Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, August 31
Greeley, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado State
0-2,0-0Mountain West
2
at
3
Northern Colorado
2-0,0-0Big Sky
1
2
3
4
5
F
Colorado St.
25
23
29
19
13
2
Northern Colo.
11
25
27
25
15
3
Rams Battle Bears to Five Setter
8/31/2021 10:14:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State started the match strong, but could not secure the victory at Northern Colorado on Tuesday night.
GREELEY, Colo. – Colorado State (0-2) jumped out of the gates fast, taking the first set handedly against Northern Colorado (1-1), but couldn't keep the pace until the end, falling to the Bears in a tough five setter. The Rams dropped the match 25-11, 23-25, 29-27, 19-25, 13-15.
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It was a hard fought match and grind after the first set as there were a combined 27 tie scores for the last four sets and 11 lead changes. Colorado State started the match hitting .357 in the opening game and sideout 9 of 11, while keeping UNC under at -.065. The Rams also added two aces and a match-high four blocks in the first game.
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Northern Colorado responded in the second set edging Colorado State in the final moments. The Rams led at 22-19, but the Bears took six of the last seven points to steal the set. Colorado State made some adjustments at intermission and came back in the third set to retake a match lead, 2-1. CSU trailed by three at 21-18 before rattling off five-consecutive points to grab a late lead. Both teams traded points before UNC strung three points together to get set-point at 25-24. The Rams responded taking five of the last seven points to secure the set win. There were a match-high 11 tie scores and seven lead changes in the third.
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In the fourth set, Colorado State was kept to its lowest hitting mark of the match of -.094, hitting a high 13 errors. The set was tied at 15-15 before Northern Colorado put together a four-point run, followed by siding out during the last four rallies to even the match. The Bears finished the set on a 10-4 run.
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The decisive fifth set saw more back and forth scoring, but Northern Colorado jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never lost it. The Rams got within a point twice and tied the score at 13-13 before UNC finish on back-to-back points to secure the victory.
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Kennedy Stanford led the Rams flooring 19 kills – a career-high – on 57 swings, hitting .140. Jacqi Van Liefde added 14 kills on 30 swings for a .333 hitting mark – a team best. Ciera Pritchard dished out 47 assists and put up 15 digs for her first double-double of the season. Alexa Roumeliotis tallied 27 digs from the back row, including being targeted 28 times on serves with just one error. The Rams posted 14 total blocks – the most since 2019 – led by Karina Leber with seven and Van Liefde added six, including a solo.
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Colorado State will have a quick recovery as they travel to North Carolina on Wednesday for a pair of matches starting on Friday against North Carolina. The Rams will finish the road trip on Saturday playing at NC State. Both matches serve at 5 p.m., MT and will be on the ACC Network Extra.
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It was a hard fought match and grind after the first set as there were a combined 27 tie scores for the last four sets and 11 lead changes. Colorado State started the match hitting .357 in the opening game and sideout 9 of 11, while keeping UNC under at -.065. The Rams also added two aces and a match-high four blocks in the first game.
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Northern Colorado responded in the second set edging Colorado State in the final moments. The Rams led at 22-19, but the Bears took six of the last seven points to steal the set. Colorado State made some adjustments at intermission and came back in the third set to retake a match lead, 2-1. CSU trailed by three at 21-18 before rattling off five-consecutive points to grab a late lead. Both teams traded points before UNC strung three points together to get set-point at 25-24. The Rams responded taking five of the last seven points to secure the set win. There were a match-high 11 tie scores and seven lead changes in the third.
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In the fourth set, Colorado State was kept to its lowest hitting mark of the match of -.094, hitting a high 13 errors. The set was tied at 15-15 before Northern Colorado put together a four-point run, followed by siding out during the last four rallies to even the match. The Bears finished the set on a 10-4 run.
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The decisive fifth set saw more back and forth scoring, but Northern Colorado jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never lost it. The Rams got within a point twice and tied the score at 13-13 before UNC finish on back-to-back points to secure the victory.
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Kennedy Stanford led the Rams flooring 19 kills – a career-high – on 57 swings, hitting .140. Jacqi Van Liefde added 14 kills on 30 swings for a .333 hitting mark – a team best. Ciera Pritchard dished out 47 assists and put up 15 digs for her first double-double of the season. Alexa Roumeliotis tallied 27 digs from the back row, including being targeted 28 times on serves with just one error. The Rams posted 14 total blocks – the most since 2019 – led by Karina Leber with seven and Van Liefde added six, including a solo.
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Colorado State will have a quick recovery as they travel to North Carolina on Wednesday for a pair of matches starting on Friday against North Carolina. The Rams will finish the road trip on Saturday playing at NC State. Both matches serve at 5 p.m., MT and will be on the ACC Network Extra.
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Team Stats
CSU
UNC
Kills
60
59
Errors
28
25
Attempts
159
174
Hitting %
.201
.195
Points
78
71
Assists
56
53
Aces
6
4
Blocks
12
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
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