Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, March 25
Fort Collins, Colo.
7 PM MT
Colorado State
7-5,7-5Mountain West
3
vs
1
Boise State
10-4,10-4Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Boise St.
19
25
22
25
1
Colorado St.
25
16
25
27
3
Rams Take Down Broncos in Four
3/25/2021 10:41:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State earned the 3-1 victory over second-place Boise State on Thursday night.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The most unlikely victory is always the sweetest.
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Facing Boise State on Thursday, Colorado State knew it would be the underdog, even at Moby Arena.
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The Rams are fostering a young team and the roster had a running record of 6-5 before the match, positioned against the 10-3 Broncos' scorecard.
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But an opponent's record isn't everything.
Â
On paper, the Broncos should have beat them.
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On paper, it was a long shot for the Rams to take the win against Boise State. But they did it anyway. And they did it without their biggest offensive weapon, Breana Runnels.
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The first, third, and fourth sets were taken from the Broncos for the squad's second-to-last home outing, leaving the team walking away with a victorious match score of 3-1 -- 25-19, 25-16, 25-22, 27-25.Â
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"They were expecting us to be the underdog," sophomore Jacqi Van Liefde said. "We actually talked about that in our locker room. We were like 'they're coming out expecting to beat us, we're the underdog, we just need to play freely.' Especially when they saw Breana Runnels wasn't going to be here. It's all the more reason to come out and show them. Like yeah, we're the underdog, but look what we've got."
Â
The underdog mentality proved to be quite the weapon against the Broncos. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Rams rallied together and prevented Boise State from walking away with their first Moby Arena win.
Â
The Rams faced a lot of adversity during this match. In addition to missing their senior outside hitter, the roster sported several new faces. Excluding senior Alexa Roumeliotis and junior Sasha Colombo, the rest of the players tonight were underclassmen.
Â
"Without her there, they all knew they had to have a team effort to get this win," coach Tom Hilbert said. "Boise State is second in the conference. I really believe the energy came from the fact that we felt like everybody has to step up and make up for what we're losing by not having Runnels on the court."
Â
Runnels, out due to COVID-19 protocols, created a unanimous understanding to rise up in her absence. The adjustment had to be made on the fly, and Thursday, it worked.
Â
The Rams were determined to win this match, and the stats proved it. Van Liefde accumulated 20 kills for the night, topping her previous high of 13. Similarly, freshman Karina Leber approached her season high, but fell just one short with 13 kills, while fellow middle Sasha Colombo contributed 12. Supporting them was sophomore Ciera Zimmerman, who also set a season high with 47 assists for the team.
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The Rams held their ground late, too. After giving up a 6-0 run late in the fourth, Boise State had a couple of match points, but CSU fended them off and finished the set on a 3-0 run, the deciding point an ace from Barrett Power.
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"I think there are times where we get a little bit frazzled," Van Liefde said. "It's pretty obvious when we're like punching at things, but overall I'm just so proud of how our underclassmen preformed. We all just stepped up at times. This is just more of what we get to see in the fall."
Â
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Hilbert couldn't have been prouder of the performance. In a discussion before the match, Hilbert told his squad about the importance of letting loose. He told them it would probably be the best game they played.
Â
And he was right.
Â
"A lot of people stepped up in critical times," Hilbert added. "Alyssa Groves got some crucial kills when she needed to. Karina Leber's fourth set was outrageously good. Van Liefde, really good, then got blocked, then bounced back and did amazing things. I was very happy with the way we played. I think it's a great competitive experience for these guys. That's what you need to develop your players. They need a competitive memory bank and so when you're in that situation again, take yourself back to the Boise State match. That's the kind of thing that we need to happen with this young group so they can grow up a little bit."
Â
For these new players, challenging opponents such as the Broncos are vital for the team's development. Even better, emerging triumphant from such an underdog position will be invaluable down the line when the group needs to remember what they're capable of accomplishing.
Â
Â
Facing Boise State on Thursday, Colorado State knew it would be the underdog, even at Moby Arena.
Â
The Rams are fostering a young team and the roster had a running record of 6-5 before the match, positioned against the 10-3 Broncos' scorecard.
Â
But an opponent's record isn't everything.
Â
On paper, the Broncos should have beat them.
Â
On paper, it was a long shot for the Rams to take the win against Boise State. But they did it anyway. And they did it without their biggest offensive weapon, Breana Runnels.
Â
The first, third, and fourth sets were taken from the Broncos for the squad's second-to-last home outing, leaving the team walking away with a victorious match score of 3-1 -- 25-19, 25-16, 25-22, 27-25.Â
Â
"They were expecting us to be the underdog," sophomore Jacqi Van Liefde said. "We actually talked about that in our locker room. We were like 'they're coming out expecting to beat us, we're the underdog, we just need to play freely.' Especially when they saw Breana Runnels wasn't going to be here. It's all the more reason to come out and show them. Like yeah, we're the underdog, but look what we've got."
Â
The underdog mentality proved to be quite the weapon against the Broncos. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, the Rams rallied together and prevented Boise State from walking away with their first Moby Arena win.
Â
The Rams faced a lot of adversity during this match. In addition to missing their senior outside hitter, the roster sported several new faces. Excluding senior Alexa Roumeliotis and junior Sasha Colombo, the rest of the players tonight were underclassmen.
Â
"Without her there, they all knew they had to have a team effort to get this win," coach Tom Hilbert said. "Boise State is second in the conference. I really believe the energy came from the fact that we felt like everybody has to step up and make up for what we're losing by not having Runnels on the court."
Â
Runnels, out due to COVID-19 protocols, created a unanimous understanding to rise up in her absence. The adjustment had to be made on the fly, and Thursday, it worked.
Â
The Rams were determined to win this match, and the stats proved it. Van Liefde accumulated 20 kills for the night, topping her previous high of 13. Similarly, freshman Karina Leber approached her season high, but fell just one short with 13 kills, while fellow middle Sasha Colombo contributed 12. Supporting them was sophomore Ciera Zimmerman, who also set a season high with 47 assists for the team.
Â
The Rams held their ground late, too. After giving up a 6-0 run late in the fourth, Boise State had a couple of match points, but CSU fended them off and finished the set on a 3-0 run, the deciding point an ace from Barrett Power.
Â
"I think there are times where we get a little bit frazzled," Van Liefde said. "It's pretty obvious when we're like punching at things, but overall I'm just so proud of how our underclassmen preformed. We all just stepped up at times. This is just more of what we get to see in the fall."
Â
Â
Hilbert couldn't have been prouder of the performance. In a discussion before the match, Hilbert told his squad about the importance of letting loose. He told them it would probably be the best game they played.
Â
And he was right.
Â
"A lot of people stepped up in critical times," Hilbert added. "Alyssa Groves got some crucial kills when she needed to. Karina Leber's fourth set was outrageously good. Van Liefde, really good, then got blocked, then bounced back and did amazing things. I was very happy with the way we played. I think it's a great competitive experience for these guys. That's what you need to develop your players. They need a competitive memory bank and so when you're in that situation again, take yourself back to the Boise State match. That's the kind of thing that we need to happen with this young group so they can grow up a little bit."
Â
For these new players, challenging opponents such as the Broncos are vital for the team's development. Even better, emerging triumphant from such an underdog position will be invaluable down the line when the group needs to remember what they're capable of accomplishing.
Â
#PointRams
Team Stats
Boise
CSU
Kills
48
62
Errors
20
27
Attempts
133
148
Hitting %
.211
.236
Points
70
73
Assists
44
57
Aces
9
4
Blocks
13
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballS
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
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