Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, October 14
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
10-6,6-1Mountain West
3
vs
0
New Mexico
14-4,5-2Mountain West
1
2
3
F
New Mexico
13
13
20
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
Improving Rams Sweep Away Lobos
10/14/2021 9:08:00 PM | Volleyball
Fast start, strong puts Rams atop standing alone
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Tom Hilbert won't believe his team is a first-place squad for at least another nine days.
On that date, his Colorado State volleyball team will host UNLV, the preseason pick to win the Mountain West in volleyball. But he does believe his team can be a first-place team – which the Rams currently are – after sweeping New Mexico off the Moby Arena court Thursday night, 25-13, 25-13, 25-20. The Rams, Lobos and Rebels all entered the night with 5-1 conference marks, but now CSU stands alone after UNLV lost in five sets on the road to Utah State.
"We're starting to block people, and we're solid in our serve and pass game, and tonight, we had a lot of different offensive options and we were using our athleticism," Hilbert said after the Rams improved to 6-1 in conference, 10-6 overall. "We had a 100 percent side-out percentage in the first set. I don't remember seeing that for a long, long time."
The night started as well as the Rams could have wanted, as Ruby Kayser started behind the service line and dealt a couple of aces. Kennedy Stanford's first swing came against a solo block, and with a clean lane, she hammered down a kill.
"It felt like I came in with some momentum, saw an opening, and that worked," Stanford said. "It's always fun. It makes things a little easier to kind of get the ball rolling early."
The Rams were never challenged in the first two sets, and they withstood anything the Lobos could throw at them at the third. After a roller-coaster ride of a non-conference slate, the team is feeling like a squad on an upward arc.
They hit .263 on the night and the Rams produced 10 blocks. It is an important number, because it was the fourth time this season they've had double-digit blocks, but the second time in three matches. On both of those nights, they came in three sets, not four or five like the others.
Middle Sasha Colombo led with six, with Stanford adding four, Karina Leber three. Colombo's final two came late, running the score from 22-19 to match point.
"In practice, we're getting a lot better and we keep working on blocking," Colombo said. "You can see the results in games, so we're doing a really good job. I'm really proud of this team and how much we're working on it."
The Rams were what the Lobos have been, particularly in the first two sets when the hit better than .300 each frame. Colorado State had just nine more swings on the night (95-86), but had more than doubled the guests in kills, 41-20. At the end, the Lobos hit just .023.
The Rams also passed better, which shows particularly in the way they did side out, a figure which finished at 76.6 percent.
"We knew they were a pretty clean team and they play clean volleyball, so for us to come out and play and execute as well as we did, especially at the start of all of those sets, was really good," Stanford said. "I mean, it's passing. It really indicates that our passing is good enough that we can hold blockers and really give our hitters good looks. From there, it's knowing we have to point score if we side out that quick."
Setter Ciera Pritchard did have options on the night, and she was one of them as she picked perfect times to hit dumps, finishing with four kills to go with 30 assists. Stanford was a constant for the team, leading the way with 11 kills as she hit .320. It was the first time in five matches she reached double figures, but she had help, particularly from the middle.
Karina Leber closed with nine kills, and Colombo produced five, both of them hitting in the .400s. The match felt important to them, and they played like it was.
"We knew that New Mexico has been doing well in conference, and we're battling for that first spot, so we came out with a lot of enthusiasm and were ready to win this game, especially at home," Colombo said. "We definitely had a rough preseason, or just hard games, and we we're getting into the swing of things. Starting conference so strong, we've just been doing really well. Winning gives you a winning mentality, so we're going to keep that going."
The team has two more matches before it gets to the test Hilbert really wants to see, including Saturday's home match with Air Force (1 p.m.). Before they get to the Rebels, they take a trip to San Diego State first.
While they're all convinced – with good reason – they are trending upward, Hilbert doesn't want them to envision a finish line of any sort.
"We are for sure. That is the key, especially in a season where you have a Mountain West tournament," Hilbert said. "We have keep introducing new things, we've got to keep ourselves on that upward arc. You never want to hit that point, you never want to plateau, because you spend the rest of the season thinking you have to get to that point. No, we need to keep improving. We can get better offensively."
