Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
7-3
Eastern Kentucky
1-14
No. 15 CSU beats Eastern Kentucky, 3-0
9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Final Stats |
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The No. 15 Colorado State Rams volleyball team defeated Eastern Kentucky, 3-0, in their first match at Moby Arena in over a week on Sunday afternoon.
The Rams (7-3) benefitted from strong play up the middle and held the Colonels (1-13) to just .089 hitting for the match.
CSU never trailed in the first set, and opened up a large lead early on with a six-point run to take a 10-3 lead, with five of the points coming off of service from Alex Reid. Reid totaled five kills for the set, and CSU hit .480 as a team in the frame to cruise to a 25-12 win and a 1-0 match lead.
By set two, the Colonels found their momentum and used it to challenge the Rams. Halfway through the set, Eastern Kentucky received three blocks against Reid, Adrianna Culbert and Alexandra Poletto, pulling into the lead for the first time during the match at 17-16. Jasmine Hanna posted two-consecutive kills to regain the lead for CSU, and the Rams would hold on to take the second set, 25-22.
Eastern Kentucky pulled out to a 4-2 lead to open the third frame, but CSU would take 17 of the next 22 points to open a large gap, and the Rams went on to close out the match with a 25-13 third-set win.
IN THEIR WORDS…
“It’s neat to see a team like Eastern Kentucky; they played in Northern Colorado’s tournament and they stuck around to play this match. They have a couple of Colorado kids on their team and it’s good to have them here. I thought that our team came out and executed really well in the first set. We were very clean in our serving passing game in terms of unforced errors. Second set we made a line up switch, had trouble getting a side out in one rotation and it changed the momentum a little bit. Those kinds of things happen, but we dug in, we came back and won that set. We still had a little momentum. I thought set three we played extremely well too and we blocked better. We only had two stuffs, but we blocked the ball better in the third set. We were hitting assignments and disrupting them. They made mistakes and we were able to convert. Overall, I’m very pleased with this match.” – CSU Head Coach Tom Hilbert
“I think it’s been a learning curve, but a good learning curve. In our goal-setting meeting in the beginning of the year, Tom put a big emphasis on Axie and I; making sure that we stay healthy and also making sure that we can play with maturity. We’ve tried our best and I think hopefully it’s paying off.” – Junior middle blocker Acacia Andrews on how the season as progressed to this point
“I think it’s going to be a tough match. We don’t really know a whole lot about them so we just have to go out and take care of our side of the court.” – Senior Alex Reid on tomorrow’s exhibition meeting with Shanghai Eastbest & Langsheng
STAT OF THE GAME…
.438 – Both Acacia Andrews (7-0-16) and Adrianna Culbert (8-1-16) hit .438 for the match, leading CSU in the category. As a team, CSU hit .315, its second-best output of the season.
NOTES…
• Adrianna Culbert recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 20 assists and 12 digs. She also tallied eight kills and three blocks (one solo).
• Five Rams recorded at least six kills – Culbert (8), Alex Reid (8), Acacia Andrews (7), Jasmine Hanna (7) and Alexandra Poletto (6). The Rams have had five players notch at least six kills in three-straight matches.
• Three Rams collected 10-plus digs, led by 12 from Culbert. Jaime Colaizzi added 11 and Reid had 10.
• The Rams held the Colonels to just .089 hitting (28-19-101), the second-lowest of any opponent this season.
• A trio of Rams posted three blocks – Culbert, Hanna and Andrews. The three blocks tied season highs for both Culbert and Hanna.
NEXT UP:
CSU will host Shanghai Eastbest & Langsheng in an exhibition match tomorrow at 7 p.m. MT at Moby Arena. The Rams will then open conference play with two matches at home against Utah State on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT, followed by a meeting with Boise State on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. Saturday also marks CSU’s “Rams In Training” match, with the team providing a free clinic to kids ages 6-12 immediately following the match. The camp is open to the first 120 kids who are registered via this link.
