Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, December 3
Fort Collins, CO
7:30 PM
Colorado State
19-11,14-4Mountain West
1
vs
3
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UTEP
-237,84 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
UTEP
25
12
25
25
3
Colorado St.
22
25
18
19
1
Rams Fall to UTEP to Close Out Season
12/3/2021 10:19:00 PM | Volleyball
Miners' block proves to be a difference maker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Through the first two sets, Colorado State had little to dislike, other than being even in Friday's match with UTEP.
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The Rams were hitting pretty well and were clean with their swings. UTEP could say the same thing, but down the stretch, the Miners put up a strong block – a deciding factor – leading to a 25-22, 12-25, 25-18, 25-19 victory in the second round of the NIVC Tournament in front of 1,082 at Moby Arena.
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Colorado State had won 10 consecutive home matches by sweep, but ended up dropping the first decision on their home floor since September to finish 19-11. The two matches they played in the tournament were important, and the totality of the season was more on their minds than the final result.
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"That's what we were talking about out here right now," Jacqi Van Liefde said. "We all need to walk out here with our heads held high, because we made a lot of progress this season and I'm proud of this team.
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"This game right here, the fact we lost this, does not define the whole season. We'd love to have gone on, but we're proud of what we did and are ready to continue to grow."
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Both teams hit better than .300 in the first set, but the Miners had a few more aces in the first frame to give them a bit of an edge. While the hitting cooled off, the Rams picked up their game at the service line, posting five aces which had UTEP out of whack offensively, resulting in just six kills.
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Colorado State had 10 aces in the match, UTEP nine. It became a battle of wills for the back rows.
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"Both teams were putting a lot of service pressure on each other. One of us was 10 aces, four errors (CSU), so we're getting after it," CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. "That's a very mature team, and what I think was happening toward the end was they were blocking us better; we were not blocking them, so through rallies, they were gaining control of the rally and momentum. We didn't really get them in trouble, so they were able to get back in system and do things in transition that were really fast, and that was difficult.
Â
"In the end, they serve-received the ball better than we did and that got them in system. They have so many weapons, you can't really scheme to one thing, because they'll go with something else."
Â
It was true, and a bit unexpected. The ease with which Colorado State took the second set led to very little carryover to the third. The start of the played out with both teams firing shots at each other, with CSU leading 15-14 at the first timeout.
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Because of their block, UTEP was better able to sustain runs and feed off those point streaks.
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"I thought coming out of that second set we'd really just feed off that and carry the momentum," said Van Liefde, who finished with eight kills, all in the final three sets. "We all knew it wouldn't be that easy, but I felt the momentum would carry more. I think at times it did. We did have some highlights out here tonight."
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The UTEP block, and it was coming from everywhere. Three Miners – Kenidy Howard, Yasso Amin and Vittora Price each had five blocks in the match. As a result, the Rams had seven hitting errors in the third set, eight in the fourth, hitting less than .100 in each stanza. Van Liefde said they knew all about it through the scouting, and that they'd have to come in high and hot, but they just didn't do that at times.
Â
Another edge for the Miners was their ability to run a quick offense at times, particularly through their middles. As a result, their hitting picked up, with their best results coming in the third (.414) and then hitting .250 in the final set.
Â
"In the end, they serve-received the ball better than we did and that got them in system," Hilbert said. "They have so many weapons, you can't really scheme to one thing, because they'll go with something else.
Â
"Their setter understood what was going on, got fast with what they were doing, set the right people. It was really interesting. It was a case of Karina Leber's youth and that setter doing some really good things."
Â
Kennedy Stanford led Colorado State with 14 kills, with Leber coming in with nine. Alyssa Bert, filling in at libero for Alexa Roumeliotis, led the team with 12 digs. Ruby Kayser and Ciera Pritchard both produced four aces, with Pritchard finishing with 30 assists.
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The Rams were hitting pretty well and were clean with their swings. UTEP could say the same thing, but down the stretch, the Miners put up a strong block – a deciding factor – leading to a 25-22, 12-25, 25-18, 25-19 victory in the second round of the NIVC Tournament in front of 1,082 at Moby Arena.
Â
Colorado State had won 10 consecutive home matches by sweep, but ended up dropping the first decision on their home floor since September to finish 19-11. The two matches they played in the tournament were important, and the totality of the season was more on their minds than the final result.
Â
"That's what we were talking about out here right now," Jacqi Van Liefde said. "We all need to walk out here with our heads held high, because we made a lot of progress this season and I'm proud of this team.
Â
"This game right here, the fact we lost this, does not define the whole season. We'd love to have gone on, but we're proud of what we did and are ready to continue to grow."
Â
Both teams hit better than .300 in the first set, but the Miners had a few more aces in the first frame to give them a bit of an edge. While the hitting cooled off, the Rams picked up their game at the service line, posting five aces which had UTEP out of whack offensively, resulting in just six kills.
Â
Colorado State had 10 aces in the match, UTEP nine. It became a battle of wills for the back rows.
Â
"Both teams were putting a lot of service pressure on each other. One of us was 10 aces, four errors (CSU), so we're getting after it," CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. "That's a very mature team, and what I think was happening toward the end was they were blocking us better; we were not blocking them, so through rallies, they were gaining control of the rally and momentum. We didn't really get them in trouble, so they were able to get back in system and do things in transition that were really fast, and that was difficult.
Â
"In the end, they serve-received the ball better than we did and that got them in system. They have so many weapons, you can't really scheme to one thing, because they'll go with something else."
Â
It was true, and a bit unexpected. The ease with which Colorado State took the second set led to very little carryover to the third. The start of the played out with both teams firing shots at each other, with CSU leading 15-14 at the first timeout.
Â
Because of their block, UTEP was better able to sustain runs and feed off those point streaks.
Â
"I thought coming out of that second set we'd really just feed off that and carry the momentum," said Van Liefde, who finished with eight kills, all in the final three sets. "We all knew it wouldn't be that easy, but I felt the momentum would carry more. I think at times it did. We did have some highlights out here tonight."
Â
The UTEP block, and it was coming from everywhere. Three Miners – Kenidy Howard, Yasso Amin and Vittora Price each had five blocks in the match. As a result, the Rams had seven hitting errors in the third set, eight in the fourth, hitting less than .100 in each stanza. Van Liefde said they knew all about it through the scouting, and that they'd have to come in high and hot, but they just didn't do that at times.
Â
Another edge for the Miners was their ability to run a quick offense at times, particularly through their middles. As a result, their hitting picked up, with their best results coming in the third (.414) and then hitting .250 in the final set.
Â
"In the end, they serve-received the ball better than we did and that got them in system," Hilbert said. "They have so many weapons, you can't really scheme to one thing, because they'll go with something else.
Â
"Their setter understood what was going on, got fast with what they were doing, set the right people. It was really interesting. It was a case of Karina Leber's youth and that setter doing some really good things."
Â
Kennedy Stanford led Colorado State with 14 kills, with Leber coming in with nine. Alyssa Bert, filling in at libero for Alexa Roumeliotis, led the team with 12 digs. Ruby Kayser and Ciera Pritchard both produced four aces, with Pritchard finishing with 30 assists.
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Team Stats
UTEP
CSU
Kills
50
45
Errors
20
23
Attempts
122
126
Hitting %
.246
.175
Points
72
60
Assists
45
37
Aces
9
10
Blocks
13
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
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