Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, October 31
Fort Collins, Colo.
7 PM MT
Colorado State
22-1, 12-0MW
3
vs
0
Air Force
8-15, 5-6MW
1
2
3
F
Air Force
21
15
15
0
Colorado State
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Nick Monaghan
No. 14 Rams Sweep Past Air Force
10/31/2019 9:50:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State recorded its 15th sweep of the season Thursday night
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Ghouls, ghosts and skeletons are scary. The one thing scarier is Colorado State volleyball, especially against cross-state, inner-conference rival Air Force.
Dating back to the series' inception, the Rams have dropped one match against the Falcons in 53 tries. At home, they've yet to fall following their latest 25-21, 25-15, 25-15 win over the visitors to bring their win streak over Air Force to 52 games – their longest win streak over any single opponent by 24 games.
The Rams' overall win streak rose to a nation-leading 21 in the win.
What's more, head coach Tom Hilbert thinks there's still room to grow – a terrifying thought for future Rams' opponents.
"We can be better, we can get better," Hilbert said. "I talked about that in the locker room before this match… there's always some hurdle you have to jump over. We can improve."
Part of that improvement is in outside hitter Jessica Jackson. Hilbert challenged the fifth-year player to find her groove and find a higher point while hitting.
In turn, she's grown in just the last few practices. The 12 kills she registered against the Falcons aren't the proverbial ceiling.
"I can definitely grow with the little things," Jackson said. "I'm not going to go out and change my arm swing, but I can definitely fix shots and my mindset about when I'm in an out-of-system situation (and) where to put the ball. Things like that."
The team is also still without the second part of their dynamic duo in the middle: Paulina Hougaard-Jensen. Sasha Colombo was tabbed to replace her Thursday, just days after struggling to find a groove against Wyoming in the same void.
She answered with 10 kills and a lofty .474 hitting percentage. Moving from the outside to the middle has given Colombo a chance to grow as well.
"I had time to practice as a middle and find my connection with Katie," Colombo said. "I was definitely more comfortable blocking and attacking as a middle today."
Part of finding a quick rhythm also stemmed back to a challenge. Hilbert preached to Katie Oleksak in the middle of the win to feed Colombo. Distribute to her the same way they would to Hougaard-Jensen.
Hilbert knows that when the Rams are able to pass the way they did against the Falcons – three players with double-digit kills and only three service receive errors – they're going to be a tough out. Led by their back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Year, Oleksak, the distribution to the team's hitters, when orchestrated flawlessly, is a possible catalyst to postseason success.
"I think if we continue to pass like that, we take that same service receive on the road, it's going to really help us," Hilbert said. "If we pass that well, we can balance a lot of people out."
As the season winds down, the daunting prospect of setting several program records looms large.
Just like the aforementioned win streak, Hilbert prioritizes consistency. Put everything into a similar sphere and never overlook an opponent, even if the Mountain West is having a down year.
"The whole key to what we do is to try to be consistent every day, no matter who we play," Hilbert said. "There are certain teams that we've been pretty dominant over, but we're not doing anything different (against them). We're just trying to go out and be great and be excellent.
"We prepared for Air Force just as we prepared for Wyoming. That's the reason. Believe me, these guys know, I always want them to have an edge. I want them to think, 'Hey, if you don't play well, these guys will beat you.'"
So far, no conference opponent has been able to extinguish the hot streak of the Rams. That doesn't mean they'll stop expecting the possibility to use it as fuel.
MATCH NOTES
- The Rams defeated Air Force for the 52nd consecutive time
- Three Rams reached double-figure kills led by Kirstie Hillyer and Jessica Jackson both with 12
- Sasha Colombo finished with 10 kills and a team-best .474 hitting mark
- Katie Oleksak dished out 38 assists and added three digs
- Alexa Roumeliotis tallied a team-high 18 digs, while Olivia Nicholson had 10
- Breana Runnels recorded five blocks, as did Hillyer
- CSU finished with eight team blocks and five aces, led by Alyssa Bert with three
UP NEXT
Colorado State will have the weekend off before traveling to Fresno State and San Diego State.
