Rams Sweep the Lobos to Advance to the Mountain West Championship Game

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The No. 2 Colorado State volleyball team swept the No. 6 New Mexico Lobos for the third time this season Thursday night to advance to the Mountain West Championship game tomorrow versus No. 5 Fresno State.

All season long, the message has been to finish and now the Rams have the opportunity to finish on top of the conference as they advance to the Mountain West Championship game Friday afternoon. It was a thanksgiving win that left the Rams thankful to be playing another day and thankful for the 25 kills that opposite hitter Malaya Jones contributed.

"I think this was the perfect example of having composure and finishing for us," Head Coach Emily Kohan said. "I feel like taking the momentum from their comeback in set three into tomorrow is a really cool opportunity for our team."

Entering the match, the Rams hadn't played since senior night in Moby Arena last Saturday. On the other side of the net, the New Mexico Lobos were bringing momentum into the match after their five-set upset over No. 3 UNLV Wednesday night. The momentum from New Mexico showed within the first points of the match with the Lobos jumping out to an early 9-6 lead, but before the first timeout of the set, the Rams would lead 15-12.

Colorado State went on a 13-3 run thanks to three kills from Karina Leber and service runs from Anna Porter, Ruby Kayser and Malaya Jones. With a six-point lead, Jones tallied the final three points of the set for Colorado State, all with kills, giving the Rams the early advantage with a 25-18 first set win.

The second set once again went in favor of the Rams in a similar fashion with set two also ending 25-18. A 5-0 run to put the Rams up 15-10 was the key to this set as both teams traded side outs consistently through the rest of the frame. The Lobos couldn't over come the run from Colorado State as New Mexico didn't score back-to-back points the rest of the set, propelling the Rams to a 2-0 lead.

Jones added seven kills in the second set alone as the All-Mountain West recipient hit at a .500 percentage on the night. Leber also added five kills in the second set along with two block assists.

In the third, the Lobos responded as any team with their season on the line would. Tied at 15 all, New Mexico went on a 6-2 run to earn its largest lead of the night with the margin set at four. After a timeout called by Kohan, Colorado State returned to the floor to score four unanswered points to tie the set at 21 all.

But that was just the beginning. Jones was about to do what she has done multiple times this year for Colorado State, take over in the endgame.

The third set would result in six more tie-scores as the match needed extra points to decide a winner. Ending 29-27 in favor of the Rams, Jones was accountable for six kills within the final eight points of the game for the Rams as she finished the set with 13 total kills.

"[Malaya] was a monster offensively, but she also had some really great digs and this is something that we know teams are starting to target her to slow her down on offense," Kohan said.

"To be able to have the opportunity to help my team in whatever way that I can, help us get to the finals and help us hopefully win a championship, its all I can hope for as a player," Jones said.

As a team, Colorado State hit at a .378 efficiency and over .300 in each set of the match. Middle blocker Karina Leber hit at a .769 percentage for 11 kills while her counterpart Naeemah Weathers also added seven kills out of the middle at a .333 efficiency.

Other top contributors for the Rams included setter Emery Herman who totaled 47 assists on the night along with three service aces. Kayser and Jones also added an ace themselves.

"I felt like you could feel the motivation of everybody. The first contact, second contact and the attackers were putting some power on it. New Mexico is a really good defensive team, but we had very few unforced errors attacking," Kohan said.

"To finish means everything. It is everything we've been working towards the entire year. It's something we are continuing to grow in and all of that volleyball we have played this season is finally working out. We're understanding that it doesn't matter who is across the net, we have to be able to play our best volleyball and I think we learned that, and we grew up as a team, and matured this year while we also became closer than we ever have so that is a huge difference too," Jones said.

Colorado State will now face the No. 5 seeded Fresno State Bulldogs in the championship matchup. The only other time Colorado State faced the Bulldogs this season, it resulted in a five-set loss for the Rams. Fresno State who is now on a two game win streak knocked off the No. 1 seeded Utah State Aggies and the No. 4 seeded Boise State Broncos to be in the championship game tomorrow.

"I think we need to come still be really smart with our play, not giving up after the first swing. We have to be able to play the entire game like we did tonight. If we play like we did tonight, we beat them and that's a big emphasis."

The championship game will take place at 5 p.m. mountain time at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada Friday night. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships set to begin Thursday, November 30. Fans can tune in on the Mountain West Network and follow along with all the action by following @CSUVolleyball on social media.

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