Colorado State University Athletics
Sunday, September 8
Fort Collins, CO
1:00 PM
Colorado State
2-4,0-0Mountain West
3
vs
0
Grand Canyon
3-3,0-0WAC
1
2
3
F
Grand Canyon
17
12
19
0
Colorado St.
25
25
25
3
CSU Earns First Sweep of Season vs. GCU
9/8/2024 4:48:00 PM | Volleyball
Bench brings energy as court focuses on win
Start out with a bang so they can't focus on what's coming next.
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Colorado State volleyball swept their second win in two days, beating Grand Canyon 25-17, 25-12, 25-19. The first sweep of the season was aided by a solid lineup, including true freshman Maria Brun on the court for her first start with CSU volleyball.
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"She had a ton of composure coming off the bench yesterday," coach Emily Kohan said. "We watch her every day in practice, but her serving was something that showed she was a cool cucumber back there serving. She keeps serving tough and hard and doesn't make a lot of errors so that has been her X Factor."
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The newcomer had six kills to go along with a trio of aces. However, Brun was not the only standout of the night; Kennedy Stanford marked a season-high for kills with 12 at the end of the three sets, showing how versatile she can be on the court.
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Stanford cites the energy coming off the bench on to the court, despite three straight days of playing, as one of the reasons she felt empowered enough to go for those kills and execute them.
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"I think we knew coming into three days of playing we needed to come out with a lot of energy," Stanford said. "So, I think having that mentality and teammates firing me up helped. And it felt so good getting the first couple of swings as kills, so I kept that rolling throughout the match."
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Naeemah Weathers notched her first match in double figures with 10 kills, with Malaya Jones putting down nine. Setter Emery Herman was sharp with 37 assists as the team hit .362.
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The main takeaway of the match was not the sweep or kills but rather the tenacity of everyone playing to truly go for the ball no matter what it took.
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With libero Kate Yoshimoto back on the court, she showed through her 18 digs that she is a vital part of the back line and defense in general.
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"I think coming into every game and being able to be focused and locked in and not take a single point off is my goal," Yoshimoto said. "Hopefully I can keep constant at this and keep going. I definitely want to be a rock on the court and have people trust me and be confident in my play."
Â
One thing they've worked on in practice, too, is not just leaving those digs to Yoshimoto but dispersing them around the court so everyone can take a crack at diving for the ball.
Â
A team which covers all the bases with fervor is what CSU strives to be for the coming season, especially for a player like Malaya Jones, who prides herself on tallying kills.
Â
"Malaya will self-proclaim that she's working on being a better defender," Kohan said. "She's so powerful in the front row, and she loves hitting, but to be a well-rounded six-rotation opposite, you have to play defense too. This is only her second year ever doing it so she's getting experience and getting better at it."
Â
But it all comes back to the energy brought by those on and off the court to support the program CSU volleyball wishes to be, partly why Kohan signed up for contenders as big as Creighton, Florida and Oregon to start out their season.
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The Rams were closely behind in points for most of the sets against those ranked competitors, showing the flaws that need to be fixed to take them to the next level.
Â
"You lay in bed after the hard losses against the Big 10 teams and it's like 'Oh man, am I sure I wanted to schedule like this,'" Kohan said. "And I stand convicted that I think it's going to make us a better team. We could have easily scheduled a lot of teams and could be 6-0 right now, but I really wanted us to play hard teams."
Â
Getting that experience against players and programs which dominate the court prepares the Rams not only for their upcoming season games but also for the offseason and the NCAA Tournament in December, a goal for the team.
Â
Playing against GCU showcased CSU still has the winning spirit and the energy to carry that along with them for their first game of the season on the road against DePaul in Chicago on Sep. 12.
Â
Playing away from home for the first time this season presents a new set of challenges, but from what the team has shown the past two matches, it has the tools to keep the spark the Rams showcased against GCU.
Â
"I think our bench did such a good job today of being super high energy and feeding that to the people on the court," Stanford said. "I think it's something we want to carry on as we go to the road."
