Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, September 14
Boulder, CO
7:00 PM
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6-3,0-0Pac-12
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Colorado St.
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Rams Reverse Sweep the Buffs
9/15/2023 12:08:00 AM | Volleyball
Jones records career high kills in five set win over Colorado
BOULDER, Colo. – The Colorado State volleyball team kicked off rivalry week with a bang as the Rams took down Colorado in five sets at the CU Event Center after falling behind two sets to start the match. In a full team effort, the Rams completed the reverse sweep to claim game one in the fight for the Golden Spike trophy Thursday night.
Last season, after beating the Buffs 3-1 in front of a sold-out Moby Arena, the Rams traveled to Boulder for game two against Colorado with all the momentum on their side and with full intentions of taking the Golden Spike trophy home with them to Fort Collins. After using their momentum from the night before to go up two sets to none, the Buffs pulled off a reverse sweep to take down the Rams and celebrate with the Golden Spike trophy for the second year in a row on their home court in Boulder.
This year, it was the Rams' turn.
With attention towards the Colorado State and Colorado rivalry at an all time high thanks to the highly anticipated Rocky Mountain Showdown between both school's football teams taking place Saturday night, the CU Events Center was a loud and hostile environment for game one of the rivalry series between the Rams and the Buffaloes.Â
Playing with the home crowd behind them, the Buffs took a 2-0 lead into the third set with both two opening sets ending 25-23 in favor of Colorado. Fighting with nothing to lose, the Rams flipped a switch and battled back in the third set 25-21, then the fourth 26-24 and finished the match on top with a 15-13 set-five victory.
All five sets Thursday night ended with less than a five-point spread making the little things matter most, but a big contributor for the Rams was redshirt-junior Malaya Jones who recorded a career high 21 kills in the win. Jones, who seemed to simply take over the match while playing all six rotations for most of the night and recording kills in both the front and back rows, at one point in the fourth set had three kills in a row to extend the Rams' lead to 17-15 and keep Colorado State's hopes of a road win alive.
Through the first two sets, Colorado's block defense was on point and the Buffs had two different players hitting above .500 efficiency. Turning the tides and momentum into their favor, it was Colorado State's and Head Coach Emily Kohan's adjustments before the third set that ended up being the difference Thursday night. From hitting a .071 percentage in the second set to a .560 efficiency in the third set, the Rams were able to find more holes in the Colorado defense, hitting around the Buffs' block instead of into it.
Colorado State also out-blocked Colorado in each of the three sets they won while out-digging the Buffs 60-56 on the night. Overall, Colorado State came out of the intermission after set two looking sharper both mentally and physically.
Playing in its fifth five-set match of the season, Colorado State was able to finish out the win and reverse sweep in Boulder with the final two sets both ending by the needed spread of two points. Â
Senior setter Emery Herman dished out 52 assists on the night, fifth-year Annie Sullivan recorded 17 kills on the left side of the court for the Rams all while libero Kate Yoshimoto led the Colorado State defense with 19 digs and a perfect reception percentage.
The Rams' two middle blockers both had successful nights as Naeemah Weathers totaled 11 kills at a .529 hitting efficiency and Karina Leber ended the night with five block assists and six kills. Senior Kennedy Stanford rounded out the double-digit hitters for the Rams will 13 kills of her own while adding a service ace as well.
Leaving Boulder with a win, the Rams will look to claim game two of the rivalry series Friday night in Moby Arena with the winner claiming the Golden Spike Trophy. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Fort Collins.
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Last season, after beating the Buffs 3-1 in front of a sold-out Moby Arena, the Rams traveled to Boulder for game two against Colorado with all the momentum on their side and with full intentions of taking the Golden Spike trophy home with them to Fort Collins. After using their momentum from the night before to go up two sets to none, the Buffs pulled off a reverse sweep to take down the Rams and celebrate with the Golden Spike trophy for the second year in a row on their home court in Boulder.
This year, it was the Rams' turn.
With attention towards the Colorado State and Colorado rivalry at an all time high thanks to the highly anticipated Rocky Mountain Showdown between both school's football teams taking place Saturday night, the CU Events Center was a loud and hostile environment for game one of the rivalry series between the Rams and the Buffaloes.Â
Playing with the home crowd behind them, the Buffs took a 2-0 lead into the third set with both two opening sets ending 25-23 in favor of Colorado. Fighting with nothing to lose, the Rams flipped a switch and battled back in the third set 25-21, then the fourth 26-24 and finished the match on top with a 15-13 set-five victory.
All five sets Thursday night ended with less than a five-point spread making the little things matter most, but a big contributor for the Rams was redshirt-junior Malaya Jones who recorded a career high 21 kills in the win. Jones, who seemed to simply take over the match while playing all six rotations for most of the night and recording kills in both the front and back rows, at one point in the fourth set had three kills in a row to extend the Rams' lead to 17-15 and keep Colorado State's hopes of a road win alive.
Through the first two sets, Colorado's block defense was on point and the Buffs had two different players hitting above .500 efficiency. Turning the tides and momentum into their favor, it was Colorado State's and Head Coach Emily Kohan's adjustments before the third set that ended up being the difference Thursday night. From hitting a .071 percentage in the second set to a .560 efficiency in the third set, the Rams were able to find more holes in the Colorado defense, hitting around the Buffs' block instead of into it.
Colorado State also out-blocked Colorado in each of the three sets they won while out-digging the Buffs 60-56 on the night. Overall, Colorado State came out of the intermission after set two looking sharper both mentally and physically.
Playing in its fifth five-set match of the season, Colorado State was able to finish out the win and reverse sweep in Boulder with the final two sets both ending by the needed spread of two points. Â
Senior setter Emery Herman dished out 52 assists on the night, fifth-year Annie Sullivan recorded 17 kills on the left side of the court for the Rams all while libero Kate Yoshimoto led the Colorado State defense with 19 digs and a perfect reception percentage.
The Rams' two middle blockers both had successful nights as Naeemah Weathers totaled 11 kills at a .529 hitting efficiency and Karina Leber ended the night with five block assists and six kills. Senior Kennedy Stanford rounded out the double-digit hitters for the Rams will 13 kills of her own while adding a service ace as well.
Leaving Boulder with a win, the Rams will look to claim game two of the rivalry series Friday night in Moby Arena with the winner claiming the Golden Spike Trophy. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Fort Collins.
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Team Stats
CSU
CU
Kills
74
55
Errors
28
22
Attempts
162
146
Hitting %
.284
.226
Points
88.0
77.0
Assists
68
52
Aces
3
5
Blocks
11
17
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
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