Rams Look to Defend Home Court Against Conference Leaders

By: Shelby Paugh

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State volleyball team will continue Mountain West play with two matches at home this week, first against the Utah State Aggies Thursday night and then the Boise State Broncos Saturday afternoon.

Colorado State (12-9, 6-4 MW) vs Utah State (16-5, 9-1 MW)
Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
Thursday, October 26, 2023 // 7:00 PM
Stream: MW Network
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Promotion: Pink Out

Colorado State (12-9, 6-4 MW) vs. Boise State (11-9, 7-3 MW)
Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
Saturday, October 28, 2023 // 12:00 PM
Stream: MW Network
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What You Need to Know

The Rams currently sit fourth in the Mountain West with a conference record of 6-4. This week marks the first week of round two in conference play with the Rams playing each conference team once more before the regular season wraps up.
Thursday night will serve as Colorado State volleyball's annual Pink Out game in collaboration with UCHealth where the Rams will honor heroic cancer survivors and all those currently battling.
Saturday's game against Boise State will be the second doubleheader of the season featuring both Colorado State volleyball and football in Fort Collins. The Rams' football team will take on the Air Force Falcons Saturday at 5 p.m. for its annual State Pride night at Canvas Stadium.

Scouting the Aggies and Broncos

The Aggies sit at the top of the Mountain West conference and 19th overall in RPI, making them the highest-ranked Mountain West team so far this season. They have won six straight matches in the month of October and are 10-1 in matches that go over three sets this season.
Utah State ranks second in the conference in both team assists and service aces. The Aggies have collected a total of 496 assists during the conference season and average 12.50 assists per set in a 6-2 offense run by setters Leah Wilton-LaBoy and Beatriz Rodrigues.
Aggies outside hitter Shelby Capllonch leads Utah State with 27 of its 81 service aces and ranks ninth in kills with 131. Capllonch is the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week logging 27 digs, four blocks, 28 kills, four service aces, and one assist during play last week against UNLV and San Diego State.
Utah State's Rodrigues and outside hitter Tatum Stall also find themselves within the top ten of service aces in the league.
Middle blocker, Kennedi Boyd sits eighth in blocking with 39 block assists and three solo blocks.
Boise State resides at No. 3 in the conference, right above the Rams. The Broncos went 1-1 last weekend after beating UNLV and falling to San Diego State, both in four sets.
The Broncos rank first in teams kills with opposite hitter Paige Bartsch leading the league individually as well. Bartsch has 188 of Boise State's 525 kills and averages 4.82 per set. She also leads the league in service aces with 20. Libero Breanna Mitchell sits third on this list with 19 aces of her own.

Series vs. Aggies: 34-15
Home vs. Aggies: 17-6

Series vs. Broncos: 21-2
Home vs. Broncos: 12-1

Match Notes

The Rams went 1-1 last week against Fresno State and Nevada. They fell to Fresno State in five at home before sweeping Nevada in three quick sets on the road.
Colorado State ranks first in team assists and hitting percentage in the Mountain West. The Rams maintain an average of 12.49 assists per set and a hitting efficiency of .287. They have also tallied 524 kills for the number two spot in the conference.
Senior Emery Herman continues to lead the league in individual assists. Herman has 426 assists on the conference season and averages 10.92 assists per set. She currently totals 890 assists on the season as a whole, which is on pace to record her third consecutive 1,000 assist season. She is also tied for eighth in the league for service aces with a total of 15.
Redshirt junior Malaya Jones continues to maintain her ranking at number five in the Mountain West in kills. Jones has a total of 135 kills on the conference season averaging 3.46 per set. She notched 21 total kills last week against Fresno State and Nevada. Jones remains third in points in the conference earning a total of 162.0.
Senior Kennedy Stanford made her mark last week with 27 kills across eight sets. She also recorded 16 digs over the weekend.
Fifth-year Annie Sullivan was another offensive standout last weekend putting up 25 kills, 16 of them against Fresno State.
Other notable players include senior Karina Leber who had 20 kills of her own along with four blocks and senior Naeemah Weathers had 11 kills of her own and nine blocks throughout the week. Both athletes sit in the top three in individual hitting percentage with Weathers hitting at a .405 efficiency and Leber hitting .365.

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