Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 7
Logan, Utah
8 PM MT
Colorado State
16-2, 6-0MW
3
at
0
Utah State
11-7, 3-3MW
1
2
3
F
Colorado State
25
25
26
3
Utah State
19
19
24
0
Team Stats
CSU
USU
Kills
47
38
Errors
13
19
Attempts
111
109
Hitting %
.306
.174
Points
67.0
51.0
Assists
43
35
Aces
4
5
Blocks
16.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OH/OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
Recap: No. 23 Rams’ Defense Comes Up Big in Sweep Over Utah State
10/7/2017 11:54:00 PM | Volleyball
LOGAN, Utah – No. 23 Rams recorded their 11th sweep of the season, fifth in the Mountain West, in a late night match with Utah State on Saturday evening in the Wayne Estes Center. Colorado State's defense was in full effect as it put up 16 blocks – most this season in a three-set match – and the offense produced finishing with a .306 hitting percentage. The last time the Rams had 16 blocks in a three-set match was in 2016 against Air Force.
The Rams were led by Jasmine Hanna with 13 kills, while not having an error in a team-high 27 swings for a .481 hitting mark. The senior is now six kills away from surpassing kill-leader (modern scoring format) Megan Plourde (2008-12) who has 1,066 career kills. This is the second time this season Hanna finished with no errors. (7-0-17 vs. Michigan)
Sanja Cizmic followed with 12 kills on a .320 clip, while middle Kirstie Hillyer posted six kills on a .375 mark. Katie Oleksak dished out 38 assists and Amanda Young led with 14 digs. Cizmic owned the net with a season-high six blocks, which also tied her career high. Hillyer and Breana Runnels followed with five blocks apiece, including Runnels having a career-best three solo stuffs. Alexandra Poletto and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen added four each. McKenna Thornlow recorded a season-high three service aces in the match.
The Rams started the match earning three of their first four points on aces courtesy of Thornlow, which gave CSU a 4-0 lead early. That lead wouldn't stand for long, as Utah State came back to take a lead at 9-8. The two teams battled for the lead through the heart of the first set, but Colorado State would work to a 15-13 advantage at the media timeout. The Rams held the lead the rest of the set to take the first, 25-19.
In the second set, CSU jumped out to an 8-3 lead before forcing the Aggies to take a timeout. USU followed with a small run to come within a point at 8-7 and eventually tie the frame at 10-10. A few rallies later, Utah State took a 14-13 advantage, but that wouldn't last as the Rams charged back to grab a 15-14 lead – one they wouldn't drop, closing the set with a 25-19 score.
The third and final set was a see-saw frame with both teams trading the lead nine different times and tied the score 16. Colorado State took a 21-20 lead, but the Aggies would take the next four-of-five points to reach set point at 24-22. But no sweat to a CSU squad that has thrived in the late game and fighting back. The Rams got within a point at 24-23 before Utah State called a timeout then finished the match off with three-straight points to steal the final set, 26-24, and earn the sweep.
Colorado State will return to Moby Arena and face San Jose State on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. and Nevada on Oct. 14 at noon.
IN HILBERTS WORDS…
On recording 16 blocks in the sweep…
"Having 16 blocks in a three-set match like this is really good. We were scheming properly and we blocked better fundamentally tonight than we have in a while, so we were getting more stuffs because of it. A lot of players were involved tonight and that is always good. Coach Murray did a good job calling where to go and they executed really well."
How the match was emotionally following a big match with Boise State a couple nights before…
"It's always hard to beat a team on their home court. I thought we did a good job, except on service receive and we got in our own heads again, which we need to work through that and get better."
On the team and Jasmine Hanna's offensive performance in the match…
"It was a great night for us offensively. Jasmine was great, smart, mature in the way she played – like she always is. I was really pleased with her, as well as Sanja Cizmic and Kirstie Hillyer. They all had a great nights."
On coming back in the third set to record the sweep…
"Utah State stayed with us the entire third set, but we stayed mentally tough and when we were giving points up it was on service receive. In the final points of the third set, we knew where the ball was going and we put our blockers in the right spot and we made a nice block, which changed the momentum."
#PointRams
The Rams were led by Jasmine Hanna with 13 kills, while not having an error in a team-high 27 swings for a .481 hitting mark. The senior is now six kills away from surpassing kill-leader (modern scoring format) Megan Plourde (2008-12) who has 1,066 career kills. This is the second time this season Hanna finished with no errors. (7-0-17 vs. Michigan)
Sanja Cizmic followed with 12 kills on a .320 clip, while middle Kirstie Hillyer posted six kills on a .375 mark. Katie Oleksak dished out 38 assists and Amanda Young led with 14 digs. Cizmic owned the net with a season-high six blocks, which also tied her career high. Hillyer and Breana Runnels followed with five blocks apiece, including Runnels having a career-best three solo stuffs. Alexandra Poletto and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen added four each. McKenna Thornlow recorded a season-high three service aces in the match.
The Rams started the match earning three of their first four points on aces courtesy of Thornlow, which gave CSU a 4-0 lead early. That lead wouldn't stand for long, as Utah State came back to take a lead at 9-8. The two teams battled for the lead through the heart of the first set, but Colorado State would work to a 15-13 advantage at the media timeout. The Rams held the lead the rest of the set to take the first, 25-19.
In the second set, CSU jumped out to an 8-3 lead before forcing the Aggies to take a timeout. USU followed with a small run to come within a point at 8-7 and eventually tie the frame at 10-10. A few rallies later, Utah State took a 14-13 advantage, but that wouldn't last as the Rams charged back to grab a 15-14 lead – one they wouldn't drop, closing the set with a 25-19 score.
The third and final set was a see-saw frame with both teams trading the lead nine different times and tied the score 16. Colorado State took a 21-20 lead, but the Aggies would take the next four-of-five points to reach set point at 24-22. But no sweat to a CSU squad that has thrived in the late game and fighting back. The Rams got within a point at 24-23 before Utah State called a timeout then finished the match off with three-straight points to steal the final set, 26-24, and earn the sweep.
Colorado State will return to Moby Arena and face San Jose State on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. and Nevada on Oct. 14 at noon.
IN HILBERTS WORDS…
On recording 16 blocks in the sweep…
"Having 16 blocks in a three-set match like this is really good. We were scheming properly and we blocked better fundamentally tonight than we have in a while, so we were getting more stuffs because of it. A lot of players were involved tonight and that is always good. Coach Murray did a good job calling where to go and they executed really well."
How the match was emotionally following a big match with Boise State a couple nights before…
"It's always hard to beat a team on their home court. I thought we did a good job, except on service receive and we got in our own heads again, which we need to work through that and get better."
On the team and Jasmine Hanna's offensive performance in the match…
"It was a great night for us offensively. Jasmine was great, smart, mature in the way she played – like she always is. I was really pleased with her, as well as Sanja Cizmic and Kirstie Hillyer. They all had a great nights."
On coming back in the third set to record the sweep…
"Utah State stayed with us the entire third set, but we stayed mentally tough and when we were giving points up it was on service receive. In the final points of the third set, we knew where the ball was going and we put our blockers in the right spot and we made a nice block, which changed the momentum."
#PointRams
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