Rams to Enter Round Two of Conference Hosting UNLV and San Diego State

FORT COLLINS – The Colorado State volleyball team enters its sixth week of conference play, set to face UNLV Thursday and San Diego State Saturday at Moby Arena, looking to stay at the top of the Mountain West.

Colorado State (12-8, 8-2 MW) vs UNLV (10-11, 3-7 MW)
Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
Thursday, October 31 // 7:00 PM
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Colorado State (12-8, 8-2 MW) vs San Diego State (14-6, 6-4 MW)
Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
Saturday, November 2 // 1:00 PM
Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

What You Need to Know

The Rams closed out round one of conference play with wins against New Mexico and a sweep against Air Force, continuing to lead the Mountain West with a conference record of 8-2.
Colorado State will host both UNLV and San Diego State this week at Moby Arena. In round one of conference, the Rams swept UNLV on the road, their first time beating the Rebels in Las Vegas since 2019, and fell to the Aztecs in five sets, one of two losses recorded for the Rams this conference season.
Thursday's game will a Halloween matchup versus the Rebels acting as the second game of a Colorado State soccer-volleyball double header with the CSU Soccer team kicking off at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Rebels and Aztecs

The Rebels travel to Fort Collins after coming off four straight losses, their most recent win against San Jose State in week three. The Rebel's win against San Jose State was their most notable so far throughout conference as the Spartans are closely following the Rams, currently ranked second in the Mountain West.
The Rebels have looked to senior right-side Chloe Thomas to lead their offense to success. Thomas has 197 kills in conference, breaking 1,000 career points in Saturday's game against Boise State. She has been set up for success by fifth-year setter Arien Fafard who is currently ranked in the top ten in the Mountain West with 209 assists and an average of 7.08 per set. The Rebels have also been relying on their defense to hold down matches with freshman middle blocker Rheanna Deen-Jackson ranking second in the Mountain West in blocks with 51 during conference matches and sophomore libero Caleigh King ranking in the top ten in the Mountain West for digs, recording 115 during conference play thus far.
San Diego State is traveling to Fort Collins this week after beating UNLV in four sets and falling to Boise State in five. The first time Colorado State faced San Diego State earlier this conference play, the Aztecs came out on top, Saturday's game aiming for revenge for the Rams.
San Diego State has looked to players across the roster to contribute to its success. Junior opposite Taylor Underwood is ranked in the top ten in the Mountain West with 266 recorded kills during conference play as well as 294.5 points, largely in part due to sophomore setter Fatimah Hall who is ranked in the top ten in assists in the Mountain West, recording 141 overall and averaging 4.86 assists per set. Graduate student Shea Rubright has also stayed at the top of the leaderboard for hitting percentage in the Mountain West with a percentage of .426, still ranked second behind Naeemah Weathers. The defensive side of the roster has been held down by freshman defensive specialist Gianna Bender who is ranked fifth in the Mountain West with 154 recorded digs, averaging 3.67 per set.

Match Notes

Many milestones were achieved in week five of conference play for the Rams with Kate Yoshimoto surpassing 1,000 career digs, Karina Leber surpassing 1,000 career kills, and Emery Herman one assist away from breaking 5,000 career assists.
Redshirt senior Malaya Jones holds the second-highest hitting percentage in the Mountain West with 343 kills total this season and 171 during conference games. Jones also has the second most points recorded in the Mountain West while being ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA with 383 total points. In the Ram's last match against UNLV, Jones led the team with 21 kills and contributed two assists, two blocks, and one service ace.
Freshman Maria Brun had a strong game against Air Force Saturday, leading the Rams in kills with a career-high 11 in the match.
Fifth-year senior Emery Herman recorded 84 assists across Thursday and Saturday's games as she continues to lead the Mountain West in assists per set at 10.90 and 436 total assists in the conference. In round one of conference play, Herman recorded 38 assists when the Rams faced the Rebels and 44 when facing the Aztecs.
Fifth-year senior middle blocker Naeemah Weathers continues to stay in the top ten in hitting percentage in the NCAA, currently ranked eighth and leading the Mountain West during conference play with an overall percentage of .451 contributing 170 total kills.
Redshirt freshman Kekua Richards made an appearance in Saturday's game against Air Force, achieving a career-high six kills as well as eight points in the match, contributing to the Ram's sweep.

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