Colorado State University Athletics
Tuesday, September 3
Fort Collins, CO
6:00 PM
Colorado State
0-3,0-0Mountain West
1
vs
3
Northern Colorado
2-1,0-0Big Sky
1
2
3
4
F
Northern Colo.
25
23
25
25
3
Colorado St.
23
25
22
23
1
Rams Fall in Four Tight Sets
9/3/2024 8:56:00 PM | Volleyball
Team still searching for finishing touch
Close isn't the issue. Closing, however, is another issue.
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Tuesday night, Colorado State played four tight sets with Northern Colorado at Moby Arena, in each case, the losing team scored at least 22 points. The Rams have seen this enough in the first three matches of the season. In falling 3-1 to No. 11 Florida, the Rams were there until the end in two of those sets. In a 3-1 loss to Michigan State, it was the same scenario in all three sets the Rams dropped.
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As has been the case, the Rams couldn't find a way to close out often enough in a 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23 loss to the Bears – the fourth in a row in the series between the neighbors.
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"I think in those close sets we're looking for people to step up and really want to be in those situations. I felt like the past couple of matches, when things got close, you could feel some anxiety sit in there and nobody really wanted to take that ball in the passing lanes," CSU coach Emily Kohan said. "You get stuck with Malaya (Jones) in the back row sometimes, and we're looking for some other people to step up and take big swings in end game."
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If there is a glimmer of hope in those moments, redshirt freshman Taylor Pagan isn't actually acting afraid in the clutch. She's just three matches into her collegiate career, but with each time on the court, she's gaining more comfort, and more importantly, seeing an increase in confidence.
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Against the Bears (2-1), Pagan posted her first double-digit kill total, closing with 10, adding eight digs in the process. She had a season to learn and grow in practice, but the reality comes in facing other collegiate teams.
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"I think a big difference a lot of people don't talk about is high school to college. It's the bigger blocks, and you just have to learn how to adjust," Pagan said. "You work in practice, make sure I can hit those high hands, or go up against a bigger block and I have to be more crafty.
Â
"I definitely think, even at times when I'm maybe hitting low, just having that confidence – faking it 'til you make it. It's a cliché everybody says, but I feel sometimes it works. Me coming in powerful, eventually that ball is going to go into the court and that point is going to be mine."
Â
She did have some big kills in clutch moments in the match. So did Jones, who led the team with 13 kills.
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Jones is the go-to, but having another big gun is never a problem, and Kohan is seeing Pagan grow each night.
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"I think she had a great attacking and passing night. I think both she and Kennedy (Stanford) both passed pretty well," Kohan said. "She's learning how to use the block and not get blocked so hard in the middle. She definitely had a good offensive night."
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A look at the distribution for the Rams is somewhat telling in these first three matches.
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Jones, understandably, is averaging better than 30 attacks a night. The Rams' other two pin players, Pagan and Kennedy Stanford, are getting north of 20 a night. The middles, however, are barely seeing double digits.
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A check across the scoresheet showed four Bears with more than 25 attacks, led by middle Maddie Davies. In these first three matches, the Rams have very much been pin predictable.
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"First, you have to ball handle well enough to be able to set the middles. I think it's been good to have Delaney (McIntosh) and Aine (Doty) get some experience but having your rock libero (Kate Yoshimoto) out is not ideal for the ball handling," Kohan said. "It's continuing to get those reps in practice so the middles can have more opportunities, and Emery (Herman's) decision making to be able to push them when it's not perfect. Those are things we're working on.
Â
"I think there's certain nights where Malaya is unbelievable where she should carry the box score. She had some location issues tonight that didn't allow her to drive and swing like she has the past couple of times. Different nights, you want different people to step up depending on what the matchup is, what's hot and what's not and what the blocking is. I felt like ultimately our serve-passing game is what got us again."
Â
In the first set, middle Karina Leber had four kills on five attacks. She finished the evening with nine on eight additional swings in the final three sets. She's effective when used, but she also understands what's happening behind her at the moment.
Â
Eventually, she knows the lineup will become settled. Ultimately, she believes the team will work itself into a place where tight matches belong to the Rams more often than not.
Â
"I think we need some consistency in our lineup, so we can get used to playing with each other," she said. "Just take care of the little things. We're point-for-point with them and it's so close every time, if we clean up those small errors, I think we'll be OK in the long run.
Â
"It's tough when we're out of system a lot; middles can't get set. I can only contribute as much as I can with blocking. That's my goal. If I know I can't get set much, I'll contribute on defense."
Â
Leber believes the Rams have been tested early, and it's not going to get much easier with No. 12 Oregon the next match on the slate. She also believes being tested will benefit the team at some point.
Â
"All these teams we've played have been very good teams. Even if they're not highly ranked, they're at the top of their league or conference," said Leber, who had three of the team's 10 blocks. "I don't think we have to beat ourselves up too much about this. We'll get there. We're OK. If we keep doing the little things at practice, we'll be ready for this weekend."
