Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 20
Boise, ID
12:00 PM
Colorado State
18-9,14-4Mountain West
3
at
1
Boise State
21-10,10-8Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
25
26
18
25
3
Boise St.
15
24
25
18
1
Rams Clinch 17th Mountain West Title
11/20/2021 3:52:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State finished the regular season with a 3-1 win at Boise State Saturday to claim a share of the regular season.
BOISE, Idaho – Colorado State has returned to the top of the Mountain West Conference after finishing the regular season with a 3-1 win at Boise State, while also clinching a share of the regular-season title. The Rams finish the regular season 18-9 overall and 14-4 in the league.
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"It's one in-a-row," laughed Head Coach Tom Hilbert. "I think with this particular team and how our season started, it's really gratifying because they really worked hard to get better throughout the course of the season. It was very linear for us. It's cool to see that they respond to our coaching and they prepare well."
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The Rams captured the programs' 17th Mountain West regular season title, including the fourth in the past five seasons and 11th in the past 13.
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"We still have our issues and have players with inconsistencies," added Hilbert. "But in most matches we've been able to work through those and I think that's why we won the conference. We beat San Jose State, San Diego State and Boise State on the road. I am really proud of our players and excited to go into the Mountain West Tournament because it will be a great experience of a championship for them."
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Kennedy Stanford finished the regular season with a bang, flooring a season-high 21 kills, while hitting .457. The outside also added nine digs to her stat line – one dig shy of her second double-double of the season.
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"Kennedy had an amazing day today," added Hilbert. "I felt bad for her on Thursday – it wasn't a great match for her. I think she got caught up in it. Today, she just put all that behind her and got after it. She really showed her athleticism and her physicality. It was great to watch her do that. Anytime a player can bounce back from a bad night; it is so educational for them and it helps them become a better player over the long term because they know they can bounce back."
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Ciera Pritchard paced the offense, dishing out 49 assist and adding a pair of blocks, kills and aces, while also adding three digs. Karina Leber reached double-figure kills with 10 and hit .300 with three blocks. Sasha Colombo controlled the net and the service line, putting up four blocks, including a solo, and three aces. Alyssa Bert led the backrow with 17 digs, filling the libero position for missing Alexa Roumeliotis who entered COVID-19 protocols. Colorado State finished hitting .314 for the match, while keeping Boise State to a .225 mark, including a dominating first set, posting a 93% sideout percentage, (14-15).
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"We'll have a quick turnaround," said Hilbert. "We're going to work on keeping our timing fresh. There is no reason to practice long hours right now, all we have to do is prepare for our next opponent, while keeping our legs fresh."
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The Rams will turn their sights to the Mountain West Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed, which will happen next week in Las Vegas at Cox Pavilion. The league coaches voted to bring the conference tournament back in 2020, but the COVID-19 global pandemic pushed it back a season. The Rams have won the MW Tournament five times in its 10 seasons – ran from 1999-2007 and 2011. As the No. 1 seed, CSU will have a first round by and will play the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 seed match on Thursday at 5 p.m., MT. More Mountain West Tournament information to come.
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"It's one in-a-row," laughed Head Coach Tom Hilbert. "I think with this particular team and how our season started, it's really gratifying because they really worked hard to get better throughout the course of the season. It was very linear for us. It's cool to see that they respond to our coaching and they prepare well."
Â
The Rams captured the programs' 17th Mountain West regular season title, including the fourth in the past five seasons and 11th in the past 13.
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"We still have our issues and have players with inconsistencies," added Hilbert. "But in most matches we've been able to work through those and I think that's why we won the conference. We beat San Jose State, San Diego State and Boise State on the road. I am really proud of our players and excited to go into the Mountain West Tournament because it will be a great experience of a championship for them."
Â
Kennedy Stanford finished the regular season with a bang, flooring a season-high 21 kills, while hitting .457. The outside also added nine digs to her stat line – one dig shy of her second double-double of the season.
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"Kennedy had an amazing day today," added Hilbert. "I felt bad for her on Thursday – it wasn't a great match for her. I think she got caught up in it. Today, she just put all that behind her and got after it. She really showed her athleticism and her physicality. It was great to watch her do that. Anytime a player can bounce back from a bad night; it is so educational for them and it helps them become a better player over the long term because they know they can bounce back."
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Ciera Pritchard paced the offense, dishing out 49 assist and adding a pair of blocks, kills and aces, while also adding three digs. Karina Leber reached double-figure kills with 10 and hit .300 with three blocks. Sasha Colombo controlled the net and the service line, putting up four blocks, including a solo, and three aces. Alyssa Bert led the backrow with 17 digs, filling the libero position for missing Alexa Roumeliotis who entered COVID-19 protocols. Colorado State finished hitting .314 for the match, while keeping Boise State to a .225 mark, including a dominating first set, posting a 93% sideout percentage, (14-15).
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"We'll have a quick turnaround," said Hilbert. "We're going to work on keeping our timing fresh. There is no reason to practice long hours right now, all we have to do is prepare for our next opponent, while keeping our legs fresh."
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The Rams will turn their sights to the Mountain West Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed, which will happen next week in Las Vegas at Cox Pavilion. The league coaches voted to bring the conference tournament back in 2020, but the COVID-19 global pandemic pushed it back a season. The Rams have won the MW Tournament five times in its 10 seasons – ran from 1999-2007 and 2011. As the No. 1 seed, CSU will have a first round by and will play the winner of the No. 4/No. 5 seed match on Thursday at 5 p.m., MT. More Mountain West Tournament information to come.
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Team Stats
CSU
Boise
Kills
56
45
Errors
18
18
Attempts
121
120
Hitting %
.314
.225
Points
72
67
Assists
55
41
Aces
8
8
Blocks
8
14
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
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/ VolleyballOH
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