Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
16-7 (10-2MW)
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21-4 (10-3MW)
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Recap: Rams beat UNLV, 3-2 in thriller at Moby
11/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State middle blockers Kirstie Hillyer and Alexandra Poletto both posted career highs in kills as the Rams beat the UNLV Rebels in a five-set thriller at Moby Arena on Thursday night.
CSU (16-7, 10-2 MW) is one of two teams in the Mountain West with only two league losses. UNLV (21-4, 10-3) dropped to third place in the conference with the loss.
The Rams and Rebels entered the must-win fifth set knowing that the last frame of the day would not only determine the winner of the match, but would also be significant in the MW standings. The Rams handled the pressure by continuing to feed the middle blockers on offense, with Hillyer and Poletto totaling 8 kills in the set. CSU closed the set with the final three points, with Jasmine Hanna sealing the victory with her 13th kill of the day to give the home side a 15-11 win.
UNLV took the first set of the night, but CSU regrouped to win Set 2 behind a .469-.162 disparity in hitting percentage. Hillyer and Poletto (7 combined kills) again controlled the set, Olivia Nicholson also added 4 kills of her own on the right side of the attack to help the Rams cruise to a 25-18 win.
The tension of the match was already being felt throughout Moby Arena as the match was tied 1-1 exiting the intermission break. The third set featured 12 tied scores as both teams sustained high sideout percentages. Poletto recorded 4 kills on 4 swings, and Hanna also provided 4 kills. The set was tied as late as 20-20, but a 5-1 run to close it out gave the Rams a temporary 2-1 lead in the match. CSU posted all 3 of its blocks in the set in the last point run, with Hillyer providing 2.
UNLV was led by Bree Hammel, who posted 23 kills (.340) and 12 digs and setter Alexis Patterson, who contributed 50 assists with 9 kills and 7 digs.
IN THEIR WORDS…
"I am going to start off by giving some props to Bree Hammel (UNLV) because last time we played them, we were in the same match up we were in the first four sets, and we did a pretty good job with her. We had no answer and it is puzzling and you think, maybe she just has momentum or whatever, but she was killing everything she touched and we should be a better blocking team than that. I was pleased; I thought we had a little bit more balance in our offense the other thing, Alexis Patterson, she really hurt us too in a lot of the deep shots back into the zone five corner. If we were able to not let those two things happen, I think this becomes an easier match but they are a good side-out team when Hammel is hot like that and once they get a lead on you, it's very difficult to chip back in and get it and we were not able to do that in set one and set four. But we were playing well offensively with the exception of a couple of runs, long-point runs we gave them. I was real proud of the middles, I thought they battled the whole time and it was a really good match for our team as competitors. We had some good moments and some not so good moments, but we won a fifth set playing extremely well for the entire fifth set. That is something we needed and I am glad it happen and now we beat UNLV and we move on." - Head Coach Tom Hilbert's recap of the match
"We just kept grinding. I think when it got close, we did not get nervous or scared, we just realized this is a good team, were a good team, we just need to win in the end-game situation. I think we did a really good job at executing in that in the end." - Katie Oleksak on what she saw in the team tonight
"I really wanted it. I really wanted the game to end. Like we were saying, we were grinding through that last set and I wanted to be able to do my part for the team and be able to help us finish." - Kirstie Hillyer on her mindset in the fifth set
STAT OF THE DAY…
33 - Both Kirstie Hillyer (18) and Alexandra Poletto (15) both tallied career highs in kills and combined for 33 while hitting .492.
NOTES…
• Kirstie Hillyer finished with a career high 18 kills in the match.
• Hillyer also finished with a team-high hitting percentage of .533, which is the fifth time she has finished a game with a hitting percentage of .500 or better.
• Katie Oleksak finished the night with 57 assists, which marks the third time Oleksak has tallied 50-plus assists.
• Alexandra Poletto finished with 15 kills, which is a career high for the junior.
• With the win over the Rebels, the Rams are now one of two teams (Boise State) with only two losses in league play.
• The win for the Rams was their second of the season over the Rebels. CSU won the previous meeting in Las Vegas, 3-1 on Oct. 8.
NEXT…
CSU will host New Mexico on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Moby Arena, before leaving town for another three-match road swing. Including the match against the Lobos, CSU has three home matches remaining.