Colorado State University Athletics
Friday, October 5
Fort Collins, Colo.
7 PM MT
Colorado State
3
vs
0
Air Force
Photo by: Tomas Redondo
Colorado State flies by Air Force Friday night
10/5/2018 10:36:00 PM | Volleyball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State volleyball team flew past Air Force on Friday evening in Moby Arena. The Rams hit at a .283 mark in the sweep, while holding Air Force to just a .072 clip. Breana Runnels led the offense and hit at a searing .467 mark with 16 kills on 30 attempts.
In the first set, the Falcons looked to battle Colorado State, bringing the score within one at 5-4, but the Rams maintained control of the lead throughout the heart of the frame. Air Force got within three points at 20-17, but CSU held their advantage and finished the frame off, 25-18 with a service ace from Olivia Nicholson.
Colorado State cruised out to a 15-8 advantage in the second set and never looked back. The Rams then went on a 7-2 run late, on their way to securing a 2-0 match lead with a kill from Kirstie Hillyer.
In the final frame, Air Force put up a fight, battling back from an early deficit to bring the score within one at 12-11. From there, the Rams went on a 10-7 run, forcing an Air Force timeout; and then went on a three point tear to earn the set and match victory, 25-18.
QUOTES
Coach Tom Hilbert's opening statement…
"I felt like our team did a nice job of blocking and getting hands in front of the ball of Air Force's better players. In the serving and passing game tonight, we did a really good job. We had a lot of aces, I think we had ten errors, but seven aces; I would take that in a three-set match. I thought we passed the ball really well and we did not give a point away on passing. That is so different than how we've been playing on the road. Our task as a team is to be able to serve and pass on the road like we did tonight – that is going to be really important for us as we move on. We played a good match tonight and we were well prepared and really got hands on the ball and blocked a lot of balls. When you block people, it changes the way they play and I think that happened tonight."
Hilbert on how the team responded after dropping two matches…
"We're at home and we want to play well. We came out, we had some momentum, we did some nice things. Losing two matches in a row isn't fun and I think it got my attention and I'm pretty sure it got the players' attention. I think they know that we have to be better as a team in the Mountain West. We're still mathematically able to win this league, and we have to try to go out and win every possible conference match we can."
Breana Runnels about the team's leaders…
With people playing in different positions, everybody kind of has to be a leader in their own way…it's kind of developing leaders in every position."
STAT OF THE DAY
This game marked the 50th meeting of Colorado State and Air Force. The Rams are now 49-1 against the Falcons all time.
NOTES
- Breana Runnels led the team with 16 kills, while hitting .467 and adding five digs, two aces and four blocks.
- Paulina Hougaard-Jensen was dominant on the net recording seven blocks while also contributing three kills.
- Katie Oleksak dished out 33 assists, while adding 11 digs marking her fifth double-double of the season.
- Kirstie Hillyer hit at a .368 clip recording 11 kills in 19 attempts.
- The Rams recorded seven service aces in the match.
- CSU also totaled 11 blocks while holding Air Force to four.
NEXT
Colorado State will face Boise State at home on Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT.
In the first set, the Falcons looked to battle Colorado State, bringing the score within one at 5-4, but the Rams maintained control of the lead throughout the heart of the frame. Air Force got within three points at 20-17, but CSU held their advantage and finished the frame off, 25-18 with a service ace from Olivia Nicholson.
Colorado State cruised out to a 15-8 advantage in the second set and never looked back. The Rams then went on a 7-2 run late, on their way to securing a 2-0 match lead with a kill from Kirstie Hillyer.
In the final frame, Air Force put up a fight, battling back from an early deficit to bring the score within one at 12-11. From there, the Rams went on a 10-7 run, forcing an Air Force timeout; and then went on a three point tear to earn the set and match victory, 25-18.
QUOTES
Coach Tom Hilbert's opening statement…
"I felt like our team did a nice job of blocking and getting hands in front of the ball of Air Force's better players. In the serving and passing game tonight, we did a really good job. We had a lot of aces, I think we had ten errors, but seven aces; I would take that in a three-set match. I thought we passed the ball really well and we did not give a point away on passing. That is so different than how we've been playing on the road. Our task as a team is to be able to serve and pass on the road like we did tonight – that is going to be really important for us as we move on. We played a good match tonight and we were well prepared and really got hands on the ball and blocked a lot of balls. When you block people, it changes the way they play and I think that happened tonight."
Hilbert on how the team responded after dropping two matches…
"We're at home and we want to play well. We came out, we had some momentum, we did some nice things. Losing two matches in a row isn't fun and I think it got my attention and I'm pretty sure it got the players' attention. I think they know that we have to be better as a team in the Mountain West. We're still mathematically able to win this league, and we have to try to go out and win every possible conference match we can."
Breana Runnels about the team's leaders…
With people playing in different positions, everybody kind of has to be a leader in their own way…it's kind of developing leaders in every position."
STAT OF THE DAY
This game marked the 50th meeting of Colorado State and Air Force. The Rams are now 49-1 against the Falcons all time.
NOTES
- Breana Runnels led the team with 16 kills, while hitting .467 and adding five digs, two aces and four blocks.
- Paulina Hougaard-Jensen was dominant on the net recording seven blocks while also contributing three kills.
- Katie Oleksak dished out 33 assists, while adding 11 digs marking her fifth double-double of the season.
- Kirstie Hillyer hit at a .368 clip recording 11 kills in 19 attempts.
- The Rams recorded seven service aces in the match.
- CSU also totaled 11 blocks while holding Air Force to four.
NEXT
Colorado State will face Boise State at home on Thursday night at 7 p.m. MT.
#PointRams
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballColorado State Volleyball Press Conference 9.22.25
Monday, September 22
CSU Volleyball Players Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Emily Kohan Press Conference - August 6
Thursday, August 07
Colorado State Volleyball: Building Champions to Win Championship
Monday, May 05