Keep the Fire Burning While Passing the Torch
Volleyball team steps into the future
Liv Sewell
While roles and positions continually evolve, the opportunity for expansive growth remains exciting.
For Colorado State volleyball, a large transition is underway. With only one starter returning and a host of fresh faces filling the roster, the Rams are a far cry from the steady veteran presence of the fifth-year seniors who carried the team at the end of last season.
Now, the player with the most starting experience is sophomore Maria Brun from Barcelona, Spain. For her, the challenge of this new year isn’t about fear or pressure. Instead, it’s about embracing the opportunity to expand her role and presence on the team.
“My role from last year, it’s going to change,” Brun said. “Last year it was all fifth-years and then me, a freshman. In spring it changed. I got more sets. I went to the back row, and I passed more. I improved. This fall my role is going to be more important than last fall.”
Brun’s growth has been steady, and the struggles she once faced as a freshman are now memories she can use to connect with her younger teammates. Moving across the world meant not only adjusting to a new style of volleyball but also navigating a new culture and language. A year later, those challenges no longer define her; instead, they’ve strengthened her resolve and perspective.
The five true freshmen on the roster are now experiencing those same growing pains. Just as Brun did last year, they’re learning the speed and physicality of college volleyball while adjusting to life away from home. What may feel overwhelming at first, however, quickly transforms into a sense of excitement once the season begins.
The calendar flips this week, as the Rams host Colgate on Friday, Washington on Saturday, both at Moby Arena at 6 p.m.
“There’s a lot of excitement in our gym,” coach Emily Kohan said. “New players and freshmen especially come with a lot of excitement. Everything is new to them. They’ve never been to our promotional events before or played in Moby Arena. There’s a lot of curiosity, even from our end on the coaching staff walking into the gym on the first day being like, we don’t even know what these kids are like.”
That curiosity underscores the transition at CSU. The incoming freshmen aren’t yet at the level of the departed veterans, but the coaching staff sees immense potential. With the fifth-years gone, it’s now up to the sophomores and juniors to step forward, claim leadership and shape the team’s identity.
Players like Kekua Richards and Delaney McIntosh have already shown flashes of their ability, but this year offers them the chance to shine in larger, more consistent roles. The talent is there — now it’s about growth and seizing the moment.
So, it’s been cool to know that your time to develop here is going to turn you into a really good volleyball player.Delaney McIntosh
“I think we take kids into this program with high athletic potential,” McIntosh said. “They might not have been the best volleyball player, but we develop them into really high-caliber volleyball players. I watched Naeemah Weathers develop from a gangly little freshman into the record holder for hitting percentage. So, it’s been cool to know that your time to develop here is going to turn you into a really good volleyball player.”
The message is clear: this year belongs to the underclassmen. It’s their time.
Kohan knows it too. Last year, with the super-senior class leading the way, her role as a coach was often secondary to the leadership on the floor. Those players had been in the program so long they could problem-solve on their own, often anticipating adjustments before Kohan even said a word. This season, however, offers a fresh opportunity — not just for the players to learn, but for the coaches to teach.
“Honestly last year with those fifth-years, I didn’t have to coach a lot,” Kohan said. “Sometimes they had heard me say the same thing for five years. They knew how to coach themselves a lot. They knew how to problem-solve some of those things out on the court. And it’s really fun for me personally to get to coach and grow these young kids and kind of put the puzzle pieces together. From where we started and where we will end in December is going to be this massive fun journey and come with a lot of growth moments.”
That growth won’t just come on the court. It extends into the daily rhythms of college life, where teammates become more than practice partners — they become family. For younger players especially, the team serves as a built-in support system during what can otherwise be a daunting transition.
Upperclassmen understand the importance of that bond. They see it not only as an opportunity to build friendships, but as a foundation for team chemistry that directly translates into success during competition.
“It’s super cool getting new people from different places and getting to understand different cultures and where people come from,” Richards said. “I think one of our main priorities as a team is to build relations off the court, because that’s really important for how you play in general. I live with one of them, so it’s cool to be able to create these really close relationships in such a short amount of time.”
Those relationships stand behind 50 years of history. With half a decade of CSU volleyball on the horizon and this season bookending the Rams’ last season in the Mountain West, closing it out with a bang is a top priority.
The weight of that history isn’t a burden but a source of pride. Every player who walks into Moby Arena carries the echoes of the past — the banners, the championships, the crowds that have made CSU volleyball a national name. For the young roster, that tradition serves as both motivation and reminder: they are part of something bigger than themselves.
“I think we try to educate them on the teams that came before them,” Kohan said. “We are all standing on the shoulders of giants. And we have videos that we play throughout that hold some of those big moments in CSU volleyball history. Some of the traditions are alive and well. The way our huddle looks is still the same that it looked when Rich Feller was here.”
For the players, honoring that legacy doesn’t mean replicating the past. It means creating their own moments — plays, rallies and wins which will one day live in highlight reels and memories of the next generation. This year, the foundation may look different, but the hunger remains the same.
As one of the few returning starters, Brun understands her role in connecting yesterday’s success to tomorrow’s promise. She is no longer the quiet freshman learning under the wings of veterans, but the leader others look toward.
“So, I feel now, it’s my time,” Brun said simply.
And with that declaration, the season finds its heartbeat. This year is more than a transition. It is a chance to prove that growth, unity and belief can define a program just as much as experience.
The super seniors are gone. The tradition endures. And now, it’s in the hands of players itching for a trophy. Because the future now belongs to them.
It is their time.
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