Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Michigan
Volleyball falls to Michigan
8/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Aug. 26, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
HONOLULU, Hawaii - Colorado State volleyball fell to Michigan 3-1 (30-25, 24-30, 25-30, 22-30) in the final game at the Asics Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jaime Strauss led the team with 16 kills and three blocks.
Mekana Barnes opened the first game of the match with three consecutive kills, bringing the Rams back to a 4-3 advantage after Michigan opened with a lead. She followed up the hitting with a strong service, including an ace, to force the Wolverines to take a timeout. Out of the timeout the teams see-sawed and Michigan was able to pull the game back to a tie at 13. The Rams reclaimed and held a two-point advantage off of strong hitting and smart defense. CSU was able to build on the lead with excellent hitting to six points. Michigan was able to side out on game point one but a Jamie Strauss kill finished Game 1 with a 30-25 win for the Rams.
Barnes was perfect from the floor with four kills to lead the Rams. As a team CSU hit .531 while holding Michigan to .244. Neither team had a block but they combined to 73 attacks. Ashley Fornstrom had 14 assists in the game. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the game.
The Rams started out slowly in Game 2 allowing Michigan to get out to a 3-1 lead early. CSU then put together a six-point run to get to 8-6. The Wolverines fell victim to the vicious attacks by the Ram hitters who through the stretch were 6-1-15 to get out in front. Michigan put together a six-point run of their own to take a 12-11 lead. Senior right side hitter Tonya Mokelki briefly ended the run with a decisive kill on the angle which left the UM defensive stunned. Michigan bounced back, getting up 20-11. The Rams dug in and ran through ten straight points to go up 21-20. The Wolverines returned fire with a 10-2 run to win Game 2 30-24.
Barnes again led the Rams as she had five kills. Mokelki was in on both CSU blocks, one a solo block. Colorado State hit just .135 while UM hit .245.
The Wolverines dominated in the third game jumping quickly to an 11-1 lead. The Rams were able to slowly cut the lead to six points, 13-7. CSU crept back in with an 11-5 run, that included key blocks highlighted by a solo block by Strauss, to make the score 15-12. UM took the Game 3 win 30-25.
The Rams hit .128 dropping their overall hitting percentage to .256 for the match. Strauss had four kills and three blocks for the Rams. Fornstrom added eight assists and two block assists in the game. Michigan again jumped out to an early lead in Game 4 and continued to build it through 15-10. The Rams were able to cut it briefly to four points but service errors again stifled the comeback. UM extended the lead back to eight points to set up game point one. Strauss killed the ball to the middle to force a second game point. Michigan's Katie Bruzdzinski ended the match with a kill down the middle.
CSU hit .230 as a team with 55 kills. Joining Strauss in double figures were Barnes with 14 and Mokelki with 12. CSU had ten team blocks including solos by Strauss (2) and Mokelki (1). The dig leader for the Rams was Katelin Batten with 18 digs. Fornstrom added 10 in addition to her 43 assists.
The Rams will return to Fort Collins to host the first of two tournaments in Moby Arena. CSU will play No. 16 Ohio State Aug. 30 at 1:00 MT before taking on Pacific Sept. 1 at 7:00 MT in the Coors Classic.
