Colorado State University Athletics
Rams cruise past Roadrunners in exhibition
8/15/2018 8:50:00 PM | Volleyball
DENVER – The Colorado State volleyball team started its season with an exhibition match against MSU Denver on Wednesday night in the Auraria Event Center. The Rams cruised to a sweep by scores 25-15, 25-22 25-13.
The Rams started the match jumping out to a 5-2 lead, before going on a six-point run later in the match to lead 19-12 after a Roadrunner attack error. CSU finished the match with a 6-3 run to take the first set, 25-15.
In the second, Colorado State led 15-10 before MSU Denver rattled off five-consecutive points to tie the set, 15-15. The Roadrunners kept it close though the heart of the set as it was tied 20-20, but the Rams finished the set scoring with kills from Breana Runnels and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen to lead the match 2-0.
In the final frame, the Rams started on an 11-2 run to force MSU Denver to take a timeout. CSU kept its offense rolling through the set with kills from middles Kirstie Hillyer and Hougaard-Jensen and outside Runnels to secure the sweep with a 25-13 third set score.
QUOTES
Head Coach Tom Hilbert on the match and coming to Denver…
"It was good to come down to Denver and play in front of some fans that might not be able to watch us back home. It was also good in that we discovered some things that we need to work on before we have our opening match against Illinois. This match exposed some things that we need to work on defensively, like blocking."
Hilbert on the offense…
"Katie Oleksak distributed the ball very well tonight and was really focused on getting the ball to Breana Runnels and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen. That is one of the reasons they both had really good nights and they are both very talented players. Breana got a little tired as the match went on because it was the 'Breana Runnels' show for a while. I really don't want that to be the case every night though, I'd like to spread it out."
Hilbert on preparing for Illinois…
"We have to shore up some things defensively and we have to figure out our primary outside hitter position and how we are going to manage that. We have some lineup decisions to make as well."
STAT OF THE DAY
Paulina Hougaard-Jensen led the Rams hitting a blistering .435 with 12 kills on 23 attempts. The junior also added three blocks, including one solo.
NOTES
- Breana Runnels led the offense with 13 kills on 33 attempts finishing with a .212 hitting mark
- Katie Oleksak dished out 39 assists in the sweep and added four digs
- Two freshman made their debuts, Jacqi Van Liefde and Sasha Colombo, both recorded three kills apiece
- Amanda Young and Maddi Foutz tallied a team-high 10 digs each
- The Rams led the majority of the match, except for a brief time in the second set
- CSU finished with nine team blocks, while hitting .298 for the match
NEXT
Colorado State will start its regular season on Friday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., against No. 12 Illinois in Moby Arena.
The Rams started the match jumping out to a 5-2 lead, before going on a six-point run later in the match to lead 19-12 after a Roadrunner attack error. CSU finished the match with a 6-3 run to take the first set, 25-15.
In the second, Colorado State led 15-10 before MSU Denver rattled off five-consecutive points to tie the set, 15-15. The Roadrunners kept it close though the heart of the set as it was tied 20-20, but the Rams finished the set scoring with kills from Breana Runnels and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen to lead the match 2-0.
In the final frame, the Rams started on an 11-2 run to force MSU Denver to take a timeout. CSU kept its offense rolling through the set with kills from middles Kirstie Hillyer and Hougaard-Jensen and outside Runnels to secure the sweep with a 25-13 third set score.
QUOTES
Head Coach Tom Hilbert on the match and coming to Denver…
"It was good to come down to Denver and play in front of some fans that might not be able to watch us back home. It was also good in that we discovered some things that we need to work on before we have our opening match against Illinois. This match exposed some things that we need to work on defensively, like blocking."
Hilbert on the offense…
"Katie Oleksak distributed the ball very well tonight and was really focused on getting the ball to Breana Runnels and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen. That is one of the reasons they both had really good nights and they are both very talented players. Breana got a little tired as the match went on because it was the 'Breana Runnels' show for a while. I really don't want that to be the case every night though, I'd like to spread it out."
Hilbert on preparing for Illinois…
"We have to shore up some things defensively and we have to figure out our primary outside hitter position and how we are going to manage that. We have some lineup decisions to make as well."
STAT OF THE DAY
Paulina Hougaard-Jensen led the Rams hitting a blistering .435 with 12 kills on 23 attempts. The junior also added three blocks, including one solo.
NOTES
- Breana Runnels led the offense with 13 kills on 33 attempts finishing with a .212 hitting mark
- Katie Oleksak dished out 39 assists in the sweep and added four digs
- Two freshman made their debuts, Jacqi Van Liefde and Sasha Colombo, both recorded three kills apiece
- Amanda Young and Maddi Foutz tallied a team-high 10 digs each
- The Rams led the majority of the match, except for a brief time in the second set
- CSU finished with nine team blocks, while hitting .298 for the match
NEXT
Colorado State will start its regular season on Friday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., against No. 12 Illinois in Moby Arena.
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