Rams Defeat Michigan in Third Consecutive Five-Set Match

Calendar

Show:/

Sep 11

6:00 PM

Volleyball

vs East Texas A&M

Sep 12

6:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Notre Dame

Sep 13

12:00 PM

Volleyball

vs Notre Dame v. East Texas A&M

Sep 18

6:00 PM

Volleyball

vs RV Colorado

Sep 19

7:00 PM

Volleyball

at RV Colorado

FAYETTEVILE, Ark. – In its third consecutive five-set match, the Colorado State Volleyball team was able to finish set five strong and on top as the Rams took down the Michigan Wolverines, 3-2, in a neutral site match hosted by Arkansas.

After falling to Northern Colorado Tuesday and No. 21 Arkansas Friday night, both in five sets, the Rams were able to fire on all cylinders all the way through five sets and finish on top Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville. Playing four games during week two of the 2023 season, all away from Fort Collins, Head Coach Emily Kohan called it "the best training environment we can ask for."

Kohan credited the Rams for their tenacity and ability to learn from the feeling of defeat throughout the week in order to take down the Wolverines for their second Power Five conference win this season.

"They really competed and executed in the end-game," Kohan said. "We talked about those games when we went into set five tonight and we wanted to show that we can play our best in set five and I really thought everybody passed well, Emery made some good decisions and we took some cracks in set five."

Michigan took the advantage on the Rams, winning the first set 27-25 with the Wolverines out-hitting the Rams .208 to .152 in the first set. Despite the first set loss, the Colorado State block defense was on point from the opening serve as the Rams finished set one with three blocks including senior Naeemah Weathers being a part of all three.

Bouncing back in the second, the Rams hit at a .341 clip in order to tie the match at one all with a 25-23 second-set win. A 5-1 run in the second to give Colorado State an 18-14 advantage proved to be took much for the Wolverines to come back from and acted as the spark needed for the Rams to take the advantage in the third set.

In the third, both teams went on their own 5-0 run before things became even at 19 all. From there, it was senior setter Emery Herman who distributed the ball throughout her plethora of hitters in order to keep the Michigan defense out of system and propel the Rams to a 25-22 third-set win.

The Wolverines forced a fifth set after winning the fourth set, 25-18 and the Rams were in familiar territory, heading to a fifth set once again. Not only did each of Colorado State's last two matches end in a five-set loss, but they also ended with a fifth-set spread of less than four points, leaving a victory in each game just out of reach for the Rams.

In the fifth set Saturday afternoon, the Rams were not willing to let another important five-set match slide by.

"They decided that they were going to find another level," Kohan said. "I'm sure their legs and arms are cooked and that they are tired, but they dug deep and found a level of competitiveness and execution that I was really proud of."

Tied at five all, senior Annie Sullivan and redshirt junior Malaya Jones led the fifth-set charge on the offensive side of the ball with Jones recording three kills in the fifth set alone while Sullivan recorded four, including the final three points of the match for the Rams. Two solo blocks, one from Jones and another from senior Kennedy Stanford, were the energy builders in set five as the Rams finished the match without a single attacking error in the final frame.

Sullivan finished the afternoon with 15 kills while Stanford totaled 12 and Jones tallied 10. Stanford recorded her second double-double of the season as she also contributed 15 digs. Herman totaled 43 assists with Kate Yoshimoto leading the defense with 29 digs, a season high for the redshirt sophomore libero. Senior Ruby Kayser also finished the afternoon with three service aces.

The Rams will play their final game of the week as they travel to Conway, Arkansas to face off against Central Arkansas Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results