Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, August 26
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
1-0,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
1
North Carolina
0-1,0-0ACC
1
2
3
4
F
North Carolina
20
16
25
17
1
Colorado St.
25
25
21
25
3
Rams Open Season with Win Over Tar Heels
8/26/2022 10:04:00 PM | Volleyball
Eighth-largest Moby crowd sees volleyball open with victory
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Rolling into the season, Tom Hilbert had two main questions.
One was if his Colorado State team could become a better blocking team. The other was the play of a revamped back row.
Now the Rams's head coach has two new questions: Is Friday's play going to be the norm, because if so, he can live with that as the Rams went out and set a positive narrative in both regards in a 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17 victory over North Carolina to open the 2022 campaign. It wasn't just Hilbert who bore witness, but 5,961 strong to form the eighth-largest crowd in program history.
"I think we did a great job. The two things we wanted to focus on we really hit hard," Hilbert said. "The blocking spoke for itself. I think we did a great job at the net, and I think that did as much as we hoped it would as far as disrupting their offense."
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The Rams' block stood out. They had 13 on the night, more than they had in any one match a year ago. Six different players contributed to the total, led by Annie Sullivan and Jacqi Van Liefde pacing the effort with six each, whiie Karina Leber and Ciera Pritchard produced three apiece.
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It wasn't there from the start, as the Rams had just two in the first set. But after dropping the third game where they were inconsistent passing the ball and receiving serve, the team came back with authority to shut down any UNC hopes. The Tar Heels went on a run to take the lead, but a 13-1 counter by the host was fueled early by back-to-back blocks as the Rams would post six in the closing set.
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"It's something we've been prioritizing in practice, and it was something we really wanted to improve on from last year," Sullivan said. "Seeing how far we've come, it's been great. I think once one person got one, it kind of gave us momentum and energy and then we all started kind of getting them."
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It made life easier for a retooled back row which had to replace all-conference anchor Alexa Roumeliotis. It was redshirt freshman Kate Yoshimoto who earned the off-colored jersey and all she did in her first collegiate match was produce a team-best 15 digs.
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More than that, Kennedy Stanford said she gave the team a wave of calm when it was needed.
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"I'm so proud of her. She did a great job in that role as far as being a calm presence and helping things stay calm," Stanford said. "It's easy to get antsy with a lot of question marks back there, but she stayed calm and even-keeled throughout the match, even when things weren't going great, which I think is a good thing for everyone to play off of."
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It was the first action for Yoshimoto, but those around her – Helena Perez and Ruby Kayser – have been there before. So has Stanford, who as a six-rotation player said she's feeling even more comfortable, producing her second career double-double with a team-leading 13 kills (hitting .448) and backed Yoshimoto with 11 digs. Having some maturity back there helped, and she feels they'll only continue to get better after limiting the Tar Heels to just a .133 hitting percentage.
Â
When the passing was good, the offense was potent. Sullivan opened the festivities with the first two kills for the team, finishing with eight on the night on 15 swings, her only error when she was blocked in the final set, and she did it manning the opposite hitting spot after being on the other pin a year ago. She and Jones had the hot hands early, with Jones' first collegiate match producing 10 kills. By the end of a very steady night, it was last year's leading hitter, Stanford, who paved the way with 13 kills; Karina Leber and Van Liefde adding six and five, respectively, in the middle.
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One was if his Colorado State team could become a better blocking team. The other was the play of a revamped back row.
Now the Rams's head coach has two new questions: Is Friday's play going to be the norm, because if so, he can live with that as the Rams went out and set a positive narrative in both regards in a 25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17 victory over North Carolina to open the 2022 campaign. It wasn't just Hilbert who bore witness, but 5,961 strong to form the eighth-largest crowd in program history.
"I think we did a great job. The two things we wanted to focus on we really hit hard," Hilbert said. "The blocking spoke for itself. I think we did a great job at the net, and I think that did as much as we hoped it would as far as disrupting their offense."
 Â
The Rams' block stood out. They had 13 on the night, more than they had in any one match a year ago. Six different players contributed to the total, led by Annie Sullivan and Jacqi Van Liefde pacing the effort with six each, whiie Karina Leber and Ciera Pritchard produced three apiece.
Â
It wasn't there from the start, as the Rams had just two in the first set. But after dropping the third game where they were inconsistent passing the ball and receiving serve, the team came back with authority to shut down any UNC hopes. The Tar Heels went on a run to take the lead, but a 13-1 counter by the host was fueled early by back-to-back blocks as the Rams would post six in the closing set.
Â
"It's something we've been prioritizing in practice, and it was something we really wanted to improve on from last year," Sullivan said. "Seeing how far we've come, it's been great. I think once one person got one, it kind of gave us momentum and energy and then we all started kind of getting them."
Â
It made life easier for a retooled back row which had to replace all-conference anchor Alexa Roumeliotis. It was redshirt freshman Kate Yoshimoto who earned the off-colored jersey and all she did in her first collegiate match was produce a team-best 15 digs.
Â
More than that, Kennedy Stanford said she gave the team a wave of calm when it was needed.
Â
"I'm so proud of her. She did a great job in that role as far as being a calm presence and helping things stay calm," Stanford said. "It's easy to get antsy with a lot of question marks back there, but she stayed calm and even-keeled throughout the match, even when things weren't going great, which I think is a good thing for everyone to play off of."
Â
It was the first action for Yoshimoto, but those around her – Helena Perez and Ruby Kayser – have been there before. So has Stanford, who as a six-rotation player said she's feeling even more comfortable, producing her second career double-double with a team-leading 13 kills (hitting .448) and backed Yoshimoto with 11 digs. Having some maturity back there helped, and she feels they'll only continue to get better after limiting the Tar Heels to just a .133 hitting percentage.
Â
When the passing was good, the offense was potent. Sullivan opened the festivities with the first two kills for the team, finishing with eight on the night on 15 swings, her only error when she was blocked in the final set, and she did it manning the opposite hitting spot after being on the other pin a year ago. She and Jones had the hot hands early, with Jones' first collegiate match producing 10 kills. By the end of a very steady night, it was last year's leading hitter, Stanford, who paved the way with 13 kills; Karina Leber and Van Liefde adding six and five, respectively, in the middle.
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Team Stats
UNC
CSU
Kills
47
47
Errors
30
12
Attempts
128
108
Hitting %
.133
.324
Points
61
65
Assists
46
43
Aces
6
5
Blocks
8
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
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