Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 8
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
12-5,5-1Mountain West
2
vs
3
San Jose State
12-4,6-0Mountain West
1
2
3
4
5
F
San Jose St.
25
19
25
20
15
3
Colorado St.
22
25
17
25
12
2
Rams Fall To Spartans in Five Sets
10/8/2022 4:39:00 PM | Volleyball
SJSU wins battle of MW unbeaten teams
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Entertaining from start to finish, Saturday's matchup filled the advance billing.
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Colorado State and San Jose State entered Moby Arena as the two remaining unbeaten teams in Mountain West play, both having won five consecutive matches to begin conference. In a five-set battle, the Spartans proved to be more aggressive in transition, resulting in a five-set victory, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-12.
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The Rams (12-5, 5-1) posted 159 attacks in the match, but the Spartans (12-4, 6-0) dug up 72 – 45.2 percent. That's a high number, and when they did, they came back offensively with vigor. It's what CSU coach Tom Hilbert is going to highlight in film study.
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"We told our team that the whole match," Hilbert said. "We have to be better at that. We'll show them that on film."
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The Spartans were all over it defensively. Sara Smevog, the top libero in the league, had 24 digs in the match, but three of her teammates also finished in double figures. Much of it was set up by their block, finishing with 13.5 with Jiana Lawson posting six.
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It wasn't as if the Rams lacked in those areas, either. Setter Ciera Pritchard led a trio of Rams in double digits with 15, and CSU had 12 blocks in the match with Kennedy Stanford finishing with seven. Hilbert said there were points of the afternoon where he felt he was watching a really high level of volleyball, but San Jose State was just a tick higher.
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None of it was a surprise.
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"I think we knew that going in that that's what we should expect, and we saw a little bit of that against Nevada, too," said Stanford, who also led the Rams with 15 kills. "We're used to that, and we dig a lot of our balls during practice. It is somewhat frustrating, but we were prepared for it. We just need to keep swinging.
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"It's a lot of swinging even when we know teams are digging balls. Getting up there and keep swinging high so we can keep swinging hard. We did good with that at different parts of the match, but consistently doing that through three to five sets is something we need to work on."
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Annie Sullivan had 12 kills from the opposite side, but San Jose State effectively neutralized the Rams' middles, the pair combining for 15 kills but hitting less than .100.
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The Spartans had 20 unforced errors in the match, but they were undeterred and just kept firing with four players finishing with 10 or more kills. Amethyst Harper led the team with 16, and after a slow start, Blaire Fleming added 15, three coming in the final set.
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The Rams lost a match, but didn't walk away feeling defeated, just more determined.
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"This is a learning experience. They're a really good team, and we know in order to win the Mountain West and reach the NCAA Tournament like we want to, we need to be able to compete and beat good teams," Stanford said. "This is a really good learning experience for us.
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"We knew it was going to be a hard match, and I think we executed a lot of the things we wanted to execute. At the end of the day, we just need to get a few extra points here and there and we end up wining that. I think we feel good about how we competed tonight and just hope to come out with a win next time."
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Next time will come Oct. 3, but in San Jose State's gym.
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By then, Hilbert expects his team will have put the day's lessons to good use. They could have served better, for sure, finishing with 11 service errors to just two aces. They passed pretty well, but at times, they just didn't get into their swings. With a tip of the hat toward San Jose State's side, the Rams move forward.
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"I think so. I think we'll get better because of this match today," Hilbert said. "We'll learn to understand it. We have players who struggled tonight, but we'll get better. And when we do, we'll be competitive."
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Colorado State and San Jose State entered Moby Arena as the two remaining unbeaten teams in Mountain West play, both having won five consecutive matches to begin conference. In a five-set battle, the Spartans proved to be more aggressive in transition, resulting in a five-set victory, 25-22, 19-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-12.
Â
The Rams (12-5, 5-1) posted 159 attacks in the match, but the Spartans (12-4, 6-0) dug up 72 – 45.2 percent. That's a high number, and when they did, they came back offensively with vigor. It's what CSU coach Tom Hilbert is going to highlight in film study.
Â
"We told our team that the whole match," Hilbert said. "We have to be better at that. We'll show them that on film."
Â
The Spartans were all over it defensively. Sara Smevog, the top libero in the league, had 24 digs in the match, but three of her teammates also finished in double figures. Much of it was set up by their block, finishing with 13.5 with Jiana Lawson posting six.
Â
It wasn't as if the Rams lacked in those areas, either. Setter Ciera Pritchard led a trio of Rams in double digits with 15, and CSU had 12 blocks in the match with Kennedy Stanford finishing with seven. Hilbert said there were points of the afternoon where he felt he was watching a really high level of volleyball, but San Jose State was just a tick higher.
Â
None of it was a surprise.
Â
"I think we knew that going in that that's what we should expect, and we saw a little bit of that against Nevada, too," said Stanford, who also led the Rams with 15 kills. "We're used to that, and we dig a lot of our balls during practice. It is somewhat frustrating, but we were prepared for it. We just need to keep swinging.
Â
"It's a lot of swinging even when we know teams are digging balls. Getting up there and keep swinging high so we can keep swinging hard. We did good with that at different parts of the match, but consistently doing that through three to five sets is something we need to work on."
Â
Annie Sullivan had 12 kills from the opposite side, but San Jose State effectively neutralized the Rams' middles, the pair combining for 15 kills but hitting less than .100.
Â
The Spartans had 20 unforced errors in the match, but they were undeterred and just kept firing with four players finishing with 10 or more kills. Amethyst Harper led the team with 16, and after a slow start, Blaire Fleming added 15, three coming in the final set.
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The Rams lost a match, but didn't walk away feeling defeated, just more determined.
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"This is a learning experience. They're a really good team, and we know in order to win the Mountain West and reach the NCAA Tournament like we want to, we need to be able to compete and beat good teams," Stanford said. "This is a really good learning experience for us.
Â
"We knew it was going to be a hard match, and I think we executed a lot of the things we wanted to execute. At the end of the day, we just need to get a few extra points here and there and we end up wining that. I think we feel good about how we competed tonight and just hope to come out with a win next time."
Â
Next time will come Oct. 3, but in San Jose State's gym.
Â
By then, Hilbert expects his team will have put the day's lessons to good use. They could have served better, for sure, finishing with 11 service errors to just two aces. They passed pretty well, but at times, they just didn't get into their swings. With a tip of the hat toward San Jose State's side, the Rams move forward.
Â
"I think so. I think we'll get better because of this match today," Hilbert said. "We'll learn to understand it. We have players who struggled tonight, but we'll get better. And when we do, we'll be competitive."
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Team Stats
SJSU
CSU
Kills
70
57
Errors
32
19
Attempts
176
159
Hitting %
.216
.239
Points
87.0
71.0
Assists
69
55
Aces
4
2
Blocks
13
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
CSU Volleyball Players Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Emily Kohan Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Volleyball: Building Champions to Win Championship
Monday, May 05
2024 Colorado State Volleyball
Thursday, February 13