Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, October 5
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
8-6,4-0Mountain West
3
vs
1
Fresno State
6-9,2-2Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Fresno St.
16
25
11
23
1
Colorado St.
25
20
25
25
3
Leading From the Mountain Top
10/5/2024 4:17:00 PM | Volleyball
Rams get measure of payback against Fresno State
Revenge tastes sweeter at the top.
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Colorado State volleyball took on Fresno State for the first time since the Bulldogs took them out of the Mountain West Championship last season. They held on to their top spot in the Mountain West, staying undefeated in conference play with a 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-11, 25-23) decision.
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It was a match which highlighted the many different points of focus coach Emily Kohan has drilled down on in preseason and in practice. The team tallied 4.0 blocks and 12 service aces, three from star hitter Malaya Jones.
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"From last year, offensively, I was pretty good," Jones said. "But I think what was the biggest thing was that I needed to be a defensive threat as well and iron out my serving. That's something I've been working on the entire offseason. So, it's really good to see that it's panning out."
Â
Jones is known for her powerful hits and accuracy, emulated again in this game with 20 kills at a clip of .273. But the sentiment of improving outside one's position continues to be a recurring theme.
Â
Spreading out the defensive load so to speak while improving the serves of the entire team.
Â
"If you serve tougher, it helps your block have less decisions to make," Kohan said. "That helps your defense play behind, so it's this big chain reaction. Our whole off season we focused on point scoring, which is serving, blocking and defense. I think our point scoring has improved tremendously since last season."
Â
Tough serves and blocks defined the afternoon with FSU gaining the upper hand in the second set, taking advantage in a lull of offensive points.
Â
However, setter Emery Herman showcased her defensive chops tallying 46 assists, 12 digs and two blocks. But she says it's because of the options at hand.
Â
"When I can set anybody, and it's a great option, it makes my life so much easier," Herman said. "Shout out to (Jones, Naeemah Weathers, Kennedy Stanford) for doing all that they do and being amazing."
Options such as both middles, Naeemah Weathers and Karina Leber, contributiing 12 kills each, as Maria Brun chipped in nine.
Â
The streak CSU continues to build upon comes after a difficult non-conference season ending at 4-6.
Â
But for Kohan, a bumpy start led to the wins tallied by the team during the conference season.
Â
"We want to play good volleyball all the time," Kohan said. "We knew that going into that non-conference that we probably weren't going to be undefeated, but we played every team really tough. Some of those teams are still doing really well and I'm so proud of the way that we were able to stay competent and not let it get us rattled. Hopefully, it'll still keep paying off as the season progresses."
Â
Remaining at the top will be no easy feat but those on the roster believe the position is theirs to keep and last year's lost against Fresno State, helped fuel the fire as well.
Â
Jones took that spirit and played with it; nothing personal, only to win.
Â
"We talked about it before the game," Jones said. "Revenge for (last year), let's go. I think we got super excited. We also try not to make it too personal. We just wanted to go out and do our jobs and try not to think too much about last year. But also, it would be sweet if we could win."
Â
Win they did, and ready for the week of volleyball ahead with border-rival Wyoming and Boise State in the coming week.
Â
Staying at the top of the Mountain West continues to be the goal which drives them further. But, beating the team which took them out of the spot for the championship trophy just felt good.
Â
Â
Colorado State volleyball took on Fresno State for the first time since the Bulldogs took them out of the Mountain West Championship last season. They held on to their top spot in the Mountain West, staying undefeated in conference play with a 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-11, 25-23) decision.
Â
It was a match which highlighted the many different points of focus coach Emily Kohan has drilled down on in preseason and in practice. The team tallied 4.0 blocks and 12 service aces, three from star hitter Malaya Jones.
Â
"From last year, offensively, I was pretty good," Jones said. "But I think what was the biggest thing was that I needed to be a defensive threat as well and iron out my serving. That's something I've been working on the entire offseason. So, it's really good to see that it's panning out."
Â
Jones is known for her powerful hits and accuracy, emulated again in this game with 20 kills at a clip of .273. But the sentiment of improving outside one's position continues to be a recurring theme.
Â
Spreading out the defensive load so to speak while improving the serves of the entire team.
Â
"If you serve tougher, it helps your block have less decisions to make," Kohan said. "That helps your defense play behind, so it's this big chain reaction. Our whole off season we focused on point scoring, which is serving, blocking and defense. I think our point scoring has improved tremendously since last season."
Â
Tough serves and blocks defined the afternoon with FSU gaining the upper hand in the second set, taking advantage in a lull of offensive points.
Â
However, setter Emery Herman showcased her defensive chops tallying 46 assists, 12 digs and two blocks. But she says it's because of the options at hand.
Â
"When I can set anybody, and it's a great option, it makes my life so much easier," Herman said. "Shout out to (Jones, Naeemah Weathers, Kennedy Stanford) for doing all that they do and being amazing."
Options such as both middles, Naeemah Weathers and Karina Leber, contributiing 12 kills each, as Maria Brun chipped in nine.
Â
The streak CSU continues to build upon comes after a difficult non-conference season ending at 4-6.
Â
But for Kohan, a bumpy start led to the wins tallied by the team during the conference season.
Â
"We want to play good volleyball all the time," Kohan said. "We knew that going into that non-conference that we probably weren't going to be undefeated, but we played every team really tough. Some of those teams are still doing really well and I'm so proud of the way that we were able to stay competent and not let it get us rattled. Hopefully, it'll still keep paying off as the season progresses."
Â
Remaining at the top will be no easy feat but those on the roster believe the position is theirs to keep and last year's lost against Fresno State, helped fuel the fire as well.
Â
Jones took that spirit and played with it; nothing personal, only to win.
Â
"We talked about it before the game," Jones said. "Revenge for (last year), let's go. I think we got super excited. We also try not to make it too personal. We just wanted to go out and do our jobs and try not to think too much about last year. But also, it would be sweet if we could win."
Â
Win they did, and ready for the week of volleyball ahead with border-rival Wyoming and Boise State in the coming week.
Â
Staying at the top of the Mountain West continues to be the goal which drives them further. But, beating the team which took them out of the spot for the championship trophy just felt good.
Â
Team Stats
Fresno
CSU
Kills
42
61
Errors
15
21
Attempts
115
127
Hitting %
.235
.315
Points
53.0
77.0
Assists
38
53
Aces
3
12
Blocks
8
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
4
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballCSU Volleyball Players Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Emily Kohan Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Volleyball: Building Champions to Win Championship
Monday, May 05
2024 Colorado State Volleyball
Thursday, February 13