On that date, his Colorado State volleyball team will host UNLV, the preseason pick to win the Mountain West in volleyball. But he does believe his team can be a first-place team – which the Rams currently are – after sweeping New Mexico off the Moby Arena court Thursday night, 25-13, 25-13, 25-20. The Rams, Lobos and Rebels all entered the night with 5-1 conference marks, but now CSU stands alone after UNLV lost in five sets on the road to Utah State.
"We're starting to block people, and we're solid in our serve and pass game, and tonight, we had a lot of different offensive options and we were using our athleticism," Hilbert said after the Rams improved to 6-1 in conference, 10-6 overall. "We had a 100 percent side-out percentage in the first set. I don't remember seeing that for a long, long time."
The night started as well as the Rams could have wanted, as Ruby Kayser started behind the service line and dealt a couple of aces. Kennedy Stanford's first swing came against a solo block, and with a clean lane, she hammered down a kill.
"It felt like I came in with some momentum, saw an opening, and that worked," Stanford said. "It's always fun. It makes things a little easier to kind of get the ball rolling early."
The Rams were never challenged in the first two sets, and they withstood anything the Lobos could throw at them at the third. After a roller-coaster ride of a non-conference slate, the team is feeling like a squad on an upward arc.
They hit .263 on the night and the Rams produced 10 blocks. It is an important number, because it was the fourth time this season they've had double-digit blocks, but the second time in three matches. On both of those nights, they came in three sets, not four or five like the others.
Middle Sasha Colombo led with six, with Stanford adding four, Karina Leber three. Colombo's final two came late, running the score from 22-19 to match point.
"In practice, we're getting a lot better and we keep working on blocking," Colombo said. "You can see the results in games, so we're doing a really good job. I'm really proud of this team and how much we're working on it."
The Rams were what the Lobos have been, particularly in the first two sets when the hit better than .300 each frame. Colorado State had just nine more swings on the night (95-86), but had more than doubled the guests in kills, 41-20. At the end, the Lobos hit just .023.
The Rams also passed better, which shows particularly in the way they did side out, a figure which finished at 76.6 percent.
"We knew they were a pretty clean team and they play clean volleyball, so for us to come out and play and execute as well as we did, especially at the start of all of those sets, was really good," Stanford said. "I mean, it's passing. It really indicates that our passing is good enough that we can hold blockers and really give our hitters good looks. From there, it's knowing we have to point score if we side out that quick."
Setter Ciera Pritchard did have options on the night, and she was one of them as she picked perfect times to hit dumps, finishing with four kills to go with 30 assists. Stanford was a constant for the team, leading the way with 11 kills as she hit .320. It was the first time in five matches she reached double figures, but she had help, particularly from the middle.
Karina Leber closed with nine kills, and Colombo produced five, both of them hitting in the .400s. The match felt important to them, and they played like it was.
"We knew that New Mexico has been doing well in conference, and we're battling for that first spot, so we came out with a lot of enthusiasm and were ready to win this game, especially at home," Colombo said. "We definitely had a rough preseason, or just hard games, and we we're getting into the swing of things. Starting conference so strong, we've just been doing really well. Winning gives you a winning mentality, so we're going to keep that going."
The team has two more matches before it gets to the test Hilbert really wants to see, including Saturday's home match with Air Force (1 p.m.). Before they get to the Rebels, they take a trip to San Diego State first.
While they're all convinced – with good reason – they are trending upward, Hilbert doesn't want them to envision a finish line of any sort.
"We are for sure. That is the key, especially in a season where you have a Mountain West tournament," Hilbert said. "We have keep introducing new things, we've got to keep ourselves on that upward arc. You never want to hit that point, you never want to plateau, because you spend the rest of the season thinking you have to get to that point. No, we need to keep improving. We can get better offensively."
Team Stats
UNM
CSU
Kills
20
41
Errors
18
16
Attempts
86
95
Hitting %
.023
.263
Points
25
58
Assists
18
38
Aces
1
7
Blocks
4
10
Game Leaders
Kills
11
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
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