Rams Drop Semifinal Match of Mountain West Tournament

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Sep 25

6:30 PM

Volleyball

at Wyoming

Sep 27

12:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Nevada

Oct 2

6:30 PM

Volleyball

at New Mexico

Oct 4

2:00 PM

Volleyball

at Grand Canyon

Oct 9

7:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Boise State

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Colorado State volleyball team battled to the end, but came up short in the semifinal match of the Mountain West Tournament to host UNLV, dropping the match 3-2 and ending the 2021 regular season. The Rams finish 2021 with a 19-9 overall record and 14-4 in the Mountain West.

The Rams entered the Mountain West Tournament, which was reinstated and last played in 2011, as the No. 1 seed for the seventh time. Colorado State is now 21-6 overall in the tournament, which has been played 11 seasons now.

Kennedy Stanford led the Rams flooring 18 kills, while hitting .200 and added two solo blocks. Karina Leber added 11 kills on .333 hitting and Jacqi Van Liefde and Annie Sullivan both registered eight kills. Ciera Pritchard dished out 40 assists, while also setting Colorado State single-season ace record after recording three in the match. She has totaled 42 aces this season, setting the program's season record in modern scoring. Alyssa Bert tallied 19 digs as the libero and added two aces.

Colorado State took the first set, 26-25 after fending off a pair of set points by UNLV. The Rebels looked to grab the first at 24-22, but a 4-0 run to end the frame, gave CSU the first frame. There were a match-high 11 tie scores and seven lead changes. UNLV started the second on a 6-1 run to lead early and never trailed the rest of the way. The Rams came within two at 20-18 before UNLV finished with a 5-1 run to even the match.

The third brought more run from both teams. Colorado State started the set scoring the first five points to lead early, but UNLV responded, chipping away at the Rams' lead and tying the frame a 9-9. From then, CSU built a five-point cushion at 19-15 and held the advantage the rest of the way to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In the fourth, Colorado State again led early, holding a 9-5 lead but it slowly slipped away as the set was tied at 12-12. The Rams again manufactured a two-point lead at 15-13 before UNLV scored the next five points to lead late. Colorado State responded with a run of its own to tie the set 18-18, but UNLV finished strong with a 7-2 run to force a deciding fifth.

In the fifth, UNLV jumped out to a 6-1 lead and held the upper hand to the end, keeping Colorado State behind by five to secure the victory.

Colorado State will find its postseason fate on Sunday evening with the possibility of playing in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

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