Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 12
Fort Collins, Colo.
1:00 PM MT
Colorado State
16-1, 6-0MW
3
vs
0
San Diego State
9-8, 2-4MW
1
2
3
F
San Diego State
19
15
16
0
Colorado State
25
25
25
3
No. 15 Rams Stay Perfect with Sweep Against Aztecs
10/12/2019 3:16:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State improved its Mountain West recorded to 6-0 after a sweep over San Diego State and has won its last 15 matches.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – There are few ways to beat No. 15 Colorado State when it is streaking.
The Rams' two-headed monster of a top-five national defense and a deep, capable group of hitters is a monumental hill to climb. San Diego fell short Saturday at Moby Arena, similar to 16 of the Rams' 17 opponents this year, in a 25-19, 25-15, 25-16 sweep.
In the opening frame, the Rams fell behind 12-8 midway through. CSU coach Tom Hilbert's timeout was a break for the team. The words were scarce, but the impact was not.
"I hardly talked at all," Hilbert said. "I just got in there and said, 'We've got to relax and do the things that we do (in) points scoring.'"
From that point, the Rams went on a 17-6 run to end the set, led by their stalwarts. Both Kirstie Hillyer and Breana Runnels registered six kills apiece to open the match. The duo finished with 24 combined.
Offense wasn't the problem – it was the usually-stingy defense that started slow.
"Sometimes it takes us a couple of points to get into the match," Katie Oleksak said.
Overcoming it all was one of the most stocked cupboards of hitters in the nation. Whether it was Runnels, Hillyer, Jessica Jackson or Paulina Hougaard-Jensen, the Rams offense took over.
The Aztecs allowed Wyoming to hit .389 in their loss Thursday. Just two days later, they allowed CSU to hit .406. It was the highest percentage for the Rams since Sept. 6, and their seven attack errors tied their lowest single-match total of the year.
"We knew they had kind of a different blocking (scheme) than a lot of teams we've seen," Hillyer said. "We tried to run a lot of trickier plays after seeing what they did against Wyoming, and I think that helped us a lot."
No singular hitter had a breakout game. A pair of players reached double-digit kills as part of nine respective Rams that found a way to make an impact and notch at least one kill.
"It's so nice to have a well-rounded team in the front row," Oleksak said. "We don't have to just rely on one hitter. It definitely makes a setter's job easier when all of your hitters are equally capable of getting a kill."
Oleksak's job is easier, as is the task put forth for the hitters.
"Tom always says that he wants a balanced offense, which really helps relieve pressure for everyone on the team," Runnels said. "We have strong hitters in every position, and anybody can put the ball away."
On top of their usual starters, the Rams were able to give playing time to some of their backups, including reserve setter Ciera Zimmerman and middle Ellie Gubser – who tallied both of the final kills.
As the season stretches on, Hilbert's goal of getting playing time for bench players will become more crucial. Having everyone prepared when the postseason comes can only be done through in-game exposure.
"It's very important. We've got to get (backups) in," Hilbert said. "You never know when you're going to need somebody. I wanted to get everybody on our team that's not redshirting some time."
MATCH NOTES
- The Rams won it's 11th match by sweep, including their third in the Mountain West
- CSU finished hitting .406 in the match – it's third highest of the season – while keeping SDSU to a .132 mark
- Both Breana Runnels and Kirstie Hillyer led the Rams with 12 kills each.
- Hillyer hit a blistering .667 and finished the two-match week with no hitting errors
- Katie Oleksak dished out 33 assists, while adding six digs and a solo block
- Alexa Roumeliotis tallied 13 digs, including nine in the final frame
- Alyssa Bert again was solid from the service line, dropping in two of the five aces for the Rams
- CSU tallied its lowest block total of the season with just three stuffs
UP NEXT
Colorado State will be on the road next week at Boise State and Utah State.
The Rams' two-headed monster of a top-five national defense and a deep, capable group of hitters is a monumental hill to climb. San Diego fell short Saturday at Moby Arena, similar to 16 of the Rams' 17 opponents this year, in a 25-19, 25-15, 25-16 sweep.
In the opening frame, the Rams fell behind 12-8 midway through. CSU coach Tom Hilbert's timeout was a break for the team. The words were scarce, but the impact was not.
"I hardly talked at all," Hilbert said. "I just got in there and said, 'We've got to relax and do the things that we do (in) points scoring.'"
From that point, the Rams went on a 17-6 run to end the set, led by their stalwarts. Both Kirstie Hillyer and Breana Runnels registered six kills apiece to open the match. The duo finished with 24 combined.
Offense wasn't the problem – it was the usually-stingy defense that started slow.
"Sometimes it takes us a couple of points to get into the match," Katie Oleksak said.
Overcoming it all was one of the most stocked cupboards of hitters in the nation. Whether it was Runnels, Hillyer, Jessica Jackson or Paulina Hougaard-Jensen, the Rams offense took over.
The Aztecs allowed Wyoming to hit .389 in their loss Thursday. Just two days later, they allowed CSU to hit .406. It was the highest percentage for the Rams since Sept. 6, and their seven attack errors tied their lowest single-match total of the year.
"We knew they had kind of a different blocking (scheme) than a lot of teams we've seen," Hillyer said. "We tried to run a lot of trickier plays after seeing what they did against Wyoming, and I think that helped us a lot."
No singular hitter had a breakout game. A pair of players reached double-digit kills as part of nine respective Rams that found a way to make an impact and notch at least one kill.
"It's so nice to have a well-rounded team in the front row," Oleksak said. "We don't have to just rely on one hitter. It definitely makes a setter's job easier when all of your hitters are equally capable of getting a kill."
Oleksak's job is easier, as is the task put forth for the hitters.
"Tom always says that he wants a balanced offense, which really helps relieve pressure for everyone on the team," Runnels said. "We have strong hitters in every position, and anybody can put the ball away."
On top of their usual starters, the Rams were able to give playing time to some of their backups, including reserve setter Ciera Zimmerman and middle Ellie Gubser – who tallied both of the final kills.
As the season stretches on, Hilbert's goal of getting playing time for bench players will become more crucial. Having everyone prepared when the postseason comes can only be done through in-game exposure.
"It's very important. We've got to get (backups) in," Hilbert said. "You never know when you're going to need somebody. I wanted to get everybody on our team that's not redshirting some time."
MATCH NOTES
- The Rams won it's 11th match by sweep, including their third in the Mountain West
- CSU finished hitting .406 in the match – it's third highest of the season – while keeping SDSU to a .132 mark
- Both Breana Runnels and Kirstie Hillyer led the Rams with 12 kills each.
- Hillyer hit a blistering .667 and finished the two-match week with no hitting errors
- Katie Oleksak dished out 33 assists, while adding six digs and a solo block
- Alexa Roumeliotis tallied 13 digs, including nine in the final frame
- Alyssa Bert again was solid from the service line, dropping in two of the five aces for the Rams
- CSU tallied its lowest block total of the season with just three stuffs
UP NEXT
Colorado State will be on the road next week at Boise State and Utah State.
#PointRams
Team Stats
SDSU
CSU
Kills
30
46
Errors
18
7
Attempts
91
96
Hitting %
.132
.406
Points
38.0
54.0
Assists
29
43
Aces
4
5
Blocks
4.0
3.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
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