Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
15-7 (9-2MW)
Utah State
10-13 (5-7MW)
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Recap: Rams impressive all-around in sweep of Utah State
10/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The Colorado State Rams volleyball team returned home after a three-match road trip and swept the Utah State Aggies at Moby Arena on Saturday afternoon.
CSU (15-7, 9-2 MW) hit .350 for the match, while holding the Aggies (10-13, 5-7) to .099.
The Rams got off to a fast start in the first set and never let up the entire match. CSU never trailed in the first, with Utah State only tying the score at 2-2. Paulina Hougaard-Jensen tallied her second kill in a row to give CSU a 3-2 lead, and the Rams led the rest of the way. CSU went on a 6-0 run with Sanja Cizmic serving to take an 11-4 lead, with kills from Cizmic, Katie Oleksak and Kirstie Hillyer pacing the stretch. Hillyer would finish the set with 4 kills, as CSU cruised to a 25-15 win.
CSU opened the second set on an 8-1 run, including a pair of kills by Alexandra Poletto and blocks by Hillyer, Poletto and Cizmic. Utah State would get no closer than within 5 points (13-8) the rest of the set. The Rams held the Aggies to just 9 kills as a team, while Hougaard-Jensen and Jasmine Hanna combined for 8 themselves for CSU. Oleksak added 16 assists in the frame as CSU went on to win 25-17 in the second set.
The Aggies took their first lead of the match by scoring the first point of the third set. Utah State gave the lead back with a service error, and then Cizmic tallied another kill to put CSU up 2-1. The Aggies tied the score at 2- and 3-all, but a 6-1 run by CSU blew the lead open again for the home team. The Rams' defense was again stout, holding the Aggies to .079 hitting in the final set while the CSU offense hit .419. Hillyer had 5 of her team-leading 11 kills in the period, as CSU completed the sweep with a 25-12 win.
IN THEIR WORDS…
"We changed the line up a little bit today from last match, it was very complete, very well played, in every facet. Utah State is better than what the score projects. I thought they played very good defensively. I do think that (the Utah State coach) started going with some different stuff line up wise trying to make something happen for them and it didn't. But I felt like going through the first two sets No. 3 was still having the kind of match we expected her to have and she is a very good player. We just were keeping our errors at such a minimum, serving the ball well, and getting ourselves opportunities to transition and score. We had great balance in our offense, so I was really pleased. I thought (Hillyer and Hougaard-Jensen) did a great job. Katie Oleksak was unbelievable in terms of how she distributed it today and in other things that she does too. She serves really tough. She's contributing in a lot of ways. This was a really great match from my perspective." - Head Coach Tom Hilbert's general thoughts on the match
"I am used to hitting the slide so and I just told myself not to stress out in those situations even though I got a high ball I had to swing, do something smart with it, instead of freaking out and do something drastic so I think I prepare myself better for being calm on the court." - Paulina Hougaard-Jensen on her offensive approach today
"A lot of these kids can play well, so I hope they are all good every night. I think our balance as an offense is a big thing. The fact that Katie (Oleksak) distributes it pretty evenly, so there aren't any people that are getting 50 percent of the balls and have to get three and a half to four kills per set. I like what's been going on." - Hilbert on the balance of the team and the distribution of the offense
STAT OF THE DAY…
1 - Utah State led only one time in any set, taking a 1-0 edge to open the third frame.
NOTES…
• Kirstie Hillyer finished the game with 11 kills. This is the seventh time Hillyer has finished a game with 10 or more kills.
• Hillyer also finished with a game high hitting percentage of .476, which is the second time she has finished a game with a hitting percentage of .400 or better.
• The Rams held the Aggies to a hitting percentage of .099, including two sets in which they did not hit above .100.
• Meanwhile, the Rams never hit below .268 in a set, and totaled at .350 for the game.
• Mariah Green recorded her first career service ace against the Aggies in the second set.
NEXT…
CSU will remain in Fort Collins to host UNLV (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and New Mexico (Saturday, 7 p.m.). Tickets for both matches will be available at csurams.com/tickets and the matches can be streamed live at csurams.com/videos.