Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, October 29
Fort Collins, Colo.
7 PM MT
Colorado State
21-1, 11-0MW
3
vs
1
Wyoming
14-8, 9-2MW
1
2
3
4
F
Wyoming
25
25
28
12
1
Colorado State
27
23
30
25
3
Photo by: Cris Tiller
No. 14 Rams Extend Home Border War Streak
10/29/2019 10:07:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State wins its 23rd consecutive Border War in Moby Arena
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – No. 14 Colorado State had 30 minutes of practice to adjust to losing Paulina Hougaard-Jensen to injury.
Olivia Nicholson was only given the intermission between the second and third sets – a total of five minutes, give or take. A suggestion from assistant coach Adrianna Culbert to insert her in Sasha Columbo's – who was the first option to replace Hougaard-Jensen – place for the final two sets of the 27-25, 23-25, 30-28, 25-12 win proved vital.
It was the 23rd consecutive win for the Rams over the Cowgirls at Moby Arena
"Olivia is one of the few people, probably in the country, that can be a six-rotation middle attacker," Colorado State head coach Tom Hilbert said. "That made a big difference. That was Dri Culbert's call to do that and it was a really smart thing to do."
In 2017, Kirstie Hillyer was the victim of an injury that subtracted from the Rams' rotation in the middle. While the coaching staff often weighs options in their minds for possible injuries, the situations are hardly ever practiced.
In her four years with the Rams, Nicholson has been a libero, defensive specialist, outside hitter and middle blocker. Wherever there's been a hole, she's been the glue that's held things together. The amount of practice she receives is similar to the amount the team spends worrying about injuries.
While Nicholson may lack the overwhelming playing time at a single position, she makes up for it with extended time being forced to adjust.
"I thought I was going to play right side the whole time," Nicholson said. "I got wide-eyed and said, 'Okay, let's do it.' I just remembered a couple simple queues that we have when we block."
The match, in the eyes of Nicholson, was a microcosm of her time with the Rams.
"I felt like this was my whole career coming together in one match," Nicholson said. "I played middle back, I played right back, I set a couple of balls, I blocked (and) I hit. It just felt like these four years were leading up to this. I know this match doesn't define me or mean anything crazy, but it felt like all my hard work and putting in time at different positions paid off."
While Nicholson doesn't believe it, the match does define her. The Moby faithful were once again treated to a player who is truly unique in her versatility. Her 12 digs, nine kills, three service aces and three block assists provided a stat line indicative of her impact.
She knows the game. Hilbert appreciates that. He also knows her best work comes when that knowledge isn't at the forefront.
"I think that middle, for her, is a good position because you don't have time to think," Hilbert said. "We just want her to go play. She's better that way. I thought she did a great job… we did some creative things with her offensively… that's all when she started the match with four straight unforced hitting errors. She had to really bounce back from that.
"To me, she's the player of the game."
Having a weapon like Nicholson can prove necessary in the single-elimination nature of the NCAA Tournament.
Difficult matches against opponents dying to beat the Rams are also needed.
"I think we know we're not going to win every set and it's good that we don't (always) go out and sweep teams," Jessica Jackson said. "We need this challenge going into the back half of our season and going into tournament play. We need as much challenge as we can get."
Hougaard-Jensen's status may be up in the air for Thursday's matchup against Air Force. Her list of viable replacements is not.
MATCH NOTES
- CSU extended its winning streak against Wyoming in Moby Arena to 23-consecutive matches
- The Rams started every set trailing the Cowgirls
- CSU finished hitting .241 in the match and held Wyoming to a .180 mark including a -.030 percent in the fourth
- Colorado State started the match with 10 attack errors in the first frame
- Kirstie Hillyer led the Rams with 17 kills and hitting .314. The senior is now third all-time in modern scoring history in kills with 1,072
- Breana Runnels earned her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and 13 digs
- The Rams totaled 64 digs, led by Alexa Roumeliotis with 18.
- Olivia Nicholson had a career match, flooring nine kills to match her season high and adding 12 digs
- Jessica Jackson added 11 kills for CSU, including a match-high five in the third set
- Hillyer controlled the net with four blocks as Colorado State finishing with eight team blocks
- CSU also served tough, totaling 11 aces, including four in the fourth frame
UP NEXT
The Rams will finish the week hosting Air Force on Thursday at 7 p.m., MT.
