Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Hit the Road to Kick Off the NCAA Tournament
12/5/2024 2:20:00 PM | Volleyball
Colorado State set to face Texas A&M in First Round
FORT COLLINS – The Colorado State volleyball team enters the NCAA tournament with its first game on Friday after finishing its season as the Mountain West Tournament Champions.
Colorado State (20-10, 14-4 MW) vs #6 Texas A&M (19-7, 10-6 SEC)
Desert Financial Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
Friday, December 6 // 4:30 PM MT
Stream: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
What You Need to Know
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The Rams closed off their season last week with a Mountain West Championship, claiming their title as both the Mountain West Regular Season Champions and Tournament Champions.
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Colorado State will face Texas A&M coming off four consecutive wins, with a sweep in its most recent match against South Carolina. The Aggies have been selected as the No. 6 seed in the Nebraska region of the tournament after finishing fifth in the SEC.Â
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If the Rams win on Friday, they will advance to Saturday's match where they will face the winner of New Hampshire and No. 3 Arizona State, the host team of this section of the tournament.Â
Scouting the Aggies
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Colorado State will face Texas A&M this Friday for the first time since 2015. The Aggies are led by Coach Jamie Morrison who was named head volleyball coach in December of 2022. Morrison has led the Aggies to a NCAA tournament berth in each of his year's at the helm. This season, the team's offense has been led by junior Logan Lednicky, who has accumulated 419 kills, and junior Ifenna Cos-Okpalla with 208 kills, both of which were named to the SEC All-Conference Team. Cos-Okpalla has shown her strength both offensively and defensively, as she was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week during the last two weeks of conference play, totaling four weekly honors during the season. The team would not have found as much success as they have this season without junior setter Maddie Waak, a transfer from LSU where she logged 1,270 assists in her two seasons in Baton Rouge, and 992 during this season as an Aggie.Â
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With a win on Friday, the Rams would move to face either New Hampshire or No. 3 Arizona State. If both Colorado State and New Hampshire advance to round two, it would be the first match-up in program history between the Rams and Wildcats. However, if the Rams and Sun Devils both advance to round two it would be their 12th match up in program history. The last time they faced each other was in September of 2022, in which the Rams defeated the Sun Devils in five sets on a neutral site court in Baylor.
Match Notes
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Emery Herman was named the Mountain West Tournament MVP as well as Toyota Pedersen's Female Student-Athlete of the Month after recording 94 assists in the Mountain West Tournament, continuing to be a strong asset to the Rams offense. Herman finished the season leading the Mountain West in assists and eighth in the NCAA, with 761 in total and averaging 10.87 per set.Â
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Malaya Jones continued to lead the team in kills during the Mountain West Tournament, recording 17 against San Diego State and 26 against San Jose State in the Championship game, proving her right to the title of Mountain West Player of the Year. Jones finished the season leading the Mountain West in kills and ranking fourth in the NCAA, with 541 in total and 326 during conference play, averaging 4.66 per set.
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Naeemah Weathers finished the season off strong, ending with the highest hitting percentage in the Mountain West and the third highest in the NCAA with a percentage of .450. Â
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Maria Brun competed in her first Mountain West tournament last week and earned Smoothie King's smooth move of the week after her match sealing ace to win the championship.Â
