Kills and Blocks: Fighting for redemption from Florida loss

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FORT COLLINS – There will always be kills, but for every hit, someone is behind the net and in the back corner waiting for it to come barreling at them.

On Saturday Colorado State took on Michigan State in the second match in two days at Moby Arena and lost 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23).

However, part of losing is learning what works, and what definitely works is the pairing of setter Emery Herman and middle blocker Karina Leber.

"I think we got her some good sets, so she gained some confidence" Herman said. "We didn't have enough balls (to give her) yesterday, so I think we passed well and got her some nice offensive hits."

Herman herself had 41 assists helping Malaya Jones and Leber get in the right position and follow-through on their kills.

Leber had a .462 hitting percentage with eight kills — second highest of the night behind Jones.

Anyone who has seen a CSU volleyball game knows Leber and Jones work together in any way they can. Whether its blocks, kills or a secret handshake before every set, the best friends showcase their true teamwork on and off the court.

"We've been best friends for four years in a row now," Leber said. "That bond that we build off the court translates to on the court."

Jones herself had 22 kills during the game, five more than she had during the game against Florida and her eye for the game continued to shine through.

"She just has the 'it' factor," coach Emily Kohan said. "The bigger the game the more she wants to swing and the bigger load she wants to carry. She's just developed into a big gamer that wants to do big things at game point."

Like the previous game against Florida the teams kept going toe-to-toe and point-by-point leading to 26 ties in score throughout the whole match. Moby Arena was never dull as each team fought for the upper hand at any chance they got.

However, as many similarities as there were, one thing was staringly different, the use of redshirt sophomore Delaney McIntosh as libero in the back row.

McIntosh went for dig after dig while MSU kept getting kills through CSU's double block, but she showed her grit towards getting to the ball.

"She's an incredible defender," Kohan said. "In our practices, every day, (digs) are some of her favorite things. (It's trying to) dig Malaya and dig Taylor with those heavy arms, and she really is a brave person that will get in there and throw her body around. I think she did a great job with that."

With Kate Yoshimoto still out with an injury the Rams' defense is left to hang in the balance. But with the recent rule changes in NCAA volleyball the use of two liberos is at every coach's disposal and Kohan is using it.

Kohan kept transfer Aine Doty on the court for the first set then quickly switched to McIntosh to get the deep digs CSU needed, even though, Yoshimoto's presence was still missed on the court.

"(Yoshimoto) has been a big part of our team for two to three years now," Herman said. "Having some of our younger players step up and fill her shoes is tough, but they did a really good job. We'll get there eventually."

As many players and their roles hang in the balance, CSU volleyball is focused on improving in any way it can by learning from mistakes and keep showcasing what works.

The brick wall of defenders gets smaller as the team finds ways around it which is what they will need while playing Northern Colorado Sep. 3 at Moby Arena.

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