Colorado State University Athletics
Game Notes: Volleyball vs Illinois State
11/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 29, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Friday, Nov. 30 Illinois State 5:30 p.m. EST Ann Arbor, Mich. • TV: None. • Radio: KCSU 90.5 FM • Play-by-Play: Nick Sebesta • Color Commentary: Joanna Riley • Live Stats: csurams.com • Internet Video Streaming: None.
Saturday, Dec. 1 First Round Winners 7:00 p.m. EST Ann Arbor, Mich. • TV: None. • Radio: KCSU 90.5 FM • Play-by-Play: Nick Sebesta • Color Commentary: Joanna Riley • Live Stats: csurams.com • Internet Video Streaming: None.
Sweeping the court: CSU has won 22 matches this season, 18 of them by sweeping its opponents in three games. The most notable sweeps for the Rams this season came in Moby Arena as they defeated the then No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes before a crowd of 3,047 and the nationally televised win over rival BYU. CSU has swept every MWC opponent this season with the notable exception of UNLV at least once.
Check out the fours: Four players have reached at least 400 in some category this season. Katelin Batten has 434 digs, Jaime Strauss has 426 kills and Mekana Barnes is hitting .408. Barnes also has 402 kills this season and is one short of the career 400 club with 399 career blocks. Ashley Fornstrom has 1434 assists this season.
Keep on swinging: Jaime Strauss has 1137 attacks this season for an average of 11.26 attacks per game. The average is second on the all-time single-season list for attacks per game.
Precision hitting: Mekana Barnes is hitting the ninth-best percentage in the NCAA and the fifth-best single-season attack percentage in CSU history at .408. She has 17 matches hitting .400 or better this season.
Single-season marks: The 2007 Rams are averaging 3.57 blocks per game, the best single-season mark of any Ram team. The CSU average of 17.11 kills per game is third in CSU history behind the 2001 and 2004 squads. The current assist average of 15.46 per game and the 371 total blocks rank fourth. The team's 594 block assists ranks second behind the 2000 team.
Last five: Over the last five matches, Jaime Strauss has averaged 4.65 kills while Mekana Barnes is hitting .411. Six players are averaging at least 2.00 kills per game (Strauss, Barnes, Tessa Nelson, Danielle Minch, Tonya Mokelki and Jonelle Wallace) in the last five. Ashley Fornstrom is averaging 13.88 assists per game. Five players are also averaging at least one block per game.
Block party: The Rams lead the Mountain West Conference and are ranked fourth in the NCAA in blocks averaging 3.57 blocks per game. CSU has 74 solo blocks this season while its opponents have just over half that number with 41. Every CSU player who has played in the front row at least once this season has at least one block with four players with double-digit solo blocks this season. Mekana Barnes leads the way with 16 solo blocks and 169 total blocks on the season. She ranks fourth nationally. Ashley Fornstrom has 12 solo blocks, the best for a setter in the Mountain West and No. 15 overall.
How about those juniors: A junior for the Rams leads in every category with the exception of digs. Junior Ashley Fornstrom leads in assists with 13.79 per game, Mekana Barnes leads in hitting percentage (.408), service aces (27) and blocks (169/1.67). Jaime Strauss leads in kills per game (4.22) and kills (426). Sophomore Katelin Batten leads in digs per game (4.17).
Watch those middles: Both Mekana Barnes and Tessa Nelson are an ever-present headache for opponents. Barnes hits .408, second in the MWC, while averaging 1.67 blocks per game. Nelson hits .307 and averages 1.31 blocks per game. Combined the two average 6.22 kills per game which accounts for almost half the Rams' 17.11 kills per game. Between them they have 31 games with at least five blocks. Both have notched 10 blocks in a game at least twice and Barnes set the MWC record for total blocks with 19 against Utah.
CSU in the NCAA's: This year's invitation to the NCAA Tournament is the 13th consecutive year the Rams have seen NCAA postseason action. CSU will make its 19th appearance in the NCAA's. The Rams have the ninth-longest current streak in the NCAA.
Elite company: Colorado State is one of just nine teams in Division I to advance to the last 13 NCAA Tournaments. Only Penn State, Stanford and UC Santa Barbara have appeared in all 27 tournaments.
Digging in: Libero Katelin Batten also has 434 digs this season. Batten is just four digs short of her single-season record of 438 set last season. Batten is averaging 4.02 for her career the highest career average in CSU history. She finished ranked fifth in the Mountain West Conference and was the only underclassman in the top 10. Her per-game average currently ranks first over the average set by Katherine Whitney in 2005.
Earning Respect: Colorado State started the season receiving votes in the AVCA coaches poll and climbed to the No. 17 spot this season. The Rams are currently ranked No. 21 by the coaches and have been ranked in the top 25 in nine polls this season.
Versatility a plus: Amanda Fahnestock has established herself as the CSU "utility player" this season. She has seen time as a middle blocker, an outside hitter, a serving specialist, on the right side and as a defensive specialist at different points this season. The only position Fahnestock has not played this year is setter.
Kill leaders: Jaime Strauss and Mekana Barnes have spent the season locked in a battle for the Rams' kill lead. Strauss is currently leading the way with 426 kills this season while Barnes is just behind her with 402. Strauss has had five matches with at least 20 kills while Barnes has reached the 20-kill mark in four matches this season. The pair are in the same battle for career kills. Strauss has won the battle the last two seasons but had just 33 kills in her first year. Barnes has averaged 316 kills per year on her way to 948 career kills. Strauss has 851 kills and has averaged 409 kills in the last two seasons.