Colorado State University Athletics
Thursday, October 31
Fort Collins, CO
7:00 PM
Colorado State
13-8,9-2Mountain West
3
vs
0
UNLV
10-12,3-8Mountain West
1
2
3
F
UNLV
21
11
22
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
A treat for the top of the Mountain West
10/31/2024 9:58:00 PM | Volleyball
Brooms aren’t only for witches
FORT COLLINS – Ted Lasso, Michael Myers and Harry Potter walk into Moby Arena.
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Though it sounds like the start of a bad joke, it was reality during Halloween night when Colorado State swept Las Vegas for the second time this season.
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The Rams have not double-swept UNLV since their 2017 season and have not lost at home against them since 2020. And on Thursday, they kept the tradition going.
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Sweeping the Rebels aside, the highlight of the night wasn't the ghoulish game-goers, but the defensive prowess displayed by CSU. Their digs and blocks lead to UNLV's hitting percentage to be at .133% at the end of the game.
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"It's always super fun to get blocks," Naeemah Weathers, who led the game in blocks, said. "That's honestly one of my favorite parts of volleyball, is getting blocks. And it was super cool to also see our back row chasing stuff down."
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One such person dedicated to chasing every ball down was Malaya Jones. The outside hitter committed to improving her defensive chops, got a double-double with 15 kills and 10 blocks.
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Her playing speaks for itself. Especially after the first set where UNLV managed to keep up with CSU for most of its time, a switch clicked for Jones.
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"What we like to talk about is that you have to expect teams like UNLV to come out strong," coach Emily Kohan said. "We had to climb back in that first set. And, I was really proud of their composure of saying that we have to play good volleyball on our side."
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The small hiccup did not deter the team towards sweeping the Rebels. The win was accompanied with yet another career milestone with setter Emery Herman reaching 5,000 career assists with her first assist of the game.
Â
In the last game, both Kate Yoshimoto and Karina Leber hit career milestones of digs and kills respectively. Herman, one assist away from 5,000 at the end of their game against the Air Force could have been a disappointed, but she liked it that way.
Â
"I like that we kind of spread it out a little bit," Herman said. "Malaya had her game, Karina and Kate had their game. It's fun to spread it out and every gets their moment to shine a little bit."
Â
Sharing the moment continues to be a theme throughout this volleyball season as their synergy keeps them at the top of the Mountain West.
Â
Staying at the top was a goal to start out the season and Jones continues to deliver in every way needed citing a "tingle" as her secret.
Â
"I think it's surreal, not every game is going to be like (this)," Jones said. "I can feel that type of tingle and I'm like, 'I really have to ride with this one, because I want carry out the rest of the game.' I just really try to ride off that high."
Â
A tingle her teammates and coaches can see which brings out her fire.
Â
Kohan even has her own moniker for the illusive tingle.
Â
"She gets into, I call it, turbo mode," Kohan said. "She starts swinging a little bit harder with a little bit more aggression in her celebration. When that Malaya comes out, I have good tingles too."
Â
Riding off this high, CSU is well prepared for the most important time of their season, November.
Â
With seven more games until conference it is the home stretch for the team gunning for a Mountain West championship title and keeping their top spot on the rankings. And part of it is constant improvement of the many different characters which make up the team.
Â
"We can always improve," Herman said. "There are always things to do better, but I think we have a really good chemistry going on right now, and we're flowing really well together. So, I'm just excited to see the rest of the season as we continue."
Â
Michael Myers or not, the brooms were brought out—though not the witches' kind—ready to sweep the opponent into the shadows.
Â
Â
Though it sounds like the start of a bad joke, it was reality during Halloween night when Colorado State swept Las Vegas for the second time this season.
Â
The Rams have not double-swept UNLV since their 2017 season and have not lost at home against them since 2020. And on Thursday, they kept the tradition going.
Â
Sweeping the Rebels aside, the highlight of the night wasn't the ghoulish game-goers, but the defensive prowess displayed by CSU. Their digs and blocks lead to UNLV's hitting percentage to be at .133% at the end of the game.
Â
"It's always super fun to get blocks," Naeemah Weathers, who led the game in blocks, said. "That's honestly one of my favorite parts of volleyball, is getting blocks. And it was super cool to also see our back row chasing stuff down."
Â
One such person dedicated to chasing every ball down was Malaya Jones. The outside hitter committed to improving her defensive chops, got a double-double with 15 kills and 10 blocks.
Â
Her playing speaks for itself. Especially after the first set where UNLV managed to keep up with CSU for most of its time, a switch clicked for Jones.
Â
"What we like to talk about is that you have to expect teams like UNLV to come out strong," coach Emily Kohan said. "We had to climb back in that first set. And, I was really proud of their composure of saying that we have to play good volleyball on our side."
Â
The small hiccup did not deter the team towards sweeping the Rebels. The win was accompanied with yet another career milestone with setter Emery Herman reaching 5,000 career assists with her first assist of the game.
Â
In the last game, both Kate Yoshimoto and Karina Leber hit career milestones of digs and kills respectively. Herman, one assist away from 5,000 at the end of their game against the Air Force could have been a disappointed, but she liked it that way.
Â
"I like that we kind of spread it out a little bit," Herman said. "Malaya had her game, Karina and Kate had their game. It's fun to spread it out and every gets their moment to shine a little bit."
Â
Sharing the moment continues to be a theme throughout this volleyball season as their synergy keeps them at the top of the Mountain West.
Â
Staying at the top was a goal to start out the season and Jones continues to deliver in every way needed citing a "tingle" as her secret.
Â
"I think it's surreal, not every game is going to be like (this)," Jones said. "I can feel that type of tingle and I'm like, 'I really have to ride with this one, because I want carry out the rest of the game.' I just really try to ride off that high."
Â
A tingle her teammates and coaches can see which brings out her fire.
Â
Kohan even has her own moniker for the illusive tingle.
Â
"She gets into, I call it, turbo mode," Kohan said. "She starts swinging a little bit harder with a little bit more aggression in her celebration. When that Malaya comes out, I have good tingles too."
Â
Riding off this high, CSU is well prepared for the most important time of their season, November.
Â
With seven more games until conference it is the home stretch for the team gunning for a Mountain West championship title and keeping their top spot on the rankings. And part of it is constant improvement of the many different characters which make up the team.
Â
"We can always improve," Herman said. "There are always things to do better, but I think we have a really good chemistry going on right now, and we're flowing really well together. So, I'm just excited to see the rest of the season as we continue."
Â
Michael Myers or not, the brooms were brought out—though not the witches' kind—ready to sweep the opponent into the shadows.
Â
Team Stats
UNLV
CSU
Kills
37
37
Errors
23
7
Attempts
105
76
Hitting %
.133
.395
Points
42.0
48.0
Assists
32
37
Aces
2
3
Blocks
3
8
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
S
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