Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, September 23
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
5-5,1-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
Boise State
11-2,0-1Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Boise St.
22
23
22
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
Conference Opener a Clean Sweep for Rams
9/23/2021 9:23:00 PM | Volleyball
Stellar defense paves way to win over Boise State
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Always wanting more.
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Then again, Thursday night was the start of Mountain West play, a reset of sorts for every team in the league. What had happened prior was telling, but won't matter much from here on out.
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For instance, Boise State – sporting an 11-1 mark – entered the match at Moby Arena leading the conference in hitting at a .261 clip. The Rams, who were 4-5, sat ninth in opponent hitting and 10th in blocking.
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With an eight-block performance, Colorado State is now 1-0 in the conference standings after a clean sweep, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22, in a highly competitive match.
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"I'd like to get to nine," CSU coach Tom Hilbert quipped. "It wasn't just stuff blocks today. This was a good example of service pressure leading to out-of-system and leading to us being in the right spots and taking advantage of the opportunity."
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Colorado State limited Boise State to hitting at just a .128 clip, and even though the Rams were also south of .200 (.198), the defensive effort they put forth allowed them to close out sets and keep the Broncos from gaining any real momentum.
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For the 22nd consecutive match, CSU libero Alexa Roumeliotis hit double figures in digs, closing with 16. For a three-set match, that's especially impressive, and there were stretches when it seemed she'd get to every Bronco attempt.
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"Those solid blocks in the front row make it really easy for us to figure out where we're going to set our defense in the back so we can read around the block," she said. "You get in and out of grooves, especially in the back row. Sometimes when we're blocking that well, you're like, 'wait, I want to dig.' When they go on those runs of hitting to you, you definitely get into the groove."
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The Rams' effort, which started with five service aces, made Boise State a two-pronged attack, with the conference's Lauren Ohlinger finishing with nine kills from the outside, middle Alyssa Wissinger adding nine. There wasn't much dynamic, at least consistently, outside of that pairing.
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Colorado State had four players finish with at least five kills, paced by Kennedy Stanford's 13 to lead the match. It was a boost of confidence for the sophomore who had 15 kills in the two matches with Colorado, but also 16 hitting errors, the majority of them her getting blocked.
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"That seems to be the thing. She's good, then she's not so good," Hilbert said. "That's what young players do. She's learning a lot about being a good player, and I'm very happy for her tonight."
Â
Hilbert knew Boise State's block was good (they finished with 10), so the adjustment they made with Kennedy was getting her some more swings toward the interior, not always up against the pin. It was among her best efforts of the year as she hit .267 on 30 swings.
Â
She aided in the defense (she had two blocks and eight digs), and she also had a few open looks she hammered to the floor. More so, she was prepared for to see a strong block, and more alert on how to combat the wave of arms and hands.
Â
"I think it was just kind of coming into this week knowing there's going to be a big block, they're going to scout and having the mentality I'm going to swing high and swing hard," she said. "I think we varied our sets a lot, so it was very hard for them to line up. Seeing the block and being able to use it was great."
Â
Jacqi Van Liefde was next for the Rams with eight kills, while middle Karina Leber added seven, Annie Sullivan five as Ciera Pritchard closed with 30 assists.
Â
Kennedy said the sweep was the team taking a clean look at the remainder of the schedule and going out and playing hard. Like Boise State, what follows is a series of team who know what Colorado State will be trying to do, including Utah State this Saturday.
Â
It the nature of conference play, Hilbert said, but it's best to start on the positive side of the ledger.
Â
"Every game is magnified now, and we know that," he said. "Everybody is going to be well prepared for each other; we know that. Utah State will know exactly what we're doing. Things change in conference. You have to be better."
Â
They were, but he still would have preferred one more block. There's always the next match.
Â
Â
Then again, Thursday night was the start of Mountain West play, a reset of sorts for every team in the league. What had happened prior was telling, but won't matter much from here on out.
Â
For instance, Boise State – sporting an 11-1 mark – entered the match at Moby Arena leading the conference in hitting at a .261 clip. The Rams, who were 4-5, sat ninth in opponent hitting and 10th in blocking.
Â
With an eight-block performance, Colorado State is now 1-0 in the conference standings after a clean sweep, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22, in a highly competitive match.
Â
"I'd like to get to nine," CSU coach Tom Hilbert quipped. "It wasn't just stuff blocks today. This was a good example of service pressure leading to out-of-system and leading to us being in the right spots and taking advantage of the opportunity."
Â
Colorado State limited Boise State to hitting at just a .128 clip, and even though the Rams were also south of .200 (.198), the defensive effort they put forth allowed them to close out sets and keep the Broncos from gaining any real momentum.
Â
For the 22nd consecutive match, CSU libero Alexa Roumeliotis hit double figures in digs, closing with 16. For a three-set match, that's especially impressive, and there were stretches when it seemed she'd get to every Bronco attempt.
Â
"Those solid blocks in the front row make it really easy for us to figure out where we're going to set our defense in the back so we can read around the block," she said. "You get in and out of grooves, especially in the back row. Sometimes when we're blocking that well, you're like, 'wait, I want to dig.' When they go on those runs of hitting to you, you definitely get into the groove."
Â
The Rams' effort, which started with five service aces, made Boise State a two-pronged attack, with the conference's Lauren Ohlinger finishing with nine kills from the outside, middle Alyssa Wissinger adding nine. There wasn't much dynamic, at least consistently, outside of that pairing.
Â
Colorado State had four players finish with at least five kills, paced by Kennedy Stanford's 13 to lead the match. It was a boost of confidence for the sophomore who had 15 kills in the two matches with Colorado, but also 16 hitting errors, the majority of them her getting blocked.
Â
"That seems to be the thing. She's good, then she's not so good," Hilbert said. "That's what young players do. She's learning a lot about being a good player, and I'm very happy for her tonight."
Â
Hilbert knew Boise State's block was good (they finished with 10), so the adjustment they made with Kennedy was getting her some more swings toward the interior, not always up against the pin. It was among her best efforts of the year as she hit .267 on 30 swings.
Â
She aided in the defense (she had two blocks and eight digs), and she also had a few open looks she hammered to the floor. More so, she was prepared for to see a strong block, and more alert on how to combat the wave of arms and hands.
Â
"I think it was just kind of coming into this week knowing there's going to be a big block, they're going to scout and having the mentality I'm going to swing high and swing hard," she said. "I think we varied our sets a lot, so it was very hard for them to line up. Seeing the block and being able to use it was great."
Â
Jacqi Van Liefde was next for the Rams with eight kills, while middle Karina Leber added seven, Annie Sullivan five as Ciera Pritchard closed with 30 assists.
Â
Kennedy said the sweep was the team taking a clean look at the remainder of the schedule and going out and playing hard. Like Boise State, what follows is a series of team who know what Colorado State will be trying to do, including Utah State this Saturday.
Â
It the nature of conference play, Hilbert said, but it's best to start on the positive side of the ledger.
Â
"Every game is magnified now, and we know that," he said. "Everybody is going to be well prepared for each other; we know that. Utah State will know exactly what we're doing. Things change in conference. You have to be better."
Â
They were, but he still would have preferred one more block. There's always the next match.
Â
Team Stats
Boise
CSU
Kills
35
36
Errors
21
17
Attempts
109
96
Hitting %
.128
.198
Points
51
49
Assists
32
33
Aces
6
5
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
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MB
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