Colorado State University Athletics
CSU volleyball celebrates season, accomplishments at banquet
1/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State Rams volleyball team celebrated another historic season at its annual banquet on Thursday, Jan. 21. The event took place in the Grand Ballroom at the Lory Student Center.
The evening began with a social hour and dinner, followed by a live auction. Items for sale included an autographed game ball from CSU’s NCAA Tournament match against Loyola Marymount, signed and framed jerseys for all four seniors (Jaime Colaizzi, Adrianna Culbert, Alex Reid and Crystal Young) and a five-course wine-pairing dinner at Head Coach Tom Hilbert’s house, served by the CSU coaching staff.
Next up was the 2015 season highlight video, including interviews with all four seniors. The video focused on the team’s improvement over the course of the season, leading to an unblemished 18-0 Mountain West record and the program’s seventh consecutive league title.
Hilbert then took over the show with a stirring story of how each of the team’s seniors have been led by strong female heroes throughout their lives. All four seniors then gave speeches, reminiscing about their time in Fort Collins, the paths that brought them to CSU, and then thanking the coaches, support staff and all of the many fans and supporters in attendance.
Team awards were also given out at the banquet:
BOM Squad MVP (scout team MVP) – Grace Gordon
Debbie Murphy Most Inspirational Award – Alex Reid & Mariah Green
Coaches’ Award – Sara Robinson
Team MVP – Adrianna Culbert
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2015 Season Recap - by Kelsey Bibik
The Rams won their seventh-consecutive Mountain West title in 2015, and went undefeated (18-0) in the league play. This is the second time CSU has been unbeaten in league play since joining the league in 1999. CSU is the only team in the nation to win its conference each of the past seven seasons.
The Rams are 60-2 in the Mountain West over the past three seasons. With a four-set win against Air Force on Nov. 5, the Rams reached 20 wins for the 21st straight season since 1995. In the last 19 seasons under Head Coach Tom Hilbert, the team has averaged 25.68 wins per season.
The Rams entered their 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in the first week of December coming off of a 20-match win streak. The team had not lost since playing Texas A&M on Sept. 15.
Heading into the tournament, CSU was ranked No. 13 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll, and reached a season-best ranking of No. 9 after the first week of the season. The Rams have been ranked in 45 consecutive polls, which is the third longest streak in program history. They have now been ranked in 280 total polls, which is the 14th most in the NCAA, and have been ranked in the top 10 for a total of 76 weeks in their history, which is 18th best among all schools.
Team MVP Culbert was a standout in 2015, earning AVCA Third Team All-America honors and receiving Mountain West Player of the Year recognition. Culbert set the CSU and Mountain West record for single-season and career triple-doubles, recording eight this season. The Rams’ star setter-hitter recorded the first quadruple-double in the NCAA in five years in the team’s win over San Jose State on Oct. 17.
Senior outside hitter Alex Reid was named Newcomer of the Year in the Mountain West in her first season at CSU after transferring from Long Beach State. Junior middle blocker Acacia Andrews earned AVCA Pacific North All-Region honors, sharing that honor with Culbert. Andrews was also named as an all-conference honors alongside Alexandra Poletto and Jaimie Colaizzi.
