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19-8, 13-3MW
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23-6, 14-2MW
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Recap: CSU falls in five sets at Boise State
11/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BOISE, Idaho - The Colorado State Rams dropped a five-set match at Boise State in a battle for first place in the Mountain West standings on Wednesday evening at the Bronco Gymnasium.
The Broncos (23-6, 14-2) took sole possession of first place in the Mountain West with the win, while the Rams (19-8, 13-3) sit in second. Jasmine Hanna recorded a season-high 20 kills to go with 5 blocks, while Kirstie Hillyer had 11 kills, 4 blocks and 5 service aces to lead the Rams.
CSU held a 2-1 lead through three sets, following a dominant Set 3. CSU turned a 5-5 tie into a 10-5 lead, and ultimately, a 25-10 win. The 20-5 run for the Rams was led by 6 CSU blocks in the period, including 4 by Alexandra Poletto. Hillyer added 5 kills as the Rams hit .440 as a squad while holding the Broncos to .033. Hillyer's fourth ace of the match clinched it for the Rams to give them a 2-1 match lead.
The Rams had to fight off a strong early run by the Broncos to win the second set, falling down by 7 at 14-7. CSU rallied, and came all the way back with an 11-2 run to take a 3-point lead at 22-19. Boise State tied the score at 22-22 after a timeout, and was the first to earn set point at 24-23. The Broncos had four attempts at set point, but Hillyer tallied 3 late kills and then provided consecutive aces to give CSU the 29-27 win in the period.
The home team got off to a hot start in the match. Boise State never trailed in the first set, registering 18 kills on its way to the 25-23 win. CSU trailed by as many as 7 at 16-9, but a 7-2 run spearheaded by a pair of kills from Hanna cut the home side's lead to 18-16. The Broncos would extend their lead to 4 on multiple occasions, but CSU kept chipping away. The Rams could not tie it up at any point, however, and the Broncos won by 2 behind 8 kills from Sierra Nobley in the period.
The hosts showed no signs of a letdown after losing the third set, dominating the fourth frame to the tune of a 25-13 win. The Broncos hit .448 as a team while keeping CSU to .037, essentially flipping the script from Set 3. Hanna provided 3 more kills in the frame, but CSU could not muster enough to stop the heated Boise State attack.
CSU and Boise State traded the lead early in Set 5, with the Rams taking a 5-4 edge off Sanja Cizmic's seventh kill of the day. Boise State regained the lead at 7-6 and led the rest of the way, using an 8-3 run to widen the gap to ultimately win 15-10 for the 3-2 match victory.
STAT OF THE DAY…
.500 - Boise State hit a combined .500 (25-2-46) over the fourth and fifth sets to rally for the win.
NOTES…
• Jasmine Hanna's 20 kills was the most by any CSU player this season. She only had 3 errors on 42 attacks.
• Katie Oleksak posted her eighth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 10 digs.
• Kirstie Hillyer took over at the end of the second set, scoring each of the Rams' final five points (3 kills, 2 aces). Hillyer's 5 aces were a career high and the most by a CSU player this year.
NEXT…
The Rams will host Air Force on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT at Moby Arena, before finishing the regular season in a Border War matchup against Wyoming in Fort Collins on Tuesday evening.