Colorado State University Athletics
Rams add five talented players for 2016 season
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – With the 13th-ranked Colorado State Rams volleyball team currently riding a 15-match win streak and on the verge of clinching its seventh consecutive Mountain West title, Head Coach Tom Hilbert and the rest of the coaching staff added five talented players for the 2016 season that will look to keep the team’s sustained run of success going.
Amazing Ashby, Olivia Nicholson, Katherine Oleksak, Breana Runnels and Amanda Young will bring a variety of skills at a number of positions to Moby Arena beginning as freshmen next season.
“Overall I feel that this a great class because it is a combination of athleticism, volleyball skill and character and they’re all very positive,” Hilbert said. “I think this class will be kind of a new era as they move through their classes.”
Hilbert knows that it’s not just the on-court success – 21 straight 20-win seasons, 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, etc. – that is bringing these talented prospects to Fort Collins. The atmosphere that comes with being a volleyball player at CSU is a major factor, as well.
“They look at our program and they see the success we’ve had, and they see how much fun it is to be a volleyball player here,” Hilbert said. “Sometimes, people look too much at conference affiliation and not enough at what it’s like to be player there, and these kids are looking at how much fun it is to be a player here. You combine that with the success we’ve had, and that is probably the determining factor.”
Hilbert also commented that he and his staff try to recruit top talent that can compete with anyone, but that it takes an intelligent approach and some hard work to accomplish.
“At Colorado State, we still feel like we recruit the kind of athlete that can play in any of the top conferences,” Hilbert said. “Very often, we are finding them as someone who emerges late or as an unknown talent. That happened with Amazing, Breana and Olivia. That’s our philosophy. We want to find an under-recruited player. We’re not butting heads with other top schools. That’s what we do. We will land the blue chipper every once in a while, but the rest of the time we are going out and turning over stones and finding players that are good that aren’t as well known, and we have done a good job at that.”
Ashby, a middle blocker and the only Colorado native of the group, comes to CSU from Aurora, Colorado. A dual-sport athlete as well, Ashby plans on joining both CSU’s volleyball and track & field teams. In high school, she was recognized with both all-league and all-state honors from 2013 to 2015, and set her school’s track and field records in 2015 for both the triple jump and the 4x1. Ashby competed for both 303 Colorado Volleyball Academy and Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, where she earned three varsity letters for both volleyball and track & field.
“Amazing is a little more raw than the rest of the players but she is still very good,” Hilbert said. “She is a very good one-foot takeoff middle, which we don’t really have right now. She’s not as big as the middles on our team currently, but she jumps very well and is extremely fast. Our track team is also recruiting her and she will participate in track. I’ve heard those coaches quoted as saying that she might be the best overall female athlete in any sport in the state of Colorado. She’s just learning volleyball, and she’s probably played it seriously for just two years. She’s very physical and fast and fits the mold of these quicker, lateral speed middle blockers and she gets up high.”
Nicholson, a multi-skilled player and a member of the 2015 AVCA All-American Watch List, comes to CSU from North Platte High School in North Platte, Nebraska. She was twice named all-state honorable mention and a member of the Associated Press All-State First Team. Nicholson earned four varsity letters for volleyball and three for tennis in high school. Nicholson also played for the Flatrock Volleyball Club squad. Off the court, Nicholson has been recognized for her academics throughout high school. She is a four-year Honor Role student, and has been a member of the National Honor Society since 2014. Nicholson also earned both the Greater Nebraska Athletic Conference Academic All-Conference and the Nebraska State Athletic Association Academic All-State honors in 2014.
“She’s playing middle right now at her high school but I don’t see her being there in the end,” Hilbert said of Nicholson. “She can ball-handle, she can pass, she can defend and she has great vision of the game. She’s the kind of athlete that I kind of liken to Angela Knopf. She’s so aware of what’s going on around her, and she’s developed into a nice physical player, too.”
Oleksak, a 5-foot-10 setter and a Third Team AVCA Under Armour All-America selection, comes to CSU from Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where she earned four varsity letters for volleyball. In both 2013 and 2014, she was honored as part of her state’s all-division first team and all-section first team, and in 2014 was named both Division and Section Player of the Year. In both 2013 and 2014, Oleksak led the Vikings to win the Arizona state championship, where she won the team’s Offensive Award in 2013, and MVP in 2014.
She also starred for her club team, the Arizona Storm, guiding them to a pair of national championships over the last three seasons.
Off the court, Oleksak made her school’s Principal’s List for academics for both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years, has been a member of the National Honors Society since 2013, and has been an Honor Roll student since 2012.
On top of her numerous accomplishments in athletics and academics, Oleksak logged hours of meaningful community service projects throughout her high school career. She worked with organizations in her community’s church, as well as school clubs such as Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, Key Club, and the National Honors Society.
“Katie Oleksak is a leader,” Hilbert stated. “She is a very talented setter. She is very active and mobile and athletic. She has played on a club team that has won two national championships in three years, and they will play for another one this year. Her club team is laced with top volleyball talent going to places like USC and Arizona and Nebraska, so she’s played volleyball with great players for a long time and she understands how to create things through tempo and deception. In my opinion, she is ready to go as a player, as much as anyone has been. I look across the country and I see a lot of great setters, and Katie is right there with them. So because of the success of her team and what she’s done to help them win, that’s why I feel she’s the top setting prospect in the country.”
Hilbert believes that Oleksak can come in and contribute immediately for the Rams, who will be losing both of their setters (Crystal Young and Adrianna Culbert) after the 2015 season.
“It’s her maturity; her competitiveness,” Hilbert said of Oleksak’s ability to jump right in. “It’s the fact that she just loves volleyball and lives and breathes it. I am sure she will go through growing pains, because every freshman does, but she’s going to get it faster than most.”
Runnels, an outside hitter, comes to CSU from Independence High School in Bakersfield, California, where she was recognized as her high school’s top offensive player in 2013 and team MVP in 2014. She also earned an AVCA Player of the Week recognition in 2013, and was a two-time first team all-area honoree. As team captain in 2014 and 2015, she led her squad to a pair of South Yosemite League championships and was the league MVP. Runnels also competed on the club circuit for the Bakersfield Volleyball Club.
“Breana has a fantastic arm swing and she does jump well,” Hilbert said of the 5-foot-10 outside hitter. “
“She’s not a big tall outside hitter, in fact we are getting a little bit smaller with this class. She gets up in the air high enough. Two things she’s going to have to learn to do, and hopefully she learns this year, is serve-receive a little better and attack the ball at a higher trajectory. She has a very impressive arm and hits extremely hard. She also has a really nice, calm demeanor as she plays. She’s kind of a sleeper in this class and I think she is going to be a contributor pretty early in her career.”
Young comes to CSU from Gretna High School in Gretna, Nebraska. A four-year varsity letter winner in both volleyball and track and field, Young is bringing her talents in both athletics and academics to CSU in 2016. In high school, Young was awarded In the Game Magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2013 and 2014, and in both 2014 and 2015 she was named to the all-conference first team. In 2015, she was named a member of the European Global Challenge Team, and in 2014, she led her high school to the state semifinals. Young also plays for the Nebraska Juniors volleyball club, placing fifth at nationals in 2015. Young was also the state champion in the 200-meter dash in 2014. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school, and since 2014 has earned Academic Excellence Letters, has been named academic all-conference, and has been a member of the National Honor Society.
“She’s a dedicated young athlete and she has had her eye on us for a long time,” Hilbert said of Young. “She’s talented and she’s athletic and she’s a fast defensive specialist. I’ve watched her and I’ve been impressed by her speed and her ability to move, as well as her focus and alertness. She’s going to end being really good for us, and she actually reminds me of Jaime Colaizzi.”
THE CLASS
Amazing Ashby – Aurora, Colo. – Cherokee Trail HS – MB – 6-0
Olivia Nicholson – North Platte, Neb. – North Platte HS – MB/OH – 6-0
Katherine Oleksak – Phoenix, Ariz. – Sunnyslope HS – S – 5-10
Breana Runnels – Bakersfield, Calif. – Independence HS – OH – 5-10
Amanda Young – Gretna, Neb. – Gretna HS – DS – 5-8
