A Program At the Base, a Community at the Heart
Volleyball celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary at CSU
Mike Brohard
What she had always felt was suddenly a snapshot of truth surrounding her.
A gathering of friends at dinner. Some had been teammates of Katie Oleksak’s, others had not, but she knew them well. Through conversations and shared experiences. This is what she had sensed long before she put pen to paper and committed to play volleyball at Colorado State. She felt it then and there, when her teenage mind had come to a decision to not just be a volleyball player in college, but to attend a place where bridges were built between the generations.
She wouldn’t simply join a team or a program, she was going to become part of a much larger purpose. They all enjoyed the glory which comes from winning -- the 32 NCAA Tournament berths, the conference championships, 24 alone in the Mountain West. Still at times, which seems secondary to their experience.
“I rarely mention that,” said Oleksak, a three-time Mountain West Player of the Year. “They can Google us. They can see our record. I mention that I'm proud to be a part of a community.”
Tom Hilbert is a legend around these parts, even a few years removed from steering the ship. With good reason. Not only did his teams win, they dominated. They vaulted the university to national prominence, not just getting to the NCAA Tournament, but advancing to the Sweet 16. The Rams became regulars in the national polls, reaching as high as the No. 3 spot.
Hilbert will also tell you he wasn’t the first good volleyball coach at CSU, noting Rich Feller had the Rams in the tournament the two years prior to his arrival. What Feller had done, Hilbert wanted to not just continue but improve upon. The blueprint included designs off the court.
Feller had his team out in the community. Hilbert had his players invading Fort Collins. In Old Town, shaking hands, introducing themselves and handing out schedules. If there was a community event, the volleyball team was there.
“That was my intent the moment I got here, because I did the same things at the University of Idaho. I had the idea because the first time I saw that was when I was an assistant at Oklahoma and we played at Nebraska,” Hilbert said. “It was just different there. We just made it a point. I always used to say we’re making friends and building bridges all the time. Someone will come watch you play as a player if they like you. Then they’ll probably get an appreciation for the sport and continue to do it. You build your fanbase one person at a time.
“The players found it pleasant, and they knew it worked. I just told them this is part of who we are as a team. We’re going to get people to appreciate this sport.”
He admits there wasn’t 100 percent buy in by his players over the course of multiple decades. Some personalities just aren’t built in that manner, but they all participated to some degree. Making friends delivered a fanbase. Which helped build the NETwork, the donor group of the volleyball team. When they all came together at events, the players didn’t sit with each other, they dispersed to the donor tables. Acquaintances became friendships. And legacy donors. And invitations to weddings.
The Ramily is a real thing of how big that word encompasses all the people in this community who are involved with this program. I think that’s what makes this special.Emily Kohen
Hilbert didn’t just recruit players to win titles and collect diplomas, he wanted them to have the most complete college experience possible. Learn how to engage with community, make connections which could help them beyond the game, to grow into complete young women. Not just excel but learn through trial and error. Make mistakes and embrace the outcome and how to alter the ending.
This is what Emily Kohan learned when she joined the staff. It was what she wanted to continue – and grow – when she replaced her mentor as the head coach.
“I think everybody is proud because you were successful and you did it the right way, and you made some of the best relationships in your life, both on the court and in the crowd,” Kohan said. “Some of the legacy donors are dancing with them at their weddings. The Ramily is a real thing of how big that word encompasses all the people in this community who are involved with this program. I think that’s what makes this special.
“The blueprint I learned through seven years with Tom is pretty incredible. We just made our summer plans for our girls to go out to all the big community events, and we run camps with 2,000 kids who come through it. I think some of the unique things I’m doing for my mission statement is our player’s life skills I’m trying to prepare them for.”
She has her team hosting a golf event this summer, because, in the business sector, that’s a building place as much as the office. Always a program with a philanthropic heart, Kohan’s teams have built a bond with WomenGive, giving that arm of the program an added sense of purpose.
“Like Emily always says, we're standing on the shoulders of giants. And being a CSU volleyball player right now, it's really cool to look back on the years that have come before,” defensive specialist Delaney McIntosh said. “I love seeing and hearing how they loved their experience and how it's really similar to what we're going through now. That really unites past, current, and future generation volleyball players, which is really cool. I think CSU volleyball is really unique in the way that the community really rallies behind the volleyball team and women's sports in general.”