Â
Because being close isn't the goal, it's closing out those chances.
Â
Â
Tuesday night, Colorado State played four tight sets with Northern Colorado at Moby Arena, in each case, the losing team scored at least 22 points. The Rams have seen this enough in the first three matches of the season. In falling 3-1 to No. 11 Florida, the Rams were there until the end in two of those sets. In a 3-1 loss to Michigan State, it was the same scenario in all three sets the Rams dropped.
Â
As has been the case, the Rams couldn't find a way to close out often enough in a 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23 loss to the Bears – the fourth in a row in the series between the neighbors.
Â
"I think in those close sets we're looking for people to step up and really want to be in those situations. I felt like the past couple of matches, when things got close, you could feel some anxiety sit in there and nobody really wanted to take that ball in the passing lanes," CSU coach Emily Kohan said. "You get stuck with Malaya (Jones) in the back row sometimes, and we're looking for some other people to step up and take big swings in end game."
Â
If there is a glimmer of hope in those moments, redshirt freshman Taylor Pagan isn't actually acting afraid in the clutch. She's just three matches into her collegiate career, but with each time on the court, she's gaining more comfort, and more importantly, seeing an increase in confidence.
Â
Against the Bears (2-1), Pagan posted her first double-digit kill total, closing with 10, adding eight digs in the process. She had a season to learn and grow in practice, but the reality comes in facing other collegiate teams.
Â
"I think a big difference a lot of people don't talk about is high school to college. It's the bigger blocks, and you just have to learn how to adjust," Pagan said. "You work in practice, make sure I can hit those high hands, or go up against a bigger block and I have to be more crafty.
Â
"I definitely think, even at times when I'm maybe hitting low, just having that confidence – faking it 'til you make it. It's a cliché everybody says, but I feel sometimes it works. Me coming in powerful, eventually that ball is going to go into the court and that point is going to be mine."
Â
She did have some big kills in clutch moments in the match. So did Jones, who led the team with 13 kills.
Â
Jones is the go-to, but having another big gun is never a problem, and Kohan is seeing Pagan grow each night.
Â
"I think she had a great attacking and passing night. I think both she and Kennedy (Stanford) both passed pretty well," Kohan said. "She's learning how to use the block and not get blocked so hard in the middle. She definitely had a good offensive night."
Â
A look at the distribution for the Rams is somewhat telling in these first three matches.
Â
Jones, understandably, is averaging better than 30 attacks a night. The Rams' other two pin players, Pagan and Kennedy Stanford, are getting north of 20 a night. The middles, however, are barely seeing double digits.
Â
A check across the scoresheet showed four Bears with more than 25 attacks, led by middle Maddie Davies. In these first three matches, the Rams have very much been pin predictable.
Â
"First, you have to ball handle well enough to be able to set the middles. I think it's been good to have Delaney (McIntosh) and Aine (Doty) get some experience but having your rock libero (Kate Yoshimoto) out is not ideal for the ball handling," Kohan said. "It's continuing to get those reps in practice so the middles can have more opportunities, and Emery (Herman's) decision making to be able to push them when it's not perfect. Those are things we're working on.
Â
"I think there's certain nights where Malaya is unbelievable where she should carry the box score. She had some location issues tonight that didn't allow her to drive and swing like she has the past couple of times. Different nights, you want different people to step up depending on what the matchup is, what's hot and what's not and what the blocking is. I felt like ultimately our serve-passing game is what got us again."
Â
In the first set, middle Karina Leber had four kills on five attacks. She finished the evening with nine on eight additional swings in the final three sets. She's effective when used, but she also understands what's happening behind her at the moment.
Â
Eventually, she knows the lineup will become settled. Ultimately, she believes the team will work itself into a place where tight matches belong to the Rams more often than not.
Â
"I think we need some consistency in our lineup, so we can get used to playing with each other," she said. "Just take care of the little things. We're point-for-point with them and it's so close every time, if we clean up those small errors, I think we'll be OK in the long run.
Â
"It's tough when we're out of system a lot; middles can't get set. I can only contribute as much as I can with blocking. That's my goal. If I know I can't get set much, I'll contribute on defense."
Â
Leber believes the Rams have been tested early, and it's not going to get much easier with No. 12 Oregon the next match on the slate. She also believes being tested will benefit the team at some point.
Â
"All these teams we've played have been very good teams. Even if they're not highly ranked, they're at the top of their league or conference," said Leber, who had three of the team's 10 blocks. "I don't think we have to beat ourselves up too much about this. We'll get there. We're OK. If we keep doing the little things at practice, we'll be ready for this weekend."
Â
Because being close isn't the goal, it's closing out those chances.
Â
Team Stats
UNC
CSU
Kills
54
42
Errors
24
19
Attempts
145
114
Hitting %
.207
.202
Points
71.0
59.0
Assists
46
41
Aces
9
7
Blocks
8
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
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