Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, September 10
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 PM
Colorado State
2-3,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
SIUE
2-5,0-0OVC
1
2
3
F
SIUE
12
13
8
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
Rams Open Day With Sweep of SIUE
9/10/2021 2:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Team hits .485 in Friday's first match of two
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The non-conference slate is for development and small victories.
Â
After a three-game series on the road, Colorado State's volleyball team was ready to take on a new set of opponents on their home court. The team made quick work of the Friday afternoon contest against SIUE, taking the victory 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-8).
Â
With a match hitting percentage of .485 and individual set percentages of .571, .438, and .458, coach Tom Hilbert doesn't see much room for a better performance.
Â
"You can't improve upon what we did today very much," Hilbert said. "What we did today was play very cleanly. We missed very few serves, we didn't hit unforced hitting errors, we did get blocked a little bit, but we were very clean. We forced this team to have to work to score. When you do that, everyone's momentum goes up, their comfort goes up, every kid we brought off the bench hit well too. It was really a good match for us."
Â
Hilbert's assessment holds merit. The small victories show him and the rest of the team the promising talent on the roster and the value of a tight defense, all of which showed up Friday afternoon.
Â
With each set, CSU wasted no time jumping on their opponent to secure the victory, but the second is where the Rams really hit their stride, scoring the first eight points without letting the Cougars taking any for themselves.
Â
Sophomore Karina Leber stood out on the day, producing a kill percentage of .733 coupled with a hitting percentage of .667.
Â
"We're still growing now," Leber said after posting a team-best 11 kills. "I think we're at a higher level this year than last year. It's pretty nice."
Â
The Rams hit pretty well across the board. Kennedy Stanford added eight kills, while Jacqi Van Liefde contributed six without an error on 10 swings. It led to a 29-assist match for setter Ciera Pritchard. The service line held up, too, with Alexa Roumeliotis putting down four, Stanford three; Roumeliotis led the back row with 12 digs.
Â
To Hilbert's excitement, CSU showed successful execution of blocks for the first time in the 2021 season.
Â
Leber tallied three, accompanied by Naeemah Weathers and Ciera Pritchard, with four and two, respectively.
Â
Such a successful match carries a lot of weight, though. The Rams will face Oregon State after only a seven-hour break, which leaves both a lot of time to regain momentum, but also enough time to lose focus.
Â
But Leber isn't worried.
Â
"I think we're locked in," she said. "We're gonna do some preparation and hopefully we'll come out ready to play. We're gonna watch film and have a walk-through, but we're going to not jump around too much after this morning."
Â
Â
After a three-game series on the road, Colorado State's volleyball team was ready to take on a new set of opponents on their home court. The team made quick work of the Friday afternoon contest against SIUE, taking the victory 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-8).
Â
With a match hitting percentage of .485 and individual set percentages of .571, .438, and .458, coach Tom Hilbert doesn't see much room for a better performance.
Â
"You can't improve upon what we did today very much," Hilbert said. "What we did today was play very cleanly. We missed very few serves, we didn't hit unforced hitting errors, we did get blocked a little bit, but we were very clean. We forced this team to have to work to score. When you do that, everyone's momentum goes up, their comfort goes up, every kid we brought off the bench hit well too. It was really a good match for us."
Â
Hilbert's assessment holds merit. The small victories show him and the rest of the team the promising talent on the roster and the value of a tight defense, all of which showed up Friday afternoon.
Â
With each set, CSU wasted no time jumping on their opponent to secure the victory, but the second is where the Rams really hit their stride, scoring the first eight points without letting the Cougars taking any for themselves.
Â
Sophomore Karina Leber stood out on the day, producing a kill percentage of .733 coupled with a hitting percentage of .667.
Â
"We're still growing now," Leber said after posting a team-best 11 kills. "I think we're at a higher level this year than last year. It's pretty nice."
Â
The Rams hit pretty well across the board. Kennedy Stanford added eight kills, while Jacqi Van Liefde contributed six without an error on 10 swings. It led to a 29-assist match for setter Ciera Pritchard. The service line held up, too, with Alexa Roumeliotis putting down four, Stanford three; Roumeliotis led the back row with 12 digs.
Â
To Hilbert's excitement, CSU showed successful execution of blocks for the first time in the 2021 season.
Â
Leber tallied three, accompanied by Naeemah Weathers and Ciera Pritchard, with four and two, respectively.
Â
Such a successful match carries a lot of weight, though. The Rams will face Oregon State after only a seven-hour break, which leaves both a lot of time to regain momentum, but also enough time to lose focus.
Â
But Leber isn't worried.
Â
"I think we're locked in," she said. "We're gonna do some preparation and hopefully we'll come out ready to play. We're gonna watch film and have a walk-through, but we're going to not jump around too much after this morning."
Â
Team Stats
SIUE
CSU
Kills
21
39
Errors
15
6
Attempts
77
68
Hitting %
.078
.485
Points
28
59
Assists
19
38
Aces
3
12
Blocks
4
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballCSU Volleyball Players Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Emily Kohan Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Volleyball: Building Champions to Win Championship
Monday, May 05
2024 Colorado State Volleyball
Thursday, February 13