Olivia Nicholson was only given the intermission between the second and third sets – a total of five minutes, give or take. A suggestion from assistant coach Adrianna Culbert to insert her in Sasha Columbo's – who was the first option to replace Hougaard-Jensen – place for the final two sets of the 27-25, 23-25, 30-28, 25-12 win proved vital.
It was the 23rd consecutive win for the Rams over the Cowgirls at Moby Arena
"Olivia is one of the few people, probably in the country, that can be a six-rotation middle attacker," Colorado State head coach Tom Hilbert said. "That made a big difference. That was Dri Culbert's call to do that and it was a really smart thing to do."
In 2017, Kirstie Hillyer was the victim of an injury that subtracted from the Rams' rotation in the middle. While the coaching staff often weighs options in their minds for possible injuries, the situations are hardly ever practiced.
In her four years with the Rams, Nicholson has been a libero, defensive specialist, outside hitter and middle blocker. Wherever there's been a hole, she's been the glue that's held things together. The amount of practice she receives is similar to the amount the team spends worrying about injuries.
While Nicholson may lack the overwhelming playing time at a single position, she makes up for it with extended time being forced to adjust.
"I thought I was going to play right side the whole time," Nicholson said. "I got wide-eyed and said, 'Okay, let's do it.' I just remembered a couple simple queues that we have when we block."
The match, in the eyes of Nicholson, was a microcosm of her time with the Rams.
"I felt like this was my whole career coming together in one match," Nicholson said. "I played middle back, I played right back, I set a couple of balls, I blocked (and) I hit. It just felt like these four years were leading up to this. I know this match doesn't define me or mean anything crazy, but it felt like all my hard work and putting in time at different positions paid off."
While Nicholson doesn't believe it, the match does define her. The Moby faithful were once again treated to a player who is truly unique in her versatility. Her 12 digs, nine kills, three service aces and three block assists provided a stat line indicative of her impact.
She knows the game. Hilbert appreciates that. He also knows her best work comes when that knowledge isn't at the forefront.
"I think that middle, for her, is a good position because you don't have time to think," Hilbert said. "We just want her to go play. She's better that way. I thought she did a great job… we did some creative things with her offensively… that's all when she started the match with four straight unforced hitting errors. She had to really bounce back from that.
"To me, she's the player of the game."
Having a weapon like Nicholson can prove necessary in the single-elimination nature of the NCAA Tournament.
Difficult matches against opponents dying to beat the Rams are also needed.
"I think we know we're not going to win every set and it's good that we don't (always) go out and sweep teams," Jessica Jackson said. "We need this challenge going into the back half of our season and going into tournament play. We need as much challenge as we can get."
Hougaard-Jensen's status may be up in the air for Thursday's matchup against Air Force. Her list of viable replacements is not.
MATCH NOTES
- CSU extended its winning streak against Wyoming in Moby Arena to 23-consecutive matches
- The Rams started every set trailing the Cowgirls
- CSU finished hitting .241 in the match and held Wyoming to a .180 mark including a -.030 percent in the fourth
- Colorado State started the match with 10 attack errors in the first frame
- Kirstie Hillyer led the Rams with 17 kills and hitting .314. The senior is now third all-time in modern scoring history in kills with 1,072
- Breana Runnels earned her third double-double of the season with 15 kills and 13 digs
- The Rams totaled 64 digs, led by Alexa Roumeliotis with 18.
- Olivia Nicholson had a career match, flooring nine kills to match her season high and adding 12 digs
- Jessica Jackson added 11 kills for CSU, including a match-high five in the third set
- Hillyer controlled the net with four blocks as Colorado State finishing with eight team blocks
- CSU also served tough, totaling 11 aces, including four in the fourth frame
UP NEXT
The Rams will finish the week hosting Air Force on Thursday at 7 p.m., MT.
#PointRams
Team Stats
WYO
CSU
Kills
51
59
Errors
24
25
Attempts
150
141
Hitting %
.180
.241
Points
62.0
78.0
Assists
47
58
Aces
3
11
Blocks
8.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
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