Colorado State University Athletics
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13-6, 7-1MW
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10-11, 3-6
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Recap: CSU falls to San Jose State, 3-2
10/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Colorado State Rams saw their Mountain West winning streak snapped at San Jose State on Thursday night, falling to the Spartans in five sets.
The MW loss the first for CSU (13-6, 7-1 MW) since Nov. 1, 2014 at UNLV. CSU had won 31 consecutive league matches prior to Thursday's defeat.
The early portion of Set 1 went back-and-forth, until an 8-0 run by CSU blew the set open. Olivia Nicholson contributed 3 kills in the stretch, and McKenna Thornlow had consecutive aces. The Spartans tried to hold out and stop the run, but were eventually forced into calling a timeout with CSU leading 14-7 following a block by Nicholson and Alexandra Poletto. SJSU never climbed back into it, and CSU finished off the frame with a 25-16 win after three consecutive points after a kill by Nicholson, a block by Sanja Cizmic and an ace by Paulina Hougaard-Jensen.
The Rams made their move in Set 2 at about the same time as they did in the first, taking a two-point lead at 9-7 after an ace by Katie Oleksak, and boosting the lead to four at 13-9 following kills by Nicholson and Hillyer after a lengthy rally. The set really belonged to Oleksak, who showcased her skillset in a variety of ways over the Rams final five points of the period. The freshman had two assists, two blocks (one solo) and another ace to propel the Rams to a 25-14 win in Set 2 to take a 2-0 lead.
The Rams scored the first three points of the third set and jumped out to a 7-3 lead after a pair of early blocks. CSU's lead grew to 13-6 after a collection of kills by Poletto, Hanna and Nicholson, but then the Spartans kicked into gear. SJSU scored four straight to cut the lead to 13-10, and eventually tied the match at 20-20 after forcing more attack errors in the set than CSU had combined in the first two. The Rams held match point at 24-23 after a Hillyer kill, but it was the Spartans that took the set following a controversial tip call on an SJSU kill and an ace gave the home team a 27-25 win.
The two teams swapped leads for much of the fourth set, with a total of 16 tied scores and 10 lead changes. SJSU took the final lead change with a 3-0 run, going ahead 20-18. The home team went up 23-20, but a pair of blocks by Hillyer cut the lead to 1 at 23-22. SJSU did not allow another point, closing the set with a 25-22 win to force the fifth set.
SJSU led throughout in the fifth set, scoring the first two points of the period and never letting CSU tie the set. After the Rams kept clawing back to within one, SJSU pushed out to a 13-8 lead, forcing two CSU timeouts. Hanna and Hillyer tried to keep the Rams in it with late kills, but SJSU held on to win 15-11 to seal the win.
STAT OF THE DAY…
-.042 - CSU hit -.042 in the fifth set as SJSU finished off its comeback.
NOTES…
• The loss was the first in MW play for the Rams since Nov. 1, 2014. CSU had won 31 consecutive MW matches.
• SJSU hadn't beaten the Rams since the two sides were members of the WAC in 1998.
• Jasmine Hanna (15) and Sanja Cizmic (13) led the Rams in kills.
• The Rams totaled nine service aces, including three each by Katie Oleksak and McKenna Thornlow. CSU still lost points in the serving game, however, with 16 total errors.
• Oleksak recorded her fifth double-double of the season, posting 50 assists and 10 blocks (2 solo). She also added 6 digs.
• The Rams led 13-6 in the third set and had one match point (24-23).
NEXT…
CSU will finish its trip to California with a match at Fresno State on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT. The Rams will then play at Wyoming on Tuesday before returning home to host Utah State on Oct. 29.