Rams Battled No. 25 Colorado but Finish Short

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BOULDER, Colo. – It was a battle of Defensive Players of the Week from both leagues, but No. 25 Colorado outlasted Colorado State, 3-1 on Thursday night in the CU Events Center. Alexa Roumeliotis, who was named the Mountain West Defensive POW, registered a team-high 22 digs in the four setter, as the Rams dropped the match, 25-22, 18-25, 19-25, 20-25.

Colorado State started the match with its best hitting of the night, a .222 mark with a match-high 16 kills on 36 swings. The Rams went on a 3-0 run to grab a 7-5 lead and kept it for the majority of the set. Colorado put together a 5-0 late to take a 22-21 lead, but CSU took three of the last four points to secure the first-set win. Jacqi Van Liefde paced the Rams' offense with six kills on 10 swings. The two teams also combined for nine blocks in the set.

In the second set, both teams started the frame trading points before a 5-0 Colorado run gave it a 13-7 lead – one they would not lose. The Rams came within three at 16-13 before the Buffs finished the set to tie the match. Van Liefde again led the Rams in the second frame with four kills on 10 swings. Colorado continued to out-block Colorado State with three blocks in the set and nine for the match already.

The third set was tied at 8-8 before Colorado chipped away and manufactured a five-point lead at 15-10 before holding on the rest of the way. The Rams came within two at 17-15, but the Buffs handle the match down the stretch to take a 2-1 match lead. Colorado had its highest sideout percentage of the match in the third with 15-20 for 75%.

The final set was an all-out brawl as there were a match-high 11 tie scores and five lead changes. Colorado State first took the lead at 6-3 after a 3-0 run. The Rams kept that lead until a 4-0 run by Colorado took a 10-9 advantage. Both teams traded points over the next handful of rallies before both making 3-0 runs and put the Buffs up by one at 16-15. The Rams took its final lead at 18-17 before a 4-0 run by Colorado pushed it ahead and took the match by taking eight of the final 10 points. The fourth set was the worse for the Rams, hitting .083 with 11 kills and eight errors. Colorado also added to its block count with three block to finish the night with 14.

Colorado State was led by Jacqi Van Liefde with 15 kills and hitting .237. Annie Sullivan added double-figure kills with 10 and Kennedy Stanford record nine. Ciera Pritchard dished out 39 assists with 13 digs to record her fourth double-double of the season. The Rams dropped in four aces to eight service errors, while CU had just two aces. CSU finished with five blocks, led by Sasha Colombo, Leber and Pritchard all with two. Alexa Roumeliotis finished with 22 digs, her 20th consecutive match with double-figures, dating back to 2020 season and fourth 20+ dig match of the season.

Colorado State will face No. 25 Colorado again, this time in Moby Arena on Saturday afternoon with the first serve at 1 p.m., MT on the Mountain West Network.

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