Rams Go Back On the Road to Take on San Diego State and UNLV

FORT COLLINS – The Colorado State volleyball team enters its fourth week of Mountain West play on the road against San Diego State and UNLV after coming off a long weekend off.

Colorado State (9-7, 5-1 MW) at San Diego State (11-5, 3-3 MW)
Aztec Court at Peterson Gym, San Diego, Calif.
Thursday, October 17, 2024 // 7 PM MT
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Colorado State (9-7, 5-1 MW) at UNLV (10-7, 3-3 MW)
Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nev.
Saturday, October 19, 2024 // 2 PM MT
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

What You Need to Know

Thursday and Saturday's matches serve as the second road week during conference for the Rams. The Rams are currently 4-1 overall in away matches this season and 2-0 during conference with wins against Utah State and Nevada during week one of conference play.
Both San Diego State and UNLV are split in their conference records at 3-3, but Colorado State will continue on its mission to be a strong road team against both opponents.
Colorado State will look to extend its win streak to three over the Aztecs while also looking to get its first win over UNLV in Cox Pavilion since 2019.

Scouting the Aztecs and Rebels

San Diego State is coming off a loss against Fresno State, which is currently ranked second in the Mountain West. Taking the Bulldogs to five sets, the Aztecs looked to fifth-year middle blocker Shea Rubright, the transfer from Washington State, to lead their offense throughout the match. Rubright had the team-high of 13 kills in the match, and currently holds the second-highest hitting percentage in the Mountain West with a .454, just behind Colorado State's Naeemah Weather who holds a .479 hitting percentage. Rubright wasn't the only contributor to the Aztec offense in Saturday's game as junior outside hitter Taylor Underwood recorded 12 kills and is currently ranked in ninth in the Mountain West in number of kills with 74 during conference. As a team San Diego State is ranked second in the Mountain West just under Colorado State, proving offense will be a crucial aspect of Thursday's game.
During week three UNLV lost to Fresno State and took a victory over San Jose State, beating the Spartans in four sets. Going into week four, the Rebels lead the conference in blocks, with 65 as a team, and are ranked in the top four for hitting percentage, assists, kills, and service aces. This strong offense has been led by senior right side Chloe Thomas and freshman outside hitter Basia Latos, previously named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week, who have recorded 69 and 68 kills in conference. Their success has been largely in part to fifth-year setter Arien Fafard who has 134 assists and is currently ranked in the top 10 in assists in the Mountain West. To round out the Rebel's strong offense, freshman middle blocker Rheanna Deen-Jackson leads the Mountain West in blocks with 35 in total and nine in week three of conference.

Match Notes

Last week Colorado State played in round one of the annual Border War game and defeated Wyoming in four sets. The Rams then went on to face Boise State and after going down in the first two sets, came back and took the next two. After bringing the match to a fifth set, the Rams ultimately fell to the Broncos. Regardless of taking their first loss in conference play, the Rams continue to stand at first place in the Mountain West with a conference record of 5-1.
As a team, Colorado State currently leads the Mountain West in hitting percentage with .310, assists with 319, and kills with 343 during conference play.
Outside Hitter Malaya Jones led the team in kills in Thursday's match, breaking her season-high with 28 kills. She also broke her season high for points with 31, digs with 14, and total blocks with six all in Thursday's match against Boise State. Jones is currently ranked second in the Mountain West in kills and 20 in the NCAA for kills per set, averaging 4.38.
Naeemah Weathers notched 12 total kills in Tuesday's match, as well as a total of 10 blocks during week three. Weathers currently leads the team and the Mountain West in hitting percentage and is ranked ninth in the NCAA with an overall hitting percentage of .445.
Emery Herman totaled 90 assists in week three, maintaining the highest number of assists in the Mountain West, and is currently ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA, averaging 10.23 assists per set.
Along with Jones and Weathers, Karina Leber produced 13 kills and Maria Brun with 10 allowing for the offense to be spread across the board keeping the Broncos on their toes, which will continue to be useful throughout conference play.
Freshman defensive specialist Jordyn Tynsky played in all five sets in Thursday's match, recording her season high with four assists as well as leading the team with two service aces.

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