Colorado State University Athletics
Volleyball To Host UNLV & San Diego State
10/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2006
UNLV & San Diego State Match Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Last Time Out: Colorado State recorded its fifth win in a row with a three-game sweep over the Air Force Falcons, 30-14, 30-20, 30-16. The Rams were led by junior Amanda Fahnestock with 12 kills and a .522 (12-0-23) hitting percentage, while freshman libero Katelin Batten led all players with 14 digs and senior outside hitter Katherine Whitney chipped in 10. Both Fahnestock and sophomore middle blocker Mekana Barnes had three blocks in the win, while sophomore setter Ashley Fornstrom had three aces.
Home Sweet Home: After a short one-match swing away from Moby Arena, the Rams return to host UNLV and San Diego State in Mountain West Conference play. The Rams are 7-2 at home this season and have won their last six in Moby. The Rams have also won six straight at home against league foes, dating back to Nov. 4, 2005 when the Rebels upset the Rams in four games.
Win 250: Head Coach Tom Hilbert won his 250th match at Colorado State on Wednesday against Denver. Hilbert is now 251-60 (.807) in his 10th season with the Rams. He is now just 49 wins shy of becoming the all-time winningest coach in school history as Rich Feller currently holds the record with 299 victories.
I'm Digging It: Katelin Batten broke the school record for consecutive matches in double figure digs with her 14 at Air Force. Batten has now been in double figures in 14 straight matches, surpassing the previous record by Carrie Appleman in 1992. Batten averages a team-best 3.31 digs per game and has been in double figures in ups in all but one match this season (Morgan State).
Unblockable: Colorado State has been blocked just twice in the last two matches. The Rams were blocked once against Denver and once against Air Force. In the last five wins, the Rams are averaging 3.94 blocks per game, while opponents are averaging 1.94 blocks per game.
Closing The Half: This weekend marks the end of the first half of conference play as the Rams host UNLV and San Diego State. Thus far, the Rams are 4-2 in league action. Last season the Rams were 6-2 through the first half of Mountain West play in the first season of the nine-team league, and ended the year with a 12-4 mark for third place.
Balanced Alignment: In the six conference matches, all six hitters who have played in at least 2/3 of the games are averaging over two kills per game. Sophomore outside hitter Jaime Strauss leads the team with 3.39 kills per game, while junior right side hitter Tonya Mokelki averages 3.05, Katherine Whitney is at 2.86, freshman middle blocker Tessa Nelson averages 2.30, Mekana Barnes is at 2.21 and Amanda Fahnestock is at 2.16. The Rams are averaging 15.86 kills per game in league play.
Dominating Defense: Colorado State has held four of its last five opponents to below a .100 hitting percentage and the fifth hit just .103. The Rams are hitting .291 over that stretch, while holding the opposition to .072. Seven times this season, CSU has held an opponent to lower than .100 hitting efficiency, while 10 times the opponents have hit below .125 and are hitting .156 on the year, which ranks second in the Mountain West.
Serve It Up: For just the second time this season, the Rams recorded more aces than errors in a match, notching eight aces with just seven mistakes against the Pioneers. Senior defensive specialist Lindsey Hillegass led the way with four aces -- a career high.
Now Showing: Tessa Nelson now ranks 10th on the Colorado State single-season freshman charts with 63 blocks, passing Kristen Johnson's 59 (1989). Her 1.11 blocks per game average also ranks fifth on the charts and she is 61 kills shy of taking over 10th on that list. The freshman record for blocks is 206 by Angie Miller in 1988, while the record for kills is 419 by Tess Rogers in 2002.
Nothing To Worry About: Jaime Strauss did not play against Air Force on Friday, marking the first time in her career she has not played in a match for the Rams. It wasn't an injury that sidelined her, however, just a day off for the Rams to try new things and give her arm a rest.
Serving Stretches: Against Denver on Wed., Lindsey Hillegass served nine straight points, tying her stretch of nine straight against Morgan State as the longest of the season for a Ram. Mekana Barnes, Katelin Batten and Jaime Strauss each have stretches of seven straight serves this year, with Batten doing so twice.
Career Night: Junior Jenni Hirneisen tallied three kills in six swings with no hitting errors against Air Force for career-highs in both categories. The Parachute, Colo., native has played in six games this season with five kills and three digs.
Blockheads: The two starting outside hitters have identical blocking numbers this season as both Jaime Strauss and Katherine Whitney have 10 solo stops and 28 block assists in 2006.
Start At The Beginning: Colorado State is 8-1 this season when winning game one and 0-5 when losing the first stanza. The Rams are also a perfect 8-0 when winning the first two games of the match. The lone loss for the Rams after winning game one came at the hands of BYU in Provo.
Bench Clearing: True freshmen Katie O'Hara and Sydney Blancarte have both seen playing time in the last two matches. Against Denver, the two combined for a block late in game three, while against Air Force, Blancarte tallied one kill and O'Hara had three kills and a block. For the season, O'Hara has played in eight games with 1.12 kills per game and a hitting percentage of .300, while Blancarte has also played in eight games with 0.38 kills and 0.25 blocks per game.
A Shirt Of A Different Color: Freshman Jonelle Wallace will redshirt the 2006 season. Wallace, a native of Denver, will sit out this season and have four years of eligibility remaining.
