Rams Come out Victorious Against the Falcons

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6:00 PM

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6:00 PM

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12:00 PM

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at RV Colorado

By: Shelby Paugh

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It was a long Thursday night in Colorado Springs where the Colorado State volleyball team took the Air Force Falcons to five sets and won the battle 3-2 to claim their first road conference win of the season.

The Rams, who are familiar in going to five sets with Thursday night marking their eighth five-set match of the season, were able to fend off late momentum from the Falcons to claim a thrilling 20-18 fifth set victory behind 22 kills from opposite hitter Malaya Jones, with 11 of her kills coming in the fifth set alone.

Being able to finish close games, especially on the road, has been an emphasis of the team and Head Coach Emily Kohan. With set five needing extra points to determine a winner, Kohan spoke specifically on the importance of the Rams' serving ability late in matches.

"It was a focus in our practice all week to be able to win tight sets and especially in our service game because when you get into those deuce sets, you have to win on the serve," Kohan said. "I was really proud that we finally had a data point that said 'Hey, we can do this' and I think Malaya showed up huge in that set five and we just fed her and fed her and fed her."

Jones hit at a .647 percentage in the fifth set alone to finish the night with 22 kills on a .308 efficiency. Continuing to play all six rotations for Colorado State, Jones spoke to her increased role on the team compared to last season and gave credit to senior setter Emery Herman.

"Emery trusts me. I can tell and I can feel that she trusts me. That makes my confidence skyrocket. That's what makes us grow together and helps me feel confident as the go-to person."

Herman finished the night with a career high 58 assists for the Rams while recording 10 digs to notch her tenth double-double of the season.

The Rams started the match at a deficit, falling in the first set 25-22 after battling back from being down seven points at the 20-15 mark. Colorado State still tallied 12 kills with Jones leading the offense with five of her own.

After a total of 11 service errors between the two teams in the second set, Colorado State bounced back and defeated the Falcons 25-18. The Rams were able to put down 14 kills through Herman's distribution and record a hitting efficiency of .375.

Outside hitter, Kennedy Stanford made a huge impact for the Rams in the second set, adding four more kills to her already three kills on the night. Middle blocker Naeemah Weathers tallied her first four kills of the match in the second, along with three blocks a part of the Rams' eight team blocks.

Colorado State continued to take charge in the third set winning 25-20. Jones contributed another five kills along with outside hitter Annie Sullivan who added four of her own to the Rams' total of 15 kills in the third.

The fourth set went to the Falcons, 19-25. Offensively, Herman dished out only seven assists to four different hitters, Stanford, Sullivan, Weathers and middle blocker Karina Leber who added two more kills to further enhance her total on the night. As a team, Colorado State totaled six attacking errors at a .081 hitting efficiency.

The fifth set was a back-and-forth battle that was forced into extra points. After the fifth match point, Colorado State came out with a tight victory of 20-18 with Jones continuing to be a threat from all corners of the court.

"She's found a groove in the back row attacking. She just hits a really nice line up as a right-side attacker and she's found a nice little niche in her role," Kohan said.

Collectively, the Rams totaled 65 kills, hit at a .235 efficiency and registered 18 blocks through five sets. Colorado State also collected 58 digs, 18 of them being from libero Kate Yoshimoto.

The Rams will finish their weekend road trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico facing off against the Lobos Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. They will return home to Moby Arena next week to play Fresno State Thursday night.

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