 assists, 13 digs and 11 blocks in the four-set win for the Rams, marking the first four-set quadruple-double in the NCAA since the 25-point rally-scoring format was instituted.

ADRIANNA “LeBRON” CULBERT
Adrianna Culbert has played at a very high level in 2015, and has tallied eight triple-doubles in the process, earning her the nickname “LeBron” after the otherworldly NBA player. Culbert had two triple-doubles in one week, accomplishing the feat versus Wyoming (10/13) and recording the first quadruple-double in the NCAA in five years at San Jose State (10/17). Culbert posted triple-doubles in each match against Boise State this season, including her most-recent triple-double on Oct. 22. She also recorded 15 kills, 20 assists and 10 digs in a five-set loss at Texas A&M on Sept. 15. She posted 10 kills, 13 assists and 11 digs against Northern Colorado on Sept. 8. Culbert also recorded 10 kills, 20 assists and 12 digs against UC Davis on Aug. 29, giving CSU its first triple-double since Ashley Fornstrom accomplished the feat versus Utah on Oct. 20, 2007. Culbert became the 10th different CSU player to record a triple-double. What’s more, Culbert now has four three-set triple-doubles, becoming the first CSU player to have multiple three-set triple-doubles. There have only been five total three-set triple-doubles in school history, with Culbert owning four of them.

ANDREWS LEADING UP THE MIDDLE
Acacia Andrews leads the Mountain West and ranks 21st nationally in hitting percentage at .403. She also ranks 33th in blocks (1.31). A national ranking of 21st in hitting percentage would the second-best in CSU history. Andrews has hit at least .400 in 15 matches this season, including a season-best .800 (8-0-10) at Nevada on Oct. 1. In addition, only six CSU players have ever finished a season with a .400 or better hitting percentage (minimum 200 kills). Andrews had a career-high 18 kills in four sets at Air Force on Nov. 5. She also had a career-high 12 blocks to go along with 10 kills at San Jose State on Oct. 17, recording her first-ever double-double.

COLAIZZI CAN DIG IT
Jaime Colaizzi, who was named to the All-Mountain West Preseason team as its libero, has been one of the most productive defensive players in the history of the CSU volleyball program. Colaizzi is second in CSU history with 1,502 total digs, and ranks second in digs per set with 3.64 over her career. Colaizzi has led the Rams in digs each of the past two seasons, and could become the third Ram to lead the team in both digs and digs per set for three straight seasons (Katelin Batten, 2006-09 and Jill Johnson, 1988-90).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DRI
Senior Adrianna Culbert has posted 17 double-doubles this season, which is second all-time for single-season double-doubles. Culbert has 34 total in her career. Adrianna Culbert rattled off five-straight double-doubles between Aug 29-Sept. 8, tying the third-longest streak in CSU history. Her streak was the longest in program history since 2006, when Katherine Whitney had a seven-match double-double streak.

SUSTAINED SUCCESS
With 21-consecutive berths in the NCAA tournament, CSU has established a winning tradition matched by few programs across the country. However, CSU is currently experiencing one of its best periods, going 85-8 (.914) since the start of the 2013 season. The Rams went 59-5 (.923) between 2013-14. The .923 mark is the best two-year winning percentage in program history, eclipsing the team’s stretch between 1999-2000, when the team went a combined 62-8 (.886) and when to consecutive NCAA Sweet 16’s.

NOTABLE STORYLINES
- Acacia Andrews - Raised in Norman, Okla., the same hometown as Head Coach Tom Hilbert; Hilbert and Andrews had the same violin teacher growing up.
- Sanja Cizmic – Born in Split, Croatia, but has also lived in Bulgaria; can speak five languages.
- Jaime Colaizzi - A product of nearby Windsor, Colo.; both her great grandfather and great-great grandfather attended CSU and competed athletically; her high school club coach was former Rams libero Katelin Batten.
- Brook Coulter - Now associate head coach for the Rams, she grew up in Fort Collins, Colo., watching Rams matches; has a three-ring binder full of CSU volleyball newspaper clippings she collected growing up.
- Adrianna Culbert - Originally recruited as a setter; transitioned to an attacker five matches into the 2012 season. Also played libero at a USA Volleyball camp in February 2015.
- Grace Gordon & Alex Reid - Both are 2012 graduates of Grandview High School in Aurora, Colo. Gordon played two seasons at UC-Colorado Springs before transferring to CSU prior to the 2014 season. Reid played three years at Long Beach State and joined the Rams in early 2015.

SOCIAL RAMS
Colorado State offers fans and media members several ways to follow the CSU volleyball team. In addition to CSURams.com, which is updated daily with all of the latest news on CSU athletics, fans can log onto www.RamVolleyball.colostate.edu for an inside look into all things Rams volleyball.

CSU has also expanded its volleyball coverage on social media. Like the team on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/CSUvolleyball) and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@CSUvolleyball) for daily photos, videos and breaking news. Fans can also get insight from Coach Hilbert by following him on Twitter (@CoachHilbert). Those tweeting are encouraged to use the hashtags #PointRams, in addition to CSURams and NCAAvb.

For live, in-game updates for all 16 of CSU’s Division I programs, follow @CSURamsGameday on Twitter. The account provides up-to-date scores and insight for CSU athletic events.

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