Triple Threat: Ashley Fornstrom recorded the first triple double this season in the Mountain West Conference and the first at Colorado State since Angela Knopf in 2001. Her triple double against Wyoming is only the 14th in school history and she tallied 53 assists, a career-high tying 14 digs and a career-high 11 blocks. For her efforts, she was named the Mountain West Co-Player of the week.
Made To Be Broken: The 26.0 total team blocks by Colorado State against Wyoming is a new Mountain West Conference record, breaking the old record of 24.5 held by BYU in both 2000 and 2004. It marks the first time since 1996 the Rams tallied more than 25 blocks in a match and ties for the fifth most in a match in school history.
Hall of Honor: Tom Hilbert will be inducted into the Colorado State Hall of Honor, announced the CSU Former Athletes Association. Hilbert will be honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet Nov. 3. He will be honored along with five former student-athletes who achieved national prominence in their respective sports during induction ceremonies, including former volleyball standout Angela Knopf (1998-2001).
Offense Getting Defensive: No setter in school history has ever ended the season averaging a block per game or more. Ashley Fornstrom currently is averaging 0.98 blocks per game for second on the team and it is the highest average by a setter in CSU history. Last season, she ended the year with 0.97 blocks per game and her 0.98 career per game average is by far the best-ever by a setter. Allison Peckham (1998-2001) holds the career blocks per game average by a setter at 0.73 (286b-393g).
Tuesday Afternoon Club: Join Head Coach Tom Hilbert and at least one player every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., at the Hilton. Learn the inside scoop on the previous week, the upcoming matches and obscure statistics and strategies.
By The Numbers:
• Mekana Barnes is 41 kills shy of the 400th of her career.
• Katelin Batten needs just eight digs for the 200th of her career.
• Batten is 11 digs shy of ninth on the single-season freshman digs list.
• Amanda Fahnestock needs 16 more kills for her 100th at Colorado State and is six digs shy of 100 with the Rams.
• Ashley Fornstrom is 87 assists shy of 2,000.
• Fornstrom is also 309 assists shy of tying Anissia Belikoff for 7th on the career charts.
• Tonya Mokelki is 39 kills shy of 500.
• Tessa Nelson needs 10 blocks to take over ninth on the single-season freshman blocks chart.
• Jaime Strauss needs 27 digs for 300.
• Katherine Whitney is 19 kills shy of 200 at CSU.
• With 18 digs, Whitney will tie Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon for 20th on the career charts at CSU with 745.
Over The Airwaves: The majority of Colorado State's matches this season can be heard on Yahoo.com. Cole Weinman will be doing the play-by-play, while Lance Moorman will be handling the color commentary. Select matches will also be aired on 90.5 FM, KCSU.
Tough Schedule: Of the 10 non-conference opponents on the 2006 schedule, six were in the NCAA Tournament last season. American, California, Florida Atlantic, Missouri State, Pepperdine and Texas A&M, like Colorado State, all advanced to the tournament a year ago. The Rams face more NCAA Tournament teams than any other team in the Mountain West Conference (Utah 5, BYU 4, San Diego State 3, UNLV 2, Wyoming 2, New Mexico 1 and TCU 1).
Scouting The Opposition:
UNLV: The Rebels are 13-5 on the year and 4-2 in Mountain West Conference play, which ties them with the Rams for third in the standings. Both teams' league losses come at the hands of BYU and Utah.
Junior outside hitter Maria Aladjova leads the team with 3.79 kills per game, while freshman Samantha Noland is hitting a team-best .337. Lauren Miramontes, who has seen limited action in the last six matches, is leading the team with 1.15 blocks per game, while junior libero Jada Walker leads with 5.17 digs per game and a team-high 12 aces. UNLV has been running a 6-2 system, using two setters and three hitters across the front row at all times, with Melody Nua averaging 10.36 assists and Kristin Koochi 3.37 per game.
The Rebels are hitting .201 on the year, with 16.03 kills, 1.09 aces, 19.68 digs and 2.40 blocks per game, while their opposition is hitting .173 with 14.62 kills, 1.09 aces, 17.50 digs and 2.83 blocks per game.
The Rams have won 14 of the last 15 against UNLV, with the lone loss coming in Moby last season in four games.
San Diego State: The Aztecs play at Air Force Friday before playing in Moby on Saturday. San Diego State is 7-11 on the year and is just 1-5 in league play and they snapped a five-match losing streak with a four-game victory over Wyoming last weekend.
Senior outside hitter Melanie Greene leads the team with 3.76 kills per game, while Kelley Wahlin leads with a .311 hitting percentage and 1.31 blocks per game. Libero Aime Cordeiro leads the league with 5.58 digs per game and also leads the team with 24 aces. The Aztecs also run a 6-2 offense with Kristen Castillo averaging 7.26 assists per game and Leah Lathrop 9.50.
SDSU is hitting .208 on the season with 14.96 kills, 1.46 aces, 15.66 digs and 2.64 blocks per game while opponents are hitting .224 with 15.54 kills, 1.61 aces, 15.97 digs and 2.19 blocks per game.
CSU has won 15 of the last 16 against SDSU with a three-game setback in San Diego in 2002 and the Rams have dropped just one game in the past five matches.