Dating back to the series' inception, the Rams have dropped one match against the Falcons in 53 tries. At home, they've yet to fall following their latest 25-21, 25-15, 25-15 win over the visitors to bring their win streak over Air Force to 52 games – their longest win streak over any single opponent by 24 games.
The Rams' overall win streak rose to a nation-leading 21 in the win.
What's more, head coach Tom Hilbert thinks there's still room to grow – a terrifying thought for future Rams' opponents.
"We can be better, we can get better," Hilbert said. "I talked about that in the locker room before this match… there's always some hurdle you have to jump over. We can improve."
Part of that improvement is in outside hitter Jessica Jackson. Hilbert challenged the fifth-year player to find her groove and find a higher point while hitting.
In turn, she's grown in just the last few practices. The 12 kills she registered against the Falcons aren't the proverbial ceiling.
"I can definitely grow with the little things," Jackson said. "I'm not going to go out and change my arm swing, but I can definitely fix shots and my mindset about when I'm in an out-of-system situation (and) where to put the ball. Things like that."
The team is also still without the second part of their dynamic duo in the middle: Paulina Hougaard-Jensen. Sasha Colombo was tabbed to replace her Thursday, just days after struggling to find a groove against Wyoming in the same void.
She answered with 10 kills and a lofty .474 hitting percentage. Moving from the outside to the middle has given Colombo a chance to grow as well.
"I had time to practice as a middle and find my connection with Katie," Colombo said. "I was definitely more comfortable blocking and attacking as a middle today."
Part of finding a quick rhythm also stemmed back to a challenge. Hilbert preached to Katie Oleksak in the middle of the win to feed Colombo. Distribute to her the same way they would to Hougaard-Jensen.
Hilbert knows that when the Rams are able to pass the way they did against the Falcons – three players with double-digit kills and only three service receive errors – they're going to be a tough out. Led by their back-to-back Mountain West Player of the Year, Oleksak, the distribution to the team's hitters, when orchestrated flawlessly, is a possible catalyst to postseason success.
"I think if we continue to pass like that, we take that same service receive on the road, it's going to really help us," Hilbert said. "If we pass that well, we can balance a lot of people out."
As the season winds down, the daunting prospect of setting several program records looms large.
Just like the aforementioned win streak, Hilbert prioritizes consistency. Put everything into a similar sphere and never overlook an opponent, even if the Mountain West is having a down year.
"The whole key to what we do is to try to be consistent every day, no matter who we play," Hilbert said. "There are certain teams that we've been pretty dominant over, but we're not doing anything different (against them). We're just trying to go out and be great and be excellent.
"We prepared for Air Force just as we prepared for Wyoming. That's the reason. Believe me, these guys know, I always want them to have an edge. I want them to think, 'Hey, if you don't play well, these guys will beat you.'"
So far, no conference opponent has been able to extinguish the hot streak of the Rams. That doesn't mean they'll stop expecting the possibility to use it as fuel.
MATCH NOTES
- The Rams defeated Air Force for the 52nd consecutive time
- Three Rams reached double-figure kills led by Kirstie Hillyer and Jessica Jackson both with 12
- Sasha Colombo finished with 10 kills and a team-best .474 hitting mark
- Katie Oleksak dished out 38 assists and added three digs
- Alexa Roumeliotis tallied a team-high 18 digs, while Olivia Nicholson had 10
- Breana Runnels recorded five blocks, as did Hillyer
- CSU finished with eight team blocks and five aces, led by Alyssa Bert with three
UP NEXT
Colorado State will have the weekend off before traveling to Fresno State and San Diego State.
#PointRams
Team Stats
AF
CSU
Kills
33
45
Errors
21
12
Attempts
103
111
Hitting %
.117
.297
Points
40.0
58.0
Assists
33
42
Aces
3
5
Blocks
4.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
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