Rams Pull Out Five-Set Thriller with Oregon State

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The finish matters.

The Hall of Fame coach in the stands would tell them that. The Hall of Fame coach on their bench certainly does. Find a way to win.

It doesn't have to be pretty, though that would be preferable, but show some grit. Some mental fortitude. Get creative.

Early in the year Colorado State's volleyball team didn't have the right mojo, dropping a pair of five-setters as they started the season 0-3. Friday's 3-2 victory over Oregon State (21-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-23, 15-13) evened the Rams' mark on the season and gave them a blueprint to follow on a night when former coach Rich Feller was recognized in between sets after being inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame earlier in the day, joining Hilbert in the Ram fraternity.

Tied at 13-all, a bad pass off serve receive wasn't ideal, but setter Ciera Pritchard turned it into a kill. Then she paired with middle Karina Leber for a block to seal the night.

Winning the match was important, but the how could prove to be beneficial down the road.

"This is really important. Those end-game matches are important," Hilbert said. "They drive me nuts, but they're important. They're good for these guys to go through and get, and that's important."

A team can ride their stars to the end, which is normally a good strategy. But this evening, the Rams needed some contributions from players who started the match on the bench, and they came up big, too.

Naeemah Weathers played the final three sets of the night in the middle, and her presence gave the Rams a block they had been lacking all night. Oregon State had success with quick sets to the middles, either on slides or head on down the gut, with Lindsey Schell posting 13 kills for the guests in that role. It was the perfect complement to the workhorse nature of their outsides, as Mychael Vernon and Kateryna Tkachenko had 17 kills each, combining for 50 swings, though neither one of them hit a rather high clip.

The Rams had no blocks in the first set, and only one in the second. They finished with nine in the match, with Weathers posting four block assists. Hilbert made the move to her because of her physical presence, and she helped slow that charge and gave the Rams a chance.

"That was awesome. Naeemah was just a force in the middle," outside hitter Jacqi Van Liefde said. "Even in practice it's so frustrating hitting against her because of her block. That was really cool to see her come out here and get us some blocks and do that for our team."

For her, it wasn't a hard ask, coming in cold and trying to make a difference. She's inexperienced, and Hilbert noted she made some mistakes, but she also plays with a ramped-up, infectious energy. She had three kills, the biggest in the final set to bring the Rams within 9-8 of the Beavers.

Before assistant coach Adrianna Blackman went on maternity leave, she told Weathers one thing:
To get her hands over fast. And she did, and she capitalized on her playing time, which is all she wanted to do.

"Absolutely. Especially when you get your chance," she said. "You have to prove that you want to be in there and you're ready to work for it. It's not hard, you just stay engaged."

She wasn't the only new face to make a difference. Helena Perez played the final four sets as a defensive specialist on a night when the Rams were not passing well, but she drove home an ace – the final of 10 for the team – to tie the match at 11 in the fifth set.

Van Liefde then produced a kill, her final bomb of a season-best 16 on night. Hitting at a .303 clip, she looked the role of a go-to, clutch performer on a night when Kennedy Stanford was struggling. It came with some confidence from the morning, when she had six kills on just 10 swings without an error. Annie Sullivan did her part, too, putting down 10 kills.

"We need her to be the premier offensive weapon for us, and I thought she did a nice job," Hilbert said of Van Liefde. "I thought she stayed consistent and didn't make a lot of mistakes. Annie was good. She just goes. She just keeps banging away and ends up scoring, eventually. I was very pleased with the competitiveness with all of those guys."

So was Leber, who like Van Liefde, put together a pair of solid matches on the day. She had 13 kills in the middle, following 11 in the morning in the sweep of SIUE.

What made the Colorado State offense uneven at times was the nature of the passing. They started out sluggish in the category, then wavered in and out of effective balls for Pritchard (who finished with 43 assists), to work with in system.

Without rhythm, hitting well can take a heck of an effort.

"I think it's pretty hard. You really have to compartmentalize, forget about the last play and move on to what's ahead," Van Liefde said. "That's easier said than done, but it's taking your mind off whatever just happened and moving forward."

Oregon State's block was tough, producing 15, but the Rams somewhat countered with at the service line, led by four from Pritchard, with two each from Brooke Hudson and Alyssa Bert. Alexa Roumeliotis led both team with 26 digs in the match.

The result was perfect for the Rams, even if the play wasn't. The nature of a five-set match automatically suggests the countering of highs and lows, but this time, they were on the ride side at the end.

It shows them the good and bad. Hilbert wants his offense to recognize they go through periods of being tentative instead of accelerating to balls and loading up their swings. Tips have their time and place, and the Rams aren't always keen to reading those keys.

But the finish showed them something they all needed to see as they finish up the tournament Saturday with a match against a UAB team which has also won a pair.

"I think after those two five-set matches early in the season we didn't clamp down on, it's good for us to know we're the kind of team that finishes a five-set match," Van Liefde.

Even better with contributions across the board.

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