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FORT COLLINS — Raegan Shelton went crosscourt, the Aztecs hit the floor and so did Colorado State’s run at perfection.
San Diego State was six points away from getting swept out of Moby Arena on Wednesday night, just like most of the 21 teams that visited before them. But instead of packing up, the Aztecs picked up and stole the No. 9 Rams’ run at history with a 15-25, 18-25, 25-21, 27-25, 15-13 victory.
Likely with the loss, the Rams lost a shot at hosting in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the lone defeat wasn’t about to change coach Tom Hilbert’s thinking about his team.
“My hat’s off to San Diego State. They played well,” Hilbert said, his team now 27-1 on the season, 18-1 in Mountain West play. “I’m still very proud of our team for the run that we were on and for playing courageously tonight.”
The Rams had only lost three sets at Moby Arena all season, but in front of 3,057 fans, they dropped three in a row. It was the first time since losing on the road at New Mexico in 2012 the Rams fell after a 2-0 lead. The Aztecs (15-14, 11-8) had to earn it, too, because for the Rams, the 15-8 lead they had in set 3 was the largest one they’ve lost all year.
SDSU coach Deitre Collins-Parker made a key lineup change and a few defensive adjustments after the break. Her middles weren’t performing, so she turned to true freshman Baylee Little, and all she did was produce 10 kills on 12 swings, most of them coming off slides.
“The last time we played Colorado State, we knew the thing that helped us was an attack in the middle, and neither of our middles was having a great game,” Collins-Parker said. “She really helped us be able to score.”
She, along with right-side hitter Chaiymin Steel, provided options for the Aztecs as their big guns, Summer Nash and Shelton struggled at times. Steel and Little also helped improve the Aztecs block in addition to their 20 combined kills.
Nash led with 16 kills, and Shelton had 15, but neither hit better than .196 in the match.
“We did a good job on their outside hitters, but that wasn’t enough,” Hilbert said. “They were beating us with some other players, the middles and the right. Really, it was them defending much better coming out of the break and blocking much better and serving tough. They were playing with a great deal of aggressiveness, and we didn’t respond very well, especially in the third set. We had to push back a little bit; they had those long point runs.”
Changes aside, Collins-Parker said it was the Aztecs willing themselves to victory more than anything. Colorado State had match point in the fourth at 25-24 and serving, only to drop the next three points, the final on another Shelton kill.
“They shifted their defense a little bit, but overall they were just more aggressive,” CSU’s Dri Culbert said. “They were going after balls than in the first two sets they hadn’t been going after. They were playing with a nothing-to-lose attitude on defense and it worked for them.”
Making the loss more shocking still was the way the evening started. Colorado State could do no wrong, hitting .481 in the