McIntosh grew up around a big-time volleyball program at Wisconsin, where her father is the athletic director. She has seen big crowds in person, now she plays in front of them on a regular basis. What used to seem like a power conference thing is part of her life as a CSU player. It amplifies on road trips when the Rams play in front of crowds smaller than McIntosh played for as a prep. The Rams frequently rank in the top 15 nationally in home attendance.
None of it happened overnight, but each experience became a story to tell, one passed down to the next wave of Rams. McIntosh considers them all to be part of the folklore of Colorado State volleyball. They all feel they are part of something special, but those tales of the past create an aura which embraces their what and why.
All of it came together, through work and passion, which few understand to the degree of Bri Olmstead. She came to Colorado State almost by accident. She was supposed to go to another school after two years in the United States, but when that fell through, she figured she’d go back home to Germany.
Then the call came from Colorado State, playing for two seasons for Hilbert. Then she was a graduate assistant, and now, decades later, the director of volleyball operations. Olmstead is very good at what she does, and others have tried to lure her away.
“I am grateful all the time. That starts with coming here as an international student,” she said. “The trajectory of your life just changes. That’s’ what I’m saying about all the people our program has affected. It’s the legacy they create for people in their circle. It’s massive. I have a hard time imagining what it would be like because of this.
“The people keep me here. And the legacy. And the place. There are not many places I would consider leaving Colorado State for. I love saying I’m from Colorado State. I love that. And there are not many people like that who are in a place for this long. Something is working. A lot of things are working.”
They can Google us. They can see our record. I mention that I'm proud to be a part of a community.Katie Oleksak
When the volleyball staff meets in the office, they sit around a table, the walls barely visible due to all the trophies which have accumulated. The hardware is representative of why they’re all here. Coaches are hired to win. When they don’t, they are replaced. It’s in the job description, but it’s never the full purpose of what Colorado State volleyball pursues.
The special ones can do both. Win and help their players succeed beyond the court. Give them an experience like no other. Every coach has their own touch, and Kohan’s mantra for the program is building champions to win championships. There is a definite emphasis on the order the words are placed.
“I could probably relate to girls 10 years older than me and have a similar connection just through the experiences that we've shared. I think beyond the sport, the culture of CSU volleyball is we do hard things, and we do hard things well,” McIntosh said. “We are out in the community, and we are doing well in school. Those are the pillars that make our volleyball program successful on the court, too.
“You get a bunch of kids in here who want to do well in school and want to do well in the community and not just be good volleyball players. That creates this culture that we have here right now, which is really special in the way that everyone wants to excel everywhere, in every aspect.”
Oleksak couldn’t wait to sign at Colorado State. She was going to play for an extremely successful team, but more important to her was the knowledge she was joining a program which she said had created a legacy of successful women in all walks of life.
As her four years progressed, she met most of them in person. Rams always seem to come back and be around at certain points of the year. Questions are raised, life experiences shared, bonds created.
It’s how she became involved with Angela Knopf’s volleyball camps, which eventually led to her working with the Side-Out Foundation. Based in San Diego, the group’s focus is research for metastatic breast cancer, fundraising through volleyball. They host Dig Pink games at the high school level.
At one point recently, she found herself back in Denver at a volleyball camp, running into a bunch of former Rams. There were former teammates Sasha Colombo, Jenna Heinemeyer and Olivia Nicholson. There were other former Rams she didn’t play with, but had come to know, and they all decided to meet for dinner.
More than the meal, it was the camaraderie. Generations gathered who shared a bond, sharing life journeys about what had happened since school, what could happen in the future and the one foundation which tied them together.
Colorado State volleyball.
“It was really special to see that the one thing we had in common was Colorado State,” Oleksak said. “And we don't remember which years we won or lost with all of those different groups, because they're all different years, but the one thing in common was that, yeah, we went to CSU.”
A moment where what she once sensed as recruit transformed into a special moment as an adult, one where reality felt much greater than any of her preconceived expectations.
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