Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 29
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
17-6,10-2Mountain West
3
vs
1
Fresno State
6-18,0-12Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Fresno St.
25
24
22
16
1
Colorado St.
19
26
25
25
3
Rams Take Down Bulldogs in Four
10/29/2022 4:22:00 PM | Volleyball
Team overcomes slow start to win third in a row
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Progress is never a straight line. It's a rocky progression, and sometimes can cause some issues along the way. Such was the case earlier this season when Colorado State volleyball clawed back to win 3-2 in Fresno State's home arena.
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Saturday was a slow burner for the Rams as they wound up on top of the Bulldogs 3-1, nearly in the same vein as Thursday's win over San Diego State. Colorado State dropped the first set in a convincing fashion, coming out of the gates slowly with a 25-19 loss, far from what they expected out of themselves.
"It was just a matter of not coming out super aggressively," outside hitter Malaya Jones said. "We were a little timid; last game I swung for the fences but once I found my medium it worked out very well."
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The lull continued into the second set as a bad stretch of plays from the Rams' blockers left the defensive specialists out to dry, issues which would eventually be cleaned up as the hosts took the final three sets, 26-24, 25-22, 25-16 to move to 10-2 in conference, 17-6 overall. The Bulldogs slipped to 0-12, 6-18.
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The reversal led to some plays being made which created some oohs-and-ahhs from the crowd as both Ruby Kayser and Helena Perez dove to the ball on multiple occasions. However, head coach Tom Hilbert did not want to see it from his side all afternoon.
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"We've struggled this whole year with outside hitters who have long, fast arms," Hilbert said. "A lot of our high-flat balls aren't being defended, and we're not blocking. We have to be better at defending those kinds of players."
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Hilbert spent the second set switching his rotation of players. As he tried to pair players better with their counterparts – in particular Ella Rud of the Bulldogs and her 22 kills – it helped the Colorado State come from behind to win the set.
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While the Rams hit a combined .234 in the first two sets, they needed to stir something up to work their way. With the rotation switches, it brought Jones into the play more with a familiar name setting her up.
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"It's just about seeing where the blockers are going and setting where they're not," Ciera Pritchard said. "I want to make sure my hitters are successful and make kills and it puts the stats on the board for me."
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Pritchard was not only influential in Jones getting momentum and motivating among the team, but she also worked hard on the defensive side. She had 14 digs, the second-most of the game behind defensive specialist Kate Yoshimoto (15 digs).
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It's the second-best total of the season for Pritchard, along with her 43 assists. With the rotational switch, the Rams found their way around to looking like it's typical successful squad. Kennedy Stanford led the team with 16 kills, with Annie Sullivan closing with 12 and Karina Leber 10.
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"After switching the rotation and putting Karina on Ella, it worked and we won," Hilbert said. "That also changed the serving matchup, and I think our servers got a target that was better for them."
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Finally, the fourth set was where the Rams shined brightest as they pulled out to a double-digit lead and avoided a possible upset. It was smooth sailing from there on as Colorado State had woken up and come alive with confidence, style and momentum built up from the lessons in the first two sets.
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However, they don't have much time to rest up and relax. As they wind to the end of the season still chasing UNLV for the top spot in the Mountain West, another team is still right alongside them in the hunt, and it just so happens San Jose State (which beat the Rams at Moby) are next on the schedule.
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"We have to come out and play really scrappy defense," said Jones, who had nine kills. "They're an extremely scrapy team and don't let anything drop. If we come out swinging, come out strong, we're winning that game and I have full confidence in that."
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Saturday was a slow burner for the Rams as they wound up on top of the Bulldogs 3-1, nearly in the same vein as Thursday's win over San Diego State. Colorado State dropped the first set in a convincing fashion, coming out of the gates slowly with a 25-19 loss, far from what they expected out of themselves.
"It was just a matter of not coming out super aggressively," outside hitter Malaya Jones said. "We were a little timid; last game I swung for the fences but once I found my medium it worked out very well."
Â
The lull continued into the second set as a bad stretch of plays from the Rams' blockers left the defensive specialists out to dry, issues which would eventually be cleaned up as the hosts took the final three sets, 26-24, 25-22, 25-16 to move to 10-2 in conference, 17-6 overall. The Bulldogs slipped to 0-12, 6-18.
Â
The reversal led to some plays being made which created some oohs-and-ahhs from the crowd as both Ruby Kayser and Helena Perez dove to the ball on multiple occasions. However, head coach Tom Hilbert did not want to see it from his side all afternoon.
Â
"We've struggled this whole year with outside hitters who have long, fast arms," Hilbert said. "A lot of our high-flat balls aren't being defended, and we're not blocking. We have to be better at defending those kinds of players."
Â
Hilbert spent the second set switching his rotation of players. As he tried to pair players better with their counterparts – in particular Ella Rud of the Bulldogs and her 22 kills – it helped the Colorado State come from behind to win the set.
Â
While the Rams hit a combined .234 in the first two sets, they needed to stir something up to work their way. With the rotation switches, it brought Jones into the play more with a familiar name setting her up.
Â
"It's just about seeing where the blockers are going and setting where they're not," Ciera Pritchard said. "I want to make sure my hitters are successful and make kills and it puts the stats on the board for me."
Â
Pritchard was not only influential in Jones getting momentum and motivating among the team, but she also worked hard on the defensive side. She had 14 digs, the second-most of the game behind defensive specialist Kate Yoshimoto (15 digs).
Â
It's the second-best total of the season for Pritchard, along with her 43 assists. With the rotational switch, the Rams found their way around to looking like it's typical successful squad. Kennedy Stanford led the team with 16 kills, with Annie Sullivan closing with 12 and Karina Leber 10.
Â
"After switching the rotation and putting Karina on Ella, it worked and we won," Hilbert said. "That also changed the serving matchup, and I think our servers got a target that was better for them."
Â
Finally, the fourth set was where the Rams shined brightest as they pulled out to a double-digit lead and avoided a possible upset. It was smooth sailing from there on as Colorado State had woken up and come alive with confidence, style and momentum built up from the lessons in the first two sets.
Â
However, they don't have much time to rest up and relax. As they wind to the end of the season still chasing UNLV for the top spot in the Mountain West, another team is still right alongside them in the hunt, and it just so happens San Jose State (which beat the Rams at Moby) are next on the schedule.
Â
"We have to come out and play really scrappy defense," said Jones, who had nine kills. "They're an extremely scrapy team and don't let anything drop. If we come out swinging, come out strong, we're winning that game and I have full confidence in that."
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Team Stats
Fresno
CSU
Kills
57
54
Errors
21
19
Attempts
143
130
Hitting %
.252
.269
Points
71.0
65.0
Assists
53
51
Aces
4
3
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
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