Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Picked to Finish First in Mountain West Volleyball Pre-Season Poll
8/14/2024 12:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Jones and Herman named to All-Mountain West Pre-Season Team
FORT COLLINS – The Colorado State volleyball team's quest to their 23rd Mountain West Championship is on as the league office announced Wednesday the Rams' favor in the Mountain West Pre-Season Poll with fellow Mountain West head coached dubbing Colorado State the favorite to win the league this season.
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After finishing second in both the regular season and tournament standings last season in the Mountain West, the Rams are looking forward to returning a highly productive group of six upperclassmen include four fifth-year athletes, all a part of head coach Emily Kohan's starting lineup.
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"Big thanks to everyone who helped make the 2023 season incredible during the transition to Head Coach. There is nothing like the love of the Ramily, and I'm grateful to the fans, boosters, Fort Collins community and university for all the support each week. I am proud, but not satisfied after this season - we had a lot of great moments and development this year to build on for the future. The Rams will be back and better in 2024," Kohan said in reflection of her first season at the helm.
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The head coaches of the Mountain West agreed with Kohan in their voting as the Rams finished first overall with 98 points in the voting and eight first place votes. Last season's regular season champion Utah State finished second in the poll with 84 points and two first place votes while tournament champion Fresno State finished fourth with 71 points. Boise State finished third with 77 points and UNLV closed out the top five with 65 points and the remaining first place votes casted to the Rebels.
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Two Rams were also named to the Pre-Season All-Mountain West team with Malaya Jones and Emery Herman both set to lead the high-powered Colorado State offense this season.
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Herman, the outgoing Newcomer of the Year in the Mountain West who finish last season on the All-Conference team, will enter her fifth-year season as the top setter in the league last year averaging 10.39 assists per set while leading the most efficient offense as the Rams hit at a .284 clip, leading the Mountain West and ranking 12th in the nation last season. She is set to be one of the top setters to ever wear a Ram uniform as she cleared over 4,000 assists last season.
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Jones returns to the Rams as a redshirt senior after a dominant season last year. The opposite hitter broke the single season kills record at Colorado State with 466 last season while also boasting a 12 game double-digit kills streak. She was named to the Mountain West All-Conference team at the conclusion of the regular season and helped lead the Rams to a Mountain West Championship game appearance where she broke the five-set single match Mountain West Record for kills in a set, totaling 34. Following the regular season, she was named as an AVCA All-District Honorable Mention.
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The Rams will kick off their season first with a stretch of non-conference play, opening their season with Florida August 30 in Colorado State's annual White Out game at 6 p.m. in Moby Arena.
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After finishing second in both the regular season and tournament standings last season in the Mountain West, the Rams are looking forward to returning a highly productive group of six upperclassmen include four fifth-year athletes, all a part of head coach Emily Kohan's starting lineup.
Â
"Big thanks to everyone who helped make the 2023 season incredible during the transition to Head Coach. There is nothing like the love of the Ramily, and I'm grateful to the fans, boosters, Fort Collins community and university for all the support each week. I am proud, but not satisfied after this season - we had a lot of great moments and development this year to build on for the future. The Rams will be back and better in 2024," Kohan said in reflection of her first season at the helm.
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The head coaches of the Mountain West agreed with Kohan in their voting as the Rams finished first overall with 98 points in the voting and eight first place votes. Last season's regular season champion Utah State finished second in the poll with 84 points and two first place votes while tournament champion Fresno State finished fourth with 71 points. Boise State finished third with 77 points and UNLV closed out the top five with 65 points and the remaining first place votes casted to the Rebels.
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Two Rams were also named to the Pre-Season All-Mountain West team with Malaya Jones and Emery Herman both set to lead the high-powered Colorado State offense this season.
Â
Herman, the outgoing Newcomer of the Year in the Mountain West who finish last season on the All-Conference team, will enter her fifth-year season as the top setter in the league last year averaging 10.39 assists per set while leading the most efficient offense as the Rams hit at a .284 clip, leading the Mountain West and ranking 12th in the nation last season. She is set to be one of the top setters to ever wear a Ram uniform as she cleared over 4,000 assists last season.
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Jones returns to the Rams as a redshirt senior after a dominant season last year. The opposite hitter broke the single season kills record at Colorado State with 466 last season while also boasting a 12 game double-digit kills streak. She was named to the Mountain West All-Conference team at the conclusion of the regular season and helped lead the Rams to a Mountain West Championship game appearance where she broke the five-set single match Mountain West Record for kills in a set, totaling 34. Following the regular season, she was named as an AVCA All-District Honorable Mention.
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The Rams will kick off their season first with a stretch of non-conference play, opening their season with Florida August 30 in Colorado State's annual White Out game at 6 p.m. in Moby Arena.
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