Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 28
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 PM
Colorado State
13-10,7-5Mountain West
3
vs
0
Boise State
11-11,7-5Mountain West
1
2
3
F
Boise St.
16
14
16
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
Stanford Paces Sweep of Boise State
10/28/2023 3:11:00 PM | Volleyball
Shift in mentality after reverse sweep builds confidence in Rams
Sometimes, the best way to respond to being reverse swept by a conference contender is to sweep another two days later. If anything, it's quite a satisfying way to come back.
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Behind a season-best performance on both ends of the floor from hitter Kennedy Stanford, Colorado State swept Boise State on Saturday at Moby Arena in dominating fashion, 25-16, 25-14, 25-16.
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Stanford built some confidence out of the gate for the Rams by recording two kills, a block and a service ace in a seven-point span early. It proved to be a sign of things to come for the senior, who led the match in kills with 15 while recording 10 digs, both season-highs for a three-set match. She also tallied three blocks, her sixth match this season with at least that figure.
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"It always feels good to start off on the right foot," Stanford said. "It was a nice way to get the match started and I think across the board, we started off with a lot of momentum which carried through all three sets.
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"As far as hitting, I got a lot of great opportunities off of a lot of different people setting the ball. I think Anna (Porter) and Kate (Yoshimoto) did a good job of putting up second balls out of system, and then Emery really gave me balls which were wide open. It felt good to go out there and be able to swing high, hard and aggressively."
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What was satisfying for Stanford was something head coach Emily Kohan has been waiting to see from her for a while.Â
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To be assertive early on against a team like Boise State is important in setting a tone, not only for the Broncos to react to, but also for the rest of the Rams to replicate. For Kohan, despite Stanford's presence on the box score, what weighed most heavily in CSU's favor was her vigorous presence of mind.
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"She was really great, and she was aggressive," Kohan said. "I told her yesterday that our best team is when she's being aggressive, regardless of what her efficiency and stats say. When she's aggressive, I think she kind of loosens everybody else up to also be aggressive."
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After dominating sets one and two, the Rams found themselves in a situation picturesque to what they faced Thursday against Utah State. During the intermission, Kohan's usual speech was initially replaced with a question: "what would you guys say?"
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The answer was simple.
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"We said 'foot on the gas, no letting up,'" middle Naeemah Weathers said. "And even Emily said we've been in this situation plenty of times before and let it slip through our fingers. So, our mentality was to go out there, foot on the gas, and not allow it to slip out of our fingers and finish it in three."
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The mentality was there to begin the third set, but when the Broncos hit above .600 through the first 10 points, it could have turned into the start of a comeback akin to Utah State's on Thursday.Â
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But thanks to a pair of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run from the Rams, highlighted by multiple Stanford kills and multiple Paige Bartsch errors, the score tipped from a 6-3 Broncos lead all the way to a 17-11 lead the other way.
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"It shows some resilience from us," Stanford said. "We were unhappy with the reverse sweep, so coming out with the fire and the energy we did against a team which was No. 2 in the conference going into this week is something we really wanted to do, and it was good to see us execute from point one to point 25. We knew we were up 2-0 against Utah State, so keeping our foot on the gas pedal was really a focus for us."
Â
Bartsch, who is one of the best attacking players in the conference, was held to 10 kills for the match, which was her second-lowest mark of the season. More impressively, she committed 15 attack errors, which nearly doubled the mark of CSU's total of eight.
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The Rams threw out a triple block again, which has become a force for Kohan's squad. According to Kohan, it isn't successful because of the number of attacks denied by the triple block. Instead, the fact opposing players have to think about potentially having to face it while not knowing when it's going to come.
Â
For Weathers, who recorded a match-high four blocks and is routinely a part of the triple block, it was crucial to the outcome.
Â
"We definitely prepped for (Bartsch), obviously she's a great player and she's a great tracker," Weathers said. "So, we definitely had our eyes on her. I think just being disciplined and pressing when we knew she was getting the ball really helped.
Â
"(The triple block) is kind of our secret weapon, and we've noticed on film a couple other teams have started doing it too. But yeah, the triple block is definitely something we're trying to implement into our game, and I think it's working."
Â
Overall, the sweep, along with the way in which players combined for a complete two-way match, is the kind of result and play style Kohan often talks about wanting to achieve consistently.Â
Â
With four games in two weeks to go before the Mountain West tournament, putting bad games in the past and coming back the next time out is crucial to earn a spot in the tournament and ultimately be competitive when the time comes.
Â
With Saturday's result, the Rams sit third in the conference, but spots three through eight are all within a couple of games. Only the top six make it to the tournament.
Â
"We've had a few tough losses and what I've learned is it doesn't correlate to the next game," Kohan said. "I think that shows they're resilient and they're able to pick themselves up and play hard. As we go into the conference tournament — and our conference is kind of a mess — just being able to play really well in a neutral gym is what we're all questing for."