Â
The day started with an explosive strike, and it ended with a sweep to lead the Rams to the windy city.
Â
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Colorado State volleyball swept their second win in two days, beating Grand Canyon 25-17, 25-12, 25-19. The first sweep of the season was aided by a solid lineup, including true freshman Maria Brun on the court for her first start with CSU volleyball.
Â
"She had a ton of composure coming off the bench yesterday," coach Emily Kohan said. "We watch her every day in practice, but her serving was something that showed she was a cool cucumber back there serving. She keeps serving tough and hard and doesn't make a lot of errors so that has been her X Factor."
Â
The newcomer had six kills to go along with a trio of aces. However, Brun was not the only standout of the night; Kennedy Stanford marked a season-high for kills with 12 at the end of the three sets, showing how versatile she can be on the court.
Â
Stanford cites the energy coming off the bench on to the court, despite three straight days of playing, as one of the reasons she felt empowered enough to go for those kills and execute them.
Â
"I think we knew coming into three days of playing we needed to come out with a lot of energy," Stanford said. "So, I think having that mentality and teammates firing me up helped. And it felt so good getting the first couple of swings as kills, so I kept that rolling throughout the match."
Â
Naeemah Weathers notched her first match in double figures with 10 kills, with Malaya Jones putting down nine. Setter Emery Herman was sharp with 37 assists as the team hit .362.
Â
The main takeaway of the match was not the sweep or kills but rather the tenacity of everyone playing to truly go for the ball no matter what it took.
Â
With libero Kate Yoshimoto back on the court, she showed through her 18 digs that she is a vital part of the back line and defense in general.
Â
"I think coming into every game and being able to be focused and locked in and not take a single point off is my goal," Yoshimoto said. "Hopefully I can keep constant at this and keep going. I definitely want to be a rock on the court and have people trust me and be confident in my play."
Â
One thing they've worked on in practice, too, is not just leaving those digs to Yoshimoto but dispersing them around the court so everyone can take a crack at diving for the ball.
Â
A team which covers all the bases with fervor is what CSU strives to be for the coming season, especially for a player like Malaya Jones, who prides herself on tallying kills.
Â
"Malaya will self-proclaim that she's working on being a better defender," Kohan said. "She's so powerful in the front row, and she loves hitting, but to be a well-rounded six-rotation opposite, you have to play defense too. This is only her second year ever doing it so she's getting experience and getting better at it."
Â
But it all comes back to the energy brought by those on and off the court to support the program CSU volleyball wishes to be, partly why Kohan signed up for contenders as big as Creighton, Florida and Oregon to start out their season.
Â
The Rams were closely behind in points for most of the sets against those ranked competitors, showing the flaws that need to be fixed to take them to the next level.
Â
"You lay in bed after the hard losses against the Big 10 teams and it's like 'Oh man, am I sure I wanted to schedule like this,'" Kohan said. "And I stand convicted that I think it's going to make us a better team. We could have easily scheduled a lot of teams and could be 6-0 right now, but I really wanted us to play hard teams."
Â
Getting that experience against players and programs which dominate the court prepares the Rams not only for their upcoming season games but also for the offseason and the NCAA Tournament in December, a goal for the team.
Â
Playing against GCU showcased CSU still has the winning spirit and the energy to carry that along with them for their first game of the season on the road against DePaul in Chicago on Sep. 12.
Â
Playing away from home for the first time this season presents a new set of challenges, but from what the team has shown the past two matches, it has the tools to keep the spark the Rams showcased against GCU.
Â
"I think our bench did such a good job today of being super high energy and feeding that to the people on the court," Stanford said. "I think it's something we want to carry on as we go to the road."
Â
The day started with an explosive strike, and it ended with a sweep to lead the Rams to the windy city.
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Team Stats
GCU
CSU
Kills
33
44
Errors
17
10
Attempts
106
94
Hitting %
.151
.362
Points
37.0
49.0
Assists
32
42
Aces
0
3
Blocks
4
2
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
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