Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 23
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
13-6,9-1Mountain West
3
vs
0
UNLV
15-6,6-4Mountain West
1
2
3
F
UNLV
25
21
27
0
Colorado St.
27
25
29
3
Rams Sweep Past Rebels for State Pride
10/23/2021 3:48:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State remains perfect at home in Mountain West play, picking up its sixth consecutive sweep in Moby Arena.
Savvy Rafkin/Student Writer
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State's volleyball team is on a roll.
Â
Walking into their state pride match on Saturday afternoon, the Rams were on a five-game winning streak and was comfortably riding as first in the conference with a 9-1 record, facing UNLV that was in third place.
Â
 The Rams were the team to beat, and the Rebels knew it. The first set was a tough one and set the tone for the rest of the match, each team refusing to give in and allow their opponent to take the lead.
Â
"We knew we were coming out to play a good team and we knew we had to play crisp," Kennedy Stanford said. "We've done so well to this point that we're ready for these types of games, so when it gets close, we get excited."
Â
In the first set alone, there were 10 lead changes and 19 ties, evidence of a hard-fought battle. The team took the first set 27-25 with a kill from Annie Sullivan, and eventually the match 3-0 (25-21, 29-27).
Â
The second match resembled the first, leaving little room for error as the Rebels capitalized on any mistakes the Rams made. There were eight ties and three lead changes in the second set, but the team couldn't find a way to break away from the deadlock score until the final moments of the second set, capturing another win to put the team closer to an overall victory.
Â
"I told my players today 'these are the kind of matches you come to play college volleyball for,'" head coach Tom Hilbert said. "It's really important to coach them the right way and it's point to point and we need to be aggressive and keep being patient and hopefully win."
Â
And the point to point mentality proved to be successful for the Rams. Heading into the third set, the roster was ready to close out the match, and with the first point of the contest falling in favor of the Rams, it was looking promising. Â
Â
But the Rebels weren't going to let the Rams take them down 3-0 easily. UNLV took the lead for the first time in the set, briefly sporting a two-point lead before the Rams proceeded to tie up the set again, and both teams traded the lead before the Rams eventually took the match with a final kill from Jacqi Van Liefde with a final score of 29-27.
Â
"What made this match different was how close all the sets were," Sullivan said. "Especially that first and third set. We knew winning this would help secure first place even more, so it definitely made this more intense."
Â
With Sullivan and Karina Leber each tying for the match high in kills with 11 and Stanford putting 10 on the board, the Rams have their identity locked down.
Â
And the grit the Rams showed in this match sets the emphasis on the Mountain West Tournament, which lies only eight matches away. The Rams set a hefty goal to take the conference, and this win against UNLV helps solidify their chances.
Â
"Now we're looking over our shoulder," coach Tom Hilbert said. "We have to win the stuff we're supposed to win, and we have some tough road matches. New Mexico is going to be tough on the road, everybody is good on the road. We have four road matches out of the next seven that we play, so we have to be solid on the road. We'd like to win the regular season."
Â
Colorado State will start its two away matches with Air Force on Thursday and New Mexico on Saturday before returning to Moby on November 4 to face Nevada.
Â
Â
Â
Â
Walking into their state pride match on Saturday afternoon, the Rams were on a five-game winning streak and was comfortably riding as first in the conference with a 9-1 record, facing UNLV that was in third place.
Â
 The Rams were the team to beat, and the Rebels knew it. The first set was a tough one and set the tone for the rest of the match, each team refusing to give in and allow their opponent to take the lead.
Â
"We knew we were coming out to play a good team and we knew we had to play crisp," Kennedy Stanford said. "We've done so well to this point that we're ready for these types of games, so when it gets close, we get excited."
Â
In the first set alone, there were 10 lead changes and 19 ties, evidence of a hard-fought battle. The team took the first set 27-25 with a kill from Annie Sullivan, and eventually the match 3-0 (25-21, 29-27).
Â
The second match resembled the first, leaving little room for error as the Rebels capitalized on any mistakes the Rams made. There were eight ties and three lead changes in the second set, but the team couldn't find a way to break away from the deadlock score until the final moments of the second set, capturing another win to put the team closer to an overall victory.
Â
"I told my players today 'these are the kind of matches you come to play college volleyball for,'" head coach Tom Hilbert said. "It's really important to coach them the right way and it's point to point and we need to be aggressive and keep being patient and hopefully win."
Â
And the point to point mentality proved to be successful for the Rams. Heading into the third set, the roster was ready to close out the match, and with the first point of the contest falling in favor of the Rams, it was looking promising. Â
Â
But the Rebels weren't going to let the Rams take them down 3-0 easily. UNLV took the lead for the first time in the set, briefly sporting a two-point lead before the Rams proceeded to tie up the set again, and both teams traded the lead before the Rams eventually took the match with a final kill from Jacqi Van Liefde with a final score of 29-27.
Â
"What made this match different was how close all the sets were," Sullivan said. "Especially that first and third set. We knew winning this would help secure first place even more, so it definitely made this more intense."
Â
With Sullivan and Karina Leber each tying for the match high in kills with 11 and Stanford putting 10 on the board, the Rams have their identity locked down.
Â
And the grit the Rams showed in this match sets the emphasis on the Mountain West Tournament, which lies only eight matches away. The Rams set a hefty goal to take the conference, and this win against UNLV helps solidify their chances.
Â
"Now we're looking over our shoulder," coach Tom Hilbert said. "We have to win the stuff we're supposed to win, and we have some tough road matches. New Mexico is going to be tough on the road, everybody is good on the road. We have four road matches out of the next seven that we play, so we have to be solid on the road. We'd like to win the regular season."
Â
Colorado State will start its two away matches with Air Force on Thursday and New Mexico on Saturday before returning to Moby on November 4 to face Nevada.
Â
Â
Â
Savvy Rafkin
Student Writer
Team Stats
UNLV
CSU
Kills
46
46
Errors
20
16
Attempts
111
109
Hitting %
.234
.275
Points
59
56
Assists
43
45
Aces
4
4
Blocks
9
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballCSU Volleyball Players Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Emily Kohan Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Volleyball: Building Champions to Win Championship
Monday, May 05
2024 Colorado State Volleyball
Thursday, February 13