Rams Serve Up Hilbert's 800th Career Victory

Calendar

Show:/

Oct 23

7:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Air Force

Oct 25

12:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Wyoming

Oct 30

6:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Fresno State

Nov 1

1:00 PM

Volleyball

vs San Jose State

Nov 6

6:00 PM

Volleyball

at Utah State

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – As a psychology major, Ciera Pritchard can explain why a set like the second happens. It doesn't mean the senior setter understands it, but it happens.

Tuesday's second set, Colorado State's volleyball team was just discombobulated, plain and simple. The other three sets, pretty darn solid as they opened Mountain West play with a four-set victory over Wyoming at Moby Arena, 25-17, 16-25, 25-7, 25-17.

Oh, and it just so happened to be the 800^th victory of Tom Hilbert's coaching career.

"I am an old timer, but I think I've done it the right way," Hilbert said. "I've stayed at only two schools as a head coach, and I've had success and decided to stick with it, and I think that's why I have the record I have. And I'm proud of it. I think I've done it the right way."

In the match, so did his setter. She knows nothing about finance, but she fully understood the benefit of a diverse offensive portfolio in the match. Each of the three pin hitters – all of whom finished with double-digit kills – were set between 22 and 29 times each. The two middles – both of whom finished with nine kills each – were set 26 times combined.

That's a distribution plan Hilbert can get behind.

"I'm really happy with her, because she did that very deliberately, and I think she was going to do it regardless," Hilbert said. "She kept Malaya Jones in the game. Sometimes Ciera, if somebody starts playing bad, she goes away from them and will ignore them, and she kept Malaya in the game, and as a result, Malaya came back and started playing well. I think it was a very good match from Ciera."

It resulted in 46 assists for her in the match and a host of happy hitters. Kennedy Stanford led the team with 14, but Anne Sullivan had 13 and Jones 11. Weathers' nine kills in the middle (as she hit .750) were a career best.

Not every match will allow a setter to move the ball around like that, but on this night, she took full advantage.

"That's what I love as a setter, that I can go to anyone and keep the blockers on the other side honest," Pritchard said. "My favorite thing is when a middle blocker on the other team goes, 'oh crap,' because they know they're going the wrong way. I love it when Kennedy dents the floor, or when Naeemah dents the floor, so that's my job, to get my hitters one blocker and they make it easy on me when they're able to get kills."

Sullivan, from the opposite side, was the cleanest of the bunch, hitting .455 on 22 swings. As a hitter, she understands the way some opponents will play and serve won't allow for everybody to get the same amount of attacks, but on those rare nights, it makes it fun for everybody.

It also shows what Colorado State can do at the net when everybody is taking advantage. Pritchard said a rotation change by Wyoming in the second created some issues. The Rams countered in the third, and with a 9-0 run early, the Rams were in a rotation which punished the Cowgirls from the start.

"It was a great all-around night for everyone," Sullivan said. "We had a few people in double-digit kills, so it was well distributed. It kinda just shows how versatile our team is and how everyone can be on. Some nights it will be one person's night, and another night another. Tonight, it was just a great contribution by every other player."

Hilbert didn't bring up the possibility of the milestone win to his team, as most of them didn't realize it until after the match. He posted 174 of those wins while leading Idaho, and now has 626 at Colorado State against just 225 losses in his career.

His first win at Colorado State came in 1997 and he has won 12 Mountain West Coach of the Year Awards along the way.

"We're really happy for him. That's a huge milestone," Sullivan said. "He's very nonchalant about it, but it's a huge deal. I think Colorado State consistently puts up 20-win seasons, so it just shows what kind of program he's built here."

Which is why, on Friday, he planned to tell his team to look deeper into the win. He wasn't pleased with everything. Yes, he loved they hit .415 in the match and posted 11 aces, tied for the second-most in a four-set match.

What he wasn't thrilled with was in the fourth and final set, Wyoming hit .417. Or that they hit .375 in the first set.

"They weren't fantastic sets because Wyoming hit very well. We weren't shutting them down, but we were scoring enough extra points in the serve and pass game to create a cushion," he said. "We hit great, but I'm going to tell my team tomorrow you can't let a team hit .400. I don't care who it is. We have to be better at blocking and defense."

Which is how a coach gets to 800 career wins. You stick around long enough, and you don't overlook the little things.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results