Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, October 27
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
16-6,9-2Mountain West
3
vs
1
San Diego State
5-17,3-8Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
San Diego St.
25
23
20
18
1
Colorado St.
21
25
25
25
3
Lineup Changes Spark Rams To Victory
10/27/2022 10:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Sullivan and Stanford combine for 33 kills
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Go with your strengths.
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That's what Tom Hilbert had to do Thursday when his Colorado State volleyball team came out sluggish, a bit sloppy and definitely out of rhythm against San Diego State.
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It didn't take long for him to allow his team to flex it's muscles, most notably the versatility which allows Hilbert the ability to alter his lineup in such moments. First it was Jacqi Van Liefde off the bench in the middle for Naeemah Weathers. Then it was switching Annie Sullivan from the opposite pin to outside in favor of Malaya Jones, with Alyssa Groves sliding in Sullivan's spot.
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"I think the one thing we've talked about this year is how good everyone on our team is and how deep our bench is," Sullivan said. "I think that really showed tonight. Jacqi's been out for a while, so it felt great having her back on the court. I know she's been wanting to get out there and I think she did a great job."
Â
Van Liefde provided an immediate spark, and Sullivan swung away all night to give the Rams a tenacious tandem on the outside in a 3-1 victory over the Aztecs, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18. The win improves CSU t0 9-2 in Mountain West play, 16-6 overall. The Aztecs slid to 3-8, 5-17.
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Van Liefde began the season as a starting middle, but an injury to her hand sideline her and Weathers took off in the role, playing so well that when Van Liefde was healthy it was impossible to make a switch. But Weathers struggled early, and Hilbert said part of the reason for the change was to rest her weary knees.
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"You're always just ready to go," Van Liefde said. "We all are on the bench. You always have to stay ready, and we do that."
Â
She provided an early hitting spark on a night when the Rams really had to grit things out. They had to battle to get back to .000 in dropping an opening set where they only had eight kills.
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She finished with six on 11 swings and added a block, helping a bit on a night when the Rams'Â middles were stymied a bit by the way the Aztecs passed and attacked.
Â
"She's been a great teammate," Hilbert said. "She's ready to play any position; we can put her on the right, in the middle and on the left, maybe. She can do a lot of things."
Â
So can Sullivan, but what she does best is fight. Her ability to slide over gave punch the CSU attack, as she and Kennedy Stanford combined for 33 kills. They also combined for seven blocks as the Rams finished with 13. Setter Ciera Pritchard fed them to the tune of 47 assists in the match.
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Moving sides doesn't require much of an adjustment for her, as she started on that pin a season ago.
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"You just have to be ready more for some junk balls and out of system," she said after a season-best 17 kills. "One thing we preach in practice is just staying high no matter what, so just continuing to stay high when Im reaching on those balls and trying to hit it hard. I was getting some great sets by Ciera, and I was seeing a lot of line that was open, so I was trying to utilize that, then also go off their hands."
Â
The entire night was a grind, however. Colorado State had one good hitting set, the third, when they reached .400; in the other two they hung around .250. They finished with 22 hitting errors, partly due to 11 San Diego State blocks.
Â
"We were not playing very well, and they don't like to hear me say that, which is sad because it was true," Hilbert said. "We missed four serves (in the first set), and we had eight hitting errors, though they blocked us some. That first set was very uninspired, and we gave a lot to San Diego State."
Â
When they needed a key kill, they could go outside. All of the sets were tight at some point, often throughout. There were 14 ties in all, five lead changes. The only set where the lead never changed was the third, when the Rams used an early run to stay in front, but it wasn't as if they weren't challenged. SDSU's outsides, Heipua Tautua'a  and Kayla Rivera were effective, combining for 25 kills with Tautua'a recording a double-double of 14 kills and 15 digs.
Â
Just as Hilbert feels he can count on his bench, he knows he can lean on his outsides on nights like Thursday.
Â
"Luckily, we have two outside hitters who compete their butts off," he said. "Kennedy and Annie compete. Those kids get after it, and they just continue to swing and do the things they've got to do. I really love it."
Â
Â
That's what Tom Hilbert had to do Thursday when his Colorado State volleyball team came out sluggish, a bit sloppy and definitely out of rhythm against San Diego State.
Â
It didn't take long for him to allow his team to flex it's muscles, most notably the versatility which allows Hilbert the ability to alter his lineup in such moments. First it was Jacqi Van Liefde off the bench in the middle for Naeemah Weathers. Then it was switching Annie Sullivan from the opposite pin to outside in favor of Malaya Jones, with Alyssa Groves sliding in Sullivan's spot.
Â
"I think the one thing we've talked about this year is how good everyone on our team is and how deep our bench is," Sullivan said. "I think that really showed tonight. Jacqi's been out for a while, so it felt great having her back on the court. I know she's been wanting to get out there and I think she did a great job."
Â
Van Liefde provided an immediate spark, and Sullivan swung away all night to give the Rams a tenacious tandem on the outside in a 3-1 victory over the Aztecs, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18. The win improves CSU t0 9-2 in Mountain West play, 16-6 overall. The Aztecs slid to 3-8, 5-17.
Â
Van Liefde began the season as a starting middle, but an injury to her hand sideline her and Weathers took off in the role, playing so well that when Van Liefde was healthy it was impossible to make a switch. But Weathers struggled early, and Hilbert said part of the reason for the change was to rest her weary knees.
Â
"You're always just ready to go," Van Liefde said. "We all are on the bench. You always have to stay ready, and we do that."
Â
She provided an early hitting spark on a night when the Rams really had to grit things out. They had to battle to get back to .000 in dropping an opening set where they only had eight kills.
Â
She finished with six on 11 swings and added a block, helping a bit on a night when the Rams'Â middles were stymied a bit by the way the Aztecs passed and attacked.
Â
"She's been a great teammate," Hilbert said. "She's ready to play any position; we can put her on the right, in the middle and on the left, maybe. She can do a lot of things."
Â
So can Sullivan, but what she does best is fight. Her ability to slide over gave punch the CSU attack, as she and Kennedy Stanford combined for 33 kills. They also combined for seven blocks as the Rams finished with 13. Setter Ciera Pritchard fed them to the tune of 47 assists in the match.
Â
Moving sides doesn't require much of an adjustment for her, as she started on that pin a season ago.
Â
"You just have to be ready more for some junk balls and out of system," she said after a season-best 17 kills. "One thing we preach in practice is just staying high no matter what, so just continuing to stay high when Im reaching on those balls and trying to hit it hard. I was getting some great sets by Ciera, and I was seeing a lot of line that was open, so I was trying to utilize that, then also go off their hands."
Â
The entire night was a grind, however. Colorado State had one good hitting set, the third, when they reached .400; in the other two they hung around .250. They finished with 22 hitting errors, partly due to 11 San Diego State blocks.
Â
"We were not playing very well, and they don't like to hear me say that, which is sad because it was true," Hilbert said. "We missed four serves (in the first set), and we had eight hitting errors, though they blocked us some. That first set was very uninspired, and we gave a lot to San Diego State."
Â
When they needed a key kill, they could go outside. All of the sets were tight at some point, often throughout. There were 14 ties in all, five lead changes. The only set where the lead never changed was the third, when the Rams used an early run to stay in front, but it wasn't as if they weren't challenged. SDSU's outsides, Heipua Tautua'a  and Kayla Rivera were effective, combining for 25 kills with Tautua'a recording a double-double of 14 kills and 15 digs.
Â
Just as Hilbert feels he can count on his bench, he knows he can lean on his outsides on nights like Thursday.
Â
"Luckily, we have two outside hitters who compete their butts off," he said. "Kennedy and Annie compete. Those kids get after it, and they just continue to swing and do the things they've got to do. I really love it."
Â
Team Stats
SDSU
CSU
Kills
50
53
Errors
29
22
Attempts
133
137
Hitting %
.158
.226
Points
67.0
72.0
Assists
46
51
Aces
6
6
Blocks
11
13
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
16
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB
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