Colorado State University Athletics
CSU volleyball releases 2015 schedule
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
2015 Schedule | 2015 Schedule (PDF)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The most home matches since 2010, six contests against NCAA tournament participants and a Regional Semifinal rematch are just a few highlights of the 2015 Colorado State volleyball schedule, which was announced Wednesday by Head Coach Tom Hilbert.
"I'm really excited about how our schedule shaped up," Head Coach Tom Hilbert. "We are playing several really good teams and get to play a lot of games in front of our fans."
The 29-match slate begins at Moby Arena on Friday, Aug. 28, as the Rams play host to the Baylor Bears. The match is the first of 17 home contests this fall. Also that weekend, CSU will host UC Davis and Northern Iowa, part of a home tournament.
The Rams remain on their home court the following week (Sept. 4-8) to face three teams -- each of which participated in the NCAA tournament a year ago. Arizona State highlights the weekend, followed by matches against Western Michigan and Northern Colorado. The Sun Devils finished the 2014 season ranked in the top 25, and last year in Tempe, Ariz., took CSU to five sets before the Rams began the final frame on a 9-0 run.
CSU will leave the Centennial State for the first time on Sunday, Sept. 13, but the competition doesn't get any easier. The Rams open the weekend against Iona, before facing Texas later that afternoon in Austin. The rematch of last year's Regional Semifinal match pits the Rams against a team which has advanced to the Final Four in seven of the past eight seasons. Like CSU, the Longhorns have taken advantage of their home-court environment, winning 39 of their past 41 matches at Gregory Gym.
CSU will remain in the Lone Star State, traveling to College Station for a Tuesday night match against Texas A&M (Sept. 15). The Aggies also competed in the postseason a year ago, and will be CSU's return trip from two years ago when CSU beat Texas A&M at home to finish non-conference play undefeated.
"I think Texas could once again be a Final Four team," Hilbert said. "That week in Texas will really test us, as will the weeks leading up to it."
The Rams will return to Moby Arena for their final tuneup before conference play begins, hosting Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 20. However, the match won't be the team's final non-conference date of the season. Wanting to prep the team before what is hopefully another NCAA tournament run, Hilbert scheduled a late-season match against Iowa State. The Rams and Cyclones will play on Saturday, Nov. 28, a day before the NCAA tournament bracket is revealed. Iowa State finished 2014 with a first-round NCAA tournament victory and a final RPI ranking of 17.
"One of the matches I'm most excited about is the late-season match against Iowa State," Hilbert said. "Neither of us had a conference match that weekend, and both wanted to schedule a challenging team leading up to the NCAA tournament."
As it always is, the focus of the season will be to win an unprecedented seventh-consecutive Mountain West championship. To do so, the Rams will have to knock off 10 teams which will all be targeting them. The conference season begins Sept. 24 at home against Utah State and concludes Nov. 24 at Wyoming. In between, CSU will play Air Force, Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San José State, Utah State and Wyoming twice. The Rams will play Fresno State (home) and UNLV (away) just once.
"I think the Mountain West will be much improved," Hilbert said. "Each team has made it a conscious effort to improve their strength of schedule, and I think there will be several teams challenging us for the conference title. I think more than one Mountain West team will get into the tournament this year."
At home, the Rams will play Utah State (Sept. 24), Boise State (Sept. 26), New Mexico (Oct. 8), Air Force (Oct. 10), Wyoming (Oct. 13), San Diego State (Oct. 29), Nevada (Oct. 31), San José State (Nov. 12) and Fresno State (Nov. 21). CSU's road conference schedule begins at Nevada on Oct. 1, followed by San Diego State (Oct. 3), San José State (Oct. 17), Boise State (Oct. 22), Utah State (Oct. 24), Air Force (Nov. 5), New Mexico (Nov. 7), UNLV (Nov. 18) and Wyoming (Nov. 24).
Schedule highlights:
- CSU will play 17 home matches, the most since 2010. It is the seventh time in CSU history that the Rams have hosted 17 or more regular-season matches. Over the past five seasons, CSU is 56-4 (.933) at Moby Arena, the fifth-best home winning percentage in the nation.
- Of CSU's 11 non-conference opponents, six competed in the 2014 NCAA tournament. Northern Colorado, Texas A&M and Western Michigan played in the first round, while Arizona State and Iowa State advanced to the second round. Texas, which beat CSU in the Regional Semifinals, advanced to the Final Four.
- The Rams will challenge themselves with five non-conference dates against members of Power-5 conferences (Arizona State, Pac-12; Baylor, Big 12; Iowa State, Big 12; Texas, Big 12; and Texas A&M, SEC). In his 18-year career at CSU, Hilbert is 104-54 (.654) against current members of the Power-5.
- Nine of CSU's 11 non-conference opponents had winning records in 2014, with seven winning 20 or more matches. The overall winning percentage of the 11 teams was .601 (212-141).
- Texas (No. 5) and Arizona State (No. 22) finished the 2014 season ranked, while Texas A&M was ranked as high as No. 19 during the season.
- CSU's strong RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) played a factor in the Rams getting to host NCAA tournament matches in 2014. The RPI is made up of CSU's record, its opponents' winning percentage and its opponents' opponents' winning percentage. Based off of last season's final ranking, CSU's 2015 non-conference opponents have a higher average RPI (96.5) than the Rams' 2014 non-conference teams (108.8).
- CSU will begin the season at home for the fourth year in a row, and the seventh time in the past eight seasons. The Rams also began the 2013 season against Baylor.
The Rams are coming off of a 31-3 campaign in which they were ranked as high as No. 6 nationally and advanced to the Regional Semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009. CSU returns eight letterwinners from that squad. Season tickets for the 2015 season are on sale now, and can be purchased over the phone at 1-800-491-RAMS, online, at the McGraw Athletic Center or at Ram Zone in Old Town Fort Collins. Current season-ticket holders have through Friday to renew their seats.
