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Recap: Rams split final day of Omni Invitational
9/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
BOULDER, Colo. - The Colorado State Rams closed the Omni Invitational and its non-conference slate with a 1-1 day, sweeping Chicago State before falling to Colorado at the Coors Events Center on Saturday.
CHICAGO STATE - 0
COLORADO STATE - 3
CSU held Chicago State to .023 hitting for the match, while CSU hit .363 behind an efficient 11 kills by Sanja Cizmic and 41 assists from Katie Oleksak on the way to a 3-0 sweep of the Cougars to kick off action on Saturday.
The Rams led from the beginning in Set 1, taking the first three points of the period and jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The Cougars did pull within one point on multiple occasions, including as late as 14-13, but a seven point run by the Rams, punctuated by an ace from Cassidy Denny, pushed the Rams over the top for a 25-18 win in Set 1.
CSU's blocking ramped up early in Set 2. Alexandra Poletto and Olivia Nicholson combined for a block to put CSU up 6-2, and then the following point was taken after a block by Poletto and Jasmine Hanna. Consecutive blocks were in vogue for the Rams in the period, with Hanna, Katie Oleksak and Kirstie Hillyer combining followed by another from Hillyer and Oleksak to push the Rams up 13-6. Poletto and Oleksak would combine for numerous kills during the set as well, and CSU would run away with a 25-14 win.
The Cougars scored the first two points of the third set, but CSU would reach 20 before Chicago State got to nine on the scoreboard in another dominant Rams performance. A trio of Rams tallied four kills in Set 3 -Cizmic, Paulina Hougaard-Jensen and Nicholson. Those three Rams totaled 12 kills compared to seven team kills for Chicago State.
COLORADO STATE - 1
COLORADO - 3
CSU fell to Colorado for the first time since 2002, losing 3-1 to the Buffaloes on Saturday night.
Trailing 2-0 for the match, the Rams faced a must-win scenario coming out of the intermission for Set 3. CU took a 4-1 lead, but CSU responded with four points of their own including a kill and block by Jasmine Hanna to go ahead 5-4. The Rams took their first four-point lead of the match at 12-8 after a kill then block by Kirstie Hillyer, but CU came back to tie the set at 13-13 after a run that included a won challenge call by CU head coach Jesse Mahoney. A Buffs block gave the home team a 16-15 lead, but then a Hanna block and an Olivia Nicholson kill pushed CSU back over the top to an 18-16 advantage. The topsy-turvy scoring continued as the Buffs again went on a 4-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. Staring at a possible sweep, the Rams finished on a 5-2 run, including three straight with Paulina Hougaard-Jensen serving, to take the third set 25-23.
The home side jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first set, but the Rams rumbled back with an 8-3 run of their own to tie the set at 10-all. Sanja Cizmic had a pair of kills during the stretch, and then assisted a kill by Katie Oleksak to tie it up. CU regained its earlier form, stretching its lead back to five at 18-13. The Rams weren't rattled, however, winning a long rally that ended in a Hillyer/Cizmic combo block and utilizing three additional blocks after to tighten the set at 22-21. CU called timeout and three of the next four points to take the set, 25-22.
CU got off to another quick start in the second set, taking a 5-0 lead before a kill by Hanna stopped the run. The Buffs' lead grew to 11-2 after their second ace of the set. Kills by Cizmic and Nicholson cut the CU lead to 13-6, and CSU's steady comeback was on as the Rams cut the CU lead to four on three occasions. The initial deficit was too much to overcome for the Rams, however, as CU won by five, 25-20 to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Buffs closed out the match by taking control of the fourth set early, pulling ahead 10-5 after scoring 6-of-7 points. CU held a sizable lead for a good portion of the set, but the Rams rallied late to pull within three on two occasions, each run following combo blocks by Oleksak and Hillyer. CU ultimately sealed the 3-1 match win with a 25-21 fourth set victory.
STAT OF THE DAY…
.023 - The Rams held Chicago State to .023 hitting for the match, the lowest opponent percentage of the season and the second match in a row that CSU held its opponent to sub-.100 efficiency. Overall, the Rams have kept three teams below .100 - Northern Colorado (Aug. 30), New Orleans (Sept. 16) and Chicago State (Sept. 17)
NOTES…
• Sanja Cizmic and Katie Oleksak earned spots on the Omni Invitational All-Tournament team.
• Cizmic tallied 10-plus kills in all three matches of the tournament, while Oleksak was steady with 40, 41 and 41 assists across the three matches.
• CSU's loss to CU was its first since 2002. The Rams are 23-12 all-time against the Buffs.
• CSU has lost five regular season non-conference matches for the first time since 2002.
NEXT…
CSU will open league play at home against Fresno State (Thursday, 7 p.m. MT) and San Jose State (1 p.m.) before hitting the road at Utah State on Sept. 29. All home matches can be watched live at www.csurams.com/videos.