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Recap: Colorado State Volleyball Battles to the Brink with Duke in Season Opener
8/25/2017 10:19:00 PM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State volleyball team opened its season Friday night in Moby Arena and battled Duke through five sets, but could not close the match, falling 3-2. The season opener – which was declared a White Out – was played in front of 4,589 fans. Duke won the match by scores of: 27-25, 20-25, 30-32, 25-20, 20-18.
There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the first set alone. In the match, there was a total of 53 ties and 19 lead changes.
The Rams finished the match hitting .212 on the evening, while holding the Blue Devils to .156. Kirstie Hillyer led the Rams with 19 kills, while Jasmine Hanna and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen added 14 and 10, respectfully. Hillyer posted a double-double with her kills and knocking down 11 blocks. Katie Oleksak dished out 59 assists and Amanda Young tallied 25 digs.
In the first set, the Rams led 19-14, but following a Blue Devil timeout, Duke went on a 5-1 run to pull within a point late. The Blue Devils continued their momentum down the stretch and took the first set, 27-25, despite the Rams having set-point at 24-23.
After Colorado State took control in the second set, both teams fought to grab the advantage after the intermission. There were a match-high 18 ties and four lead changes in the third set. The Rams trailed late in the frame as the Blue Devils had six set-point opportunities, but CSU would not give up. The set was tied at 30-all before a kill from Hougaard-Jensen and an attacking error by Duke gave the Rams a 2-1 match lead.
The final two sets were much of the same, as both teams fought for every point. Duke took the fourth set to lock the match up at two sets apiece. The Rams led at the switch, 8-6 and increased their led to 11-7 a few minutes later. Following a Blue Devil timeout, they again put together a late run to trail by two points late. The Rams had match-point at 14-10, but five straight Duke points gave it the lead at 15-14. CSU tried to string together a few rallies to regain the lead, but could not find its rhythm, dropping the final set, 20-18.
IN THEIR WORDS
Tom Hilbert on what positives came from the match…
"We've got tools and ingredient to do it. We really do. We just have to put it all together a little better. We have to play a little fast. We need to be little tougher serving. All of those things can happen, I've seen us do it. When we get into a rhythm with our offense, we're going to be fine."
Katie Oleksak on moving forward to the next match…
"I like being able to show what we are capable of and how CCSU Rams volleyball should play. UCF is a really talented team that is ranked higher than Duke. I think that should be interesting to see how we turn around after tonight."
Kristie Hillyer on what the team can take away from this game…
"I think we have the ability to fight through the end of the game. End game is something we work on every day in practice. I think when it really comes down to it, we just need to push through it no matter what, even if we are down to begin with. We still need to finish through to the end."
The Ram will host UCF tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. MT in Moby Arena.