SAN JOSE, Calif. — Colorado State is halfway back home. Most important, the No. 10 Rams are still perfect.
After a sluggish first set at San Jose State to start the final road swing of the season Thursday, the Rams hit a groove in the final two sets on the road, taking a 27-25, 25-14, 25-15 victory. Their 26-0 mark sets a Mountain West record for most consecutive victories.
The Rams, who have already sewn up their fifth straight conference title, moved to 17-0 in Mountain West play.
The final two sets, the Rams were much better defensively, keeping San Jose State from getting much going, hitting just .200 on the night, .038 in the final set. The Spartans did have two players with double-digit kill totals, Hanah Blume with 11 and Sarah Griest with 10. But Colorado State, the conference’s top blocking team, didn’t record one in the first set, but finished the night with 7.5.
“We went into the break with only two blocks, and (assistant coach) Matt (Botsford) was upset,” Hilbert said. “We were like, ‘we’ve got to get more blocks.’ We blocked better in the third set, and we continued to serve well. One the reasons we’re playing well on the road is we’re serving well on the road.”
Senior middle Sam Peters was a driving force behind the win, posting a match-best 12 kills. She did so without an error, hitting .706 on the night as the Rams finished at .368. She also added three blocks on the night.
“Sam does what she always does,” Hilbert said. “She doesn’t hit an error, she gets kills, and you think to yourself she’s not getting all that much. She hit .700; it was ridiculous. She’s just so solid and smart in what she does.”
Despite allowing the Spartans (8-20, 5-12) to out-hit them in the first set, the Rams still hit well themselves and posted three service aces in the opener, two from Kelsey Snider.
Marlee Reynolds also had a big night, posting her 10 kills with just a single error while hitting .360. Snider and Michelle Lawrence had eight kills each as setter Deedra Foss closed with 34 assists, adding three blocks.
However, Hilbert wants to see more point runs by his team, something the Rams didn’t do in the first set.
“I’m very happy with our hitting. It was good,” Hilbert said. “It’s just a matter of you have to be a half-step quicker on all of the blocking and defensive skill areas to beat anybody. We’re used to winning games by siding out, and we can’t rely on that the better the competition gets.”
CSU has one more road match remaining, a tough test Saturday at Fresno State as they put their program-record 16 straight road wins on the line against the Bulldogs, who were upset by Wyoming in four sets.