Â
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Behind a season-best performance on both ends of the floor from hitter Kennedy Stanford, Colorado State swept Boise State on Saturday at Moby Arena in dominating fashion, 25-16, 25-14, 25-16.
Â
Stanford built some confidence out of the gate for the Rams by recording two kills, a block and a service ace in a seven-point span early. It proved to be a sign of things to come for the senior, who led the match in kills with 15 while recording 10 digs, both season-highs for a three-set match. She also tallied three blocks, her sixth match this season with at least that figure.
Â
"It always feels good to start off on the right foot," Stanford said. "It was a nice way to get the match started and I think across the board, we started off with a lot of momentum which carried through all three sets.
Â
"As far as hitting, I got a lot of great opportunities off of a lot of different people setting the ball. I think Anna (Porter) and Kate (Yoshimoto) did a good job of putting up second balls out of system, and then Emery really gave me balls which were wide open. It felt good to go out there and be able to swing high, hard and aggressively."
Â
What was satisfying for Stanford was something head coach Emily Kohan has been waiting to see from her for a while.Â
Â
To be assertive early on against a team like Boise State is important in setting a tone, not only for the Broncos to react to, but also for the rest of the Rams to replicate. For Kohan, despite Stanford's presence on the box score, what weighed most heavily in CSU's favor was her vigorous presence of mind.
Â
"She was really great, and she was aggressive," Kohan said. "I told her yesterday that our best team is when she's being aggressive, regardless of what her efficiency and stats say. When she's aggressive, I think she kind of loosens everybody else up to also be aggressive."
Â
After dominating sets one and two, the Rams found themselves in a situation picturesque to what they faced Thursday against Utah State. During the intermission, Kohan's usual speech was initially replaced with a question: "what would you guys say?"
Â
The answer was simple.
Â
"We said 'foot on the gas, no letting up,'" middle Naeemah Weathers said. "And even Emily said we've been in this situation plenty of times before and let it slip through our fingers. So, our mentality was to go out there, foot on the gas, and not allow it to slip out of our fingers and finish it in three."
Â
The mentality was there to begin the third set, but when the Broncos hit above .600 through the first 10 points, it could have turned into the start of a comeback akin to Utah State's on Thursday.Â
Â
But thanks to a pair of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run from the Rams, highlighted by multiple Stanford kills and multiple Paige Bartsch errors, the score tipped from a 6-3 Broncos lead all the way to a 17-11 lead the other way.
Â
"It shows some resilience from us," Stanford said. "We were unhappy with the reverse sweep, so coming out with the fire and the energy we did against a team which was No. 2 in the conference going into this week is something we really wanted to do, and it was good to see us execute from point one to point 25. We knew we were up 2-0 against Utah State, so keeping our foot on the gas pedal was really a focus for us."
Â
Bartsch, who is one of the best attacking players in the conference, was held to 10 kills for the match, which was her second-lowest mark of the season. More impressively, she committed 15 attack errors, which nearly doubled the mark of CSU's total of eight.
Â
The Rams threw out a triple block again, which has become a force for Kohan's squad. According to Kohan, it isn't successful because of the number of attacks denied by the triple block. Instead, the fact opposing players have to think about potentially having to face it while not knowing when it's going to come.
Â
For Weathers, who recorded a match-high four blocks and is routinely a part of the triple block, it was crucial to the outcome.
Â
"We definitely prepped for (Bartsch), obviously she's a great player and she's a great tracker," Weathers said. "So, we definitely had our eyes on her. I think just being disciplined and pressing when we knew she was getting the ball really helped.
Â
"(The triple block) is kind of our secret weapon, and we've noticed on film a couple other teams have started doing it too. But yeah, the triple block is definitely something we're trying to implement into our game, and I think it's working."
Â
Overall, the sweep, along with the way in which players combined for a complete two-way match, is the kind of result and play style Kohan often talks about wanting to achieve consistently.Â
Â
With four games in two weeks to go before the Mountain West tournament, putting bad games in the past and coming back the next time out is crucial to earn a spot in the tournament and ultimately be competitive when the time comes.
Â
With Saturday's result, the Rams sit third in the conference, but spots three through eight are all within a couple of games. Only the top six make it to the tournament.
Â
"We've had a few tough losses and what I've learned is it doesn't correlate to the next game," Kohan said. "I think that shows they're resilient and they're able to pick themselves up and play hard. As we go into the conference tournament — and our conference is kind of a mess — just being able to play really well in a neutral gym is what we're all questing for."
Â
Team Stats
Boise
CSU
Kills
29
46
Errors
22
8
Attempts
111
106
Hitting %
.063
.358
Points
34.0
59.5
Assists
26
43
Aces
0
4
Blocks
5
9.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
OH
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