Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, September 14
Fort Collins, Colo.
6 PM MT
Colorado State
7-3
3
vs
0
Indiana State
6-4
1
2
3
F
Indiana State
17
14
14
0
Colorado State
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Tomas Redondo
Rams cruise past Indiana State in Colorado Classic
9/14/2018 9:57:00 PM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State volleyball team swept past Indiana State on Friday evening in the opening match of the Colorado Classic in Moby Arena. Breana Runnels led the Rams with 10 kills and Jessica Jackson hit at a blistering .818 clip with nine kills.
In the first set, both teams were tied at 2-2, but after going on an 11-3 run to make the score 13-5, the Rams never looked back. The Sycamores got within seven points at 22-15, but CSU finished the frame off, 25-17.
Colorado State cruised out to an 11-5 advantage in the second set and held the lead throughout the heart of the frame, which included a 9-4 run late, on its way to securing a 2-0 match lead with a block assist from Katie Oleksak and Kirstie Hillyer.
In the final frame, the two teams battled early as the Rams led 8-6, before CSU put away six consecutive points forcing an ISU timeout and challenge. From there, Colorado State's offense continued to dominate and cruised to earn the sweep, 25-14.
QUOTES
Head Coach Tom Hilbert's opening statement…
"When we game plan for a team, the main things we're doing in preparation are: what are we going to do serving and what are we going to do blocking; and we did very good things in those two areas. We served the ball very tough, hit the right people and blocked really well. So those are the two ways in volleyball that you disrupt the other team most effectively - we knocked them out of what they wanted to do. As a result, they had 25 blocking errors combined, which is really high. This is a match we were able to win relatively easily because of that, but it was because we executed. I was really happy because I thought Breana (Runnels) got a little bit of a slow start and then she came back out and really just brought it at the end. Jessica (Jackson) played great the whole match. Her outside hitting was outstanding. Ellie (Gubser) played a lot for the first time this year and did a good job. Olivia as libero was good and she did a good job defensively, too. I was somewhat unsure about that, but she did a good job with her control of the controllable balls, she reads stuff and gets to balls and controls them. She does that very well. And she was doing that when she was playing six rows for us. But, I was very pleased with how that worked out."
Katie Oleksak on what it was like to have new targets to set to and having more options as a setter…
"It's really a fun challenge to have someone like Ellie come in. This is her first time really playing all three sets and I just really wanted to get her to hit successfully. So that's really fun. And Jessica as well. We're really always working on that connection."
Breana Runnels on what contributed to her slow start in the game and how she picked it up…
"I think I just wasn't as focused as I could have been. But once the game really started to pick up, we got comfortable. We do have another gear that we can show tomorrow."
STAT OF THE DAY
Jessica Jackson paced the Rams with nine kills in 11 attempts with no errors, giving her a hitting percentage of .818.
NOTES
-Sophomore Ellie Gubser had the best match of her career, recording five kills while hitting .444 and adding three blocks
-Breana Runnels led the team with 10 kills
-Kirstie Hillyer was dominant on the net recording five blocks while also contributing six kills
-Katie Oleksak dished out 36 assists, while adding two blocks
-Olivia Nicholson led the back row with 11 digs
-The Rams finished hitting at a .375 clip while holding the Sycamores to a .000 mark
-CSU also totaled nine blocks while ISU had four
NEXT
Colorado State will head to Boulder, Colo. to continue the Colorado Classic with matches against Portland State and the University of Colorado at 12 pm and 8 pm respectfully.
In the first set, both teams were tied at 2-2, but after going on an 11-3 run to make the score 13-5, the Rams never looked back. The Sycamores got within seven points at 22-15, but CSU finished the frame off, 25-17.
Colorado State cruised out to an 11-5 advantage in the second set and held the lead throughout the heart of the frame, which included a 9-4 run late, on its way to securing a 2-0 match lead with a block assist from Katie Oleksak and Kirstie Hillyer.
In the final frame, the two teams battled early as the Rams led 8-6, before CSU put away six consecutive points forcing an ISU timeout and challenge. From there, Colorado State's offense continued to dominate and cruised to earn the sweep, 25-14.
QUOTES
Head Coach Tom Hilbert's opening statement…
"When we game plan for a team, the main things we're doing in preparation are: what are we going to do serving and what are we going to do blocking; and we did very good things in those two areas. We served the ball very tough, hit the right people and blocked really well. So those are the two ways in volleyball that you disrupt the other team most effectively - we knocked them out of what they wanted to do. As a result, they had 25 blocking errors combined, which is really high. This is a match we were able to win relatively easily because of that, but it was because we executed. I was really happy because I thought Breana (Runnels) got a little bit of a slow start and then she came back out and really just brought it at the end. Jessica (Jackson) played great the whole match. Her outside hitting was outstanding. Ellie (Gubser) played a lot for the first time this year and did a good job. Olivia as libero was good and she did a good job defensively, too. I was somewhat unsure about that, but she did a good job with her control of the controllable balls, she reads stuff and gets to balls and controls them. She does that very well. And she was doing that when she was playing six rows for us. But, I was very pleased with how that worked out."
Katie Oleksak on what it was like to have new targets to set to and having more options as a setter…
"It's really a fun challenge to have someone like Ellie come in. This is her first time really playing all three sets and I just really wanted to get her to hit successfully. So that's really fun. And Jessica as well. We're really always working on that connection."
Breana Runnels on what contributed to her slow start in the game and how she picked it up…
"I think I just wasn't as focused as I could have been. But once the game really started to pick up, we got comfortable. We do have another gear that we can show tomorrow."
STAT OF THE DAY
Jessica Jackson paced the Rams with nine kills in 11 attempts with no errors, giving her a hitting percentage of .818.
NOTES
-Sophomore Ellie Gubser had the best match of her career, recording five kills while hitting .444 and adding three blocks
-Breana Runnels led the team with 10 kills
-Kirstie Hillyer was dominant on the net recording five blocks while also contributing six kills
-Katie Oleksak dished out 36 assists, while adding two blocks
-Olivia Nicholson led the back row with 11 digs
-The Rams finished hitting at a .375 clip while holding the Sycamores to a .000 mark
-CSU also totaled nine blocks while ISU had four
NEXT
Colorado State will head to Boulder, Colo. to continue the Colorado Classic with matches against Portland State and the University of Colorado at 12 pm and 8 pm respectfully.
#PointRams
Team Stats
INS
CSU
Kills
25
37
Errors
25
10
Attempts
81
72
Hitting %
.000
.375
Points
29.0
52.0
Assists
24
36
Aces
0
6
Blocks
4.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
3
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