Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
1-1,0-0Mountain West
Washington
1-1,0-0Big Ten
Early Lessons, Lasting Effort
8/30/2025 9:13:00 PM | Volleyball
Service errors hurt CSU, but resilience and breakout performances show a foundation to build on
Pushing through the difficult parts is just as important as starting on a roll.
On Saturday night, Colorado State volleyball started its second game of the season in Moby Arena against Washington to a crowd of green and gold fans. Ending in five sets 3-2 (20-25; 25-20; 26-24; 15-11), the Huskies put up a fight in every set testing the Ram defense with trick plays and tricky serves.
Just yesterday UW lost to a familiar opponent in a 3-2Â reverse sweep by Northern Colorado. Fired up by its previous loss, the Huskies came out swinging quickly taking the lead in the first set and it came to head in the fifth.
"I think it's hard, especially when you go on runs of losing points," freshman Sofia Zabjeck said. "But I think we really come together after every point just talking to each other and inspiring each other to keep going."
Their resilience was on full display in a couple of complicated volleys in the first and second sets running for the ball whenever possible.
At one point Eve Wilson was almost in the stands running for the ball and got it up just enough to complete the rally. It's that effort in every play which this program wants to be known.
"I think I saw Erin (Debiec) run after it and I was like, I have to run behind her and be ready to get it too," Wilson said. I think it was just a fun play and just winning that at the end is what rallies us the most."
Wilson had the most kills of the night with 20 on .359% as well as one block. The transfer comes from High Point bringing some veteran energy to the young squad.
For others, the night was about opportunity. Freshman Sydney Black stepped in at libero for Aine Doty, finishing with five digs in a calm, composed debut.
And she wasn't alone, Zabjeck made her presence known with the second most kills of the night playing at Moby for the second time.
"It means a lot," Zabjeck said. "I wasn't overall thrilled in how I did last night so I reset today, and it means so much to me. It's just a great honor to be able to do that."
But the match also highlighted where CSU has room to grow. Service errors plagued the Rams, who finished with 15 compared to UW's 10. Washington's 11 service aces proved a dagger in crucial moments, and CSU's offense — despite hitting .254 with 59 kills — struggled to consistently recover.
Because of the many variables at play – and the way coach Emily Kohan continues to test new combinations of the roster – every player strengthening their serving is of utmost importance.
"We can just get back to work," Wilson said. "We try to do a lot of pressure serving drills and stuff like that. I think it's just going back there and doing your routine to try and stay consistent."
Knowing there are weak bits isn't disheartening in the slightest, rather, a point for improvement.
Making mistakes loudly allows them to be fixed rather than suffer in silence. Let the guilt wash off and focus on getting better.
"I think we had a pretty good start today," Zabjeck said. "We weren't playing our best volleyball, but everyone was really inspired to improve our side. We just kept working. We would have good runs and kind of get down again, but we kept fighting for it and kept working for those points."
The loss was indicative of a young team still in its growing pains, but the effort revealed more than the final score. For CSU, the takeaway is clear: the fight is there, the foundation is building and the season is only beginning.
