Colorado State University Athletics
Saturday, November 23
Fort Collins, CO
12:00 PM
Colorado State
18-10,14-4Mountain West
3
vs
1
Utah State
15-13,12-5Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Utah St.
25
17
14
21
1
Colorado St.
19
25
25
25
3
A Win With Plenty to Celebrate
11/23/2024 3:35:00 PM | Volleyball
CSU sets up tourney with victory on Senior Day
The match wasn't a clean sweep. The reasons to celebrate Saturday afternoon were.
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Colorado State volleyball finished the regular season with a win over Utah State, clinching the outright Mountain West title with the victory on Senior Day. Â The Rams won the match after losing the first game, delivering a big momentum shift in the second in the 19-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21 win.
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CSU kicked off the match with a celebration of its seniors Emery Herman, Naeemah Weathers, Kennedy Stanford, Kate Yoshimoto, Karina Leber and team manager Whitney Holland. After shouting out the USU seniors, the Rams celebrated their college careers with their families on the court with the crowd wearing green to show their support.
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The seniors showed up and showed out knowing it was their last game at Moby Arena. Weathers dominated the scoring in the first set even though the Rams ultimately lost.
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"We were a little shaky in that first set, and when we crossed over, we said 'we are hunters, we are not prey,'" coach Emily Kohan said. "They recomposed themselves, the servers punched right back, and our defense hunted down balls and got us in position to punch back. Again, we are hunters, not prey." Â
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The moment when the momentum most notably shifted in the second set was when Malaya Jones had a big block which was shortly followed by a big kill from Weathers.
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Weathers had a great night with a hitting percentage of .714 which put her in the CSU volleyball record book, tying for third with alumni Michelle Knox and Angie Miller in a four-set match. She finished with 10 kills on 14 swings.
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"That is a great way wrap up my career at CSU," Weathers said. "When I came in, I never thought that I'd be in the record book, so being able to kind of stamp my name on CSU volleyball has been super special."
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Tying a CSU record really added to the vibe of the match for Weathers. She said the team wanted to use the added emotions of senior night to fuel their game and since they have the win, she said they want to continue to use the emotions in the Mountain West Tournament, which begins next week in Las Vegas.
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The rest of the team also had a good performance with Herman once again breaking the 40 mark in assists (41), Yoshimoto notched four service aces and Jones finished with 21 kills on 35 attacks.
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"It's chapter three now; chapter two is closed," Kohan said. "Chapter three of this post season is do or die from here on out. We want to play as much volleyball as we possibly can and knowing the margins are slim for everyone, everyone is motivated, and the playing field is level."Â
The team won't be playing at Moby Arena for the championship and have to bring their own energy without having the crowd to fuel them. Kohan said the team just needs to remember they are better when they are aggressive.
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The Rams came into Saturday's contest and this season not knowing how it would end, but the team is always looking at getting that next win. And for the five seniors, a storybook way to exit stage left.
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"This is scripted the way you want this chapter two of the season to end," Kohan said. "Against the number two team, in your home, on senior night with those five seniors, so to get the ending that they probably would've scripted at the beginning of the season is the cherry on top."
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Colorado State volleyball finished the regular season with a win over Utah State, clinching the outright Mountain West title with the victory on Senior Day. Â The Rams won the match after losing the first game, delivering a big momentum shift in the second in the 19-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-21 win.
Â
CSU kicked off the match with a celebration of its seniors Emery Herman, Naeemah Weathers, Kennedy Stanford, Kate Yoshimoto, Karina Leber and team manager Whitney Holland. After shouting out the USU seniors, the Rams celebrated their college careers with their families on the court with the crowd wearing green to show their support.
Â
The seniors showed up and showed out knowing it was their last game at Moby Arena. Weathers dominated the scoring in the first set even though the Rams ultimately lost.
Â
"We were a little shaky in that first set, and when we crossed over, we said 'we are hunters, we are not prey,'" coach Emily Kohan said. "They recomposed themselves, the servers punched right back, and our defense hunted down balls and got us in position to punch back. Again, we are hunters, not prey." Â
Â
The moment when the momentum most notably shifted in the second set was when Malaya Jones had a big block which was shortly followed by a big kill from Weathers.
Â
Weathers had a great night with a hitting percentage of .714 which put her in the CSU volleyball record book, tying for third with alumni Michelle Knox and Angie Miller in a four-set match. She finished with 10 kills on 14 swings.
Â
"That is a great way wrap up my career at CSU," Weathers said. "When I came in, I never thought that I'd be in the record book, so being able to kind of stamp my name on CSU volleyball has been super special."
Â
Tying a CSU record really added to the vibe of the match for Weathers. She said the team wanted to use the added emotions of senior night to fuel their game and since they have the win, she said they want to continue to use the emotions in the Mountain West Tournament, which begins next week in Las Vegas.
Â
The rest of the team also had a good performance with Herman once again breaking the 40 mark in assists (41), Yoshimoto notched four service aces and Jones finished with 21 kills on 35 attacks.
Â
"It's chapter three now; chapter two is closed," Kohan said. "Chapter three of this post season is do or die from here on out. We want to play as much volleyball as we possibly can and knowing the margins are slim for everyone, everyone is motivated, and the playing field is level."Â
The team won't be playing at Moby Arena for the championship and have to bring their own energy without having the crowd to fuel them. Kohan said the team just needs to remember they are better when they are aggressive.
 Â
The Rams came into Saturday's contest and this season not knowing how it would end, but the team is always looking at getting that next win. And for the five seniors, a storybook way to exit stage left.
Â
"This is scripted the way you want this chapter two of the season to end," Kohan said. "Against the number two team, in your home, on senior night with those five seniors, so to get the ending that they probably would've scripted at the beginning of the season is the cherry on top."
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Team Stats
USU
CSU
Kills
43
53
Errors
20
12
Attempts
105
106
Hitting %
.219
.387
Points
60.0
78.5
Assists
41
50
Aces
12
14
Blocks
5
11.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
7
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ 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