Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, September 23
Fort Collins, Colo.
1 PM MT
Colorado State
12-2, 2-0MW
3
vs
0
UNLV
4-11, 0-2MW
1
2
3
F
UNLV
16
19
8
0
Colorado State
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
UNLV
CSU
Kills
17
44
Errors
20
10
Attempts
71
80
Hitting %
-.042
.425
Points
26.0
60.0
Assists
17
41
Aces
4
5
Blocks
5.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballPhoto by: Tomas Redondo
Recap: Colorado State Cruises to a Sweep over UNLV
9/23/2017 3:38:00 PM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The No. 23 Colorado State volleyball team finished its Mountain West Conference opening weekend with a sweep over UNLV on Saturday afternoon in Moby Arena.
The Rams dominated the Rebels, recording a .425 hitting percentage, while smothering UNLV to a -.042 mark. CSU was led by Jasmine Hanna who finished hitting at a .360 clip and tallied 12 kills. Breana Runnels also added nine kills and hit an impressive .533 percentage. Katie Oleksak put up 38 assists in the sweep and also led the defense – who recorded 11 blocks – with five stuffs. The Rebels receiving game struggled as the Rams dropped in five aces, led by Maddi Foutz who had in three.
Colorado State started out strong in set one, never losing control and hitting at a .448 mark – which wasn't even the match high. The Rams charged out to a 16-6 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-16 score. UNLV regrouped and came out strong in the second set working to a 4-1 lead. The two teams battled for the lead as there were two lead changes early, but the Rams put together a five-point run to gain a 10-7 advantage and never lost control. The Rebels came within in two points at 16-14, but the Rams would close the set out to earn a 2-0 match lead with a 25-19 win in the second frame. Following the intermission, CSU earned the first eight points of the final set, while the defense smothered any UNLV attempt as it held it to a -.533 mark. The Rams also put up five blocks in the frame and hit a blistering .474 cruising to a 25-8 dominating three set.
The Rams will be on the road the next two weeks for four Mountain West Conference matchups, starting with Wyoming on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
IN THEIR WORDS
Head Coach Tom Hilbert on if he is seeing improvements in the serve receive game…
"We are seeing a lot of improvement. I still want to push these guys every day to get better. We have got to continue to have that kind of attention to detail throughout the course of the rest of this conference season. We have four road games in a row, and that's where road games usually affect teams is in the serve receive. We need to continue to do what we are doing, especially in other gyms."
Tom Hilbert on how the defense has improved…
"We played great defense today. I think at the end there, their coach was telling them to continue to just set the middle because they weren't able to get anything done. We really honed in on them and stopped them. They were having problems making connections with their setter and I think that they may have lost a little bit of will because of how we beat them in the first two sets. The last set is not representative of what UNLV can do and they will play us better at their place."
Breana Runnels on the depth of the team and how no single player has to carry the load for this team…
"There is no pressure now. I know Katie (Oleksak) is going to give the ball to everyone and we all are going to have the opportunity to have a decent play. Coming off of these three-match weekends and transitioning into conference play with only having two games a week, we will have everybody fresh. Everyone will be able to hit at their highest level."
Katie Oleksak on how the team is fitting in together with an almost full and healthy team…
"It is nice to have those options and have a deep bench. People are playing now because they are healthy and people are able to get playing time. It is great to have those options and to mix it up. I am glad that Alexandra (Poletto) and Kirstie (Hillyer) were able to play today."
The Rams dominated the Rebels, recording a .425 hitting percentage, while smothering UNLV to a -.042 mark. CSU was led by Jasmine Hanna who finished hitting at a .360 clip and tallied 12 kills. Breana Runnels also added nine kills and hit an impressive .533 percentage. Katie Oleksak put up 38 assists in the sweep and also led the defense – who recorded 11 blocks – with five stuffs. The Rebels receiving game struggled as the Rams dropped in five aces, led by Maddi Foutz who had in three.
Colorado State started out strong in set one, never losing control and hitting at a .448 mark – which wasn't even the match high. The Rams charged out to a 16-6 lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-16 score. UNLV regrouped and came out strong in the second set working to a 4-1 lead. The two teams battled for the lead as there were two lead changes early, but the Rams put together a five-point run to gain a 10-7 advantage and never lost control. The Rebels came within in two points at 16-14, but the Rams would close the set out to earn a 2-0 match lead with a 25-19 win in the second frame. Following the intermission, CSU earned the first eight points of the final set, while the defense smothered any UNLV attempt as it held it to a -.533 mark. The Rams also put up five blocks in the frame and hit a blistering .474 cruising to a 25-8 dominating three set.
The Rams will be on the road the next two weeks for four Mountain West Conference matchups, starting with Wyoming on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
IN THEIR WORDS
Head Coach Tom Hilbert on if he is seeing improvements in the serve receive game…
"We are seeing a lot of improvement. I still want to push these guys every day to get better. We have got to continue to have that kind of attention to detail throughout the course of the rest of this conference season. We have four road games in a row, and that's where road games usually affect teams is in the serve receive. We need to continue to do what we are doing, especially in other gyms."
Tom Hilbert on how the defense has improved…
"We played great defense today. I think at the end there, their coach was telling them to continue to just set the middle because they weren't able to get anything done. We really honed in on them and stopped them. They were having problems making connections with their setter and I think that they may have lost a little bit of will because of how we beat them in the first two sets. The last set is not representative of what UNLV can do and they will play us better at their place."
Breana Runnels on the depth of the team and how no single player has to carry the load for this team…
"There is no pressure now. I know Katie (Oleksak) is going to give the ball to everyone and we all are going to have the opportunity to have a decent play. Coming off of these three-match weekends and transitioning into conference play with only having two games a week, we will have everybody fresh. Everyone will be able to hit at their highest level."
Katie Oleksak on how the team is fitting in together with an almost full and healthy team…
"It is nice to have those options and have a deep bench. People are playing now because they are healthy and people are able to get playing time. It is great to have those options and to mix it up. I am glad that Alexandra (Poletto) and Kirstie (Hillyer) were able to play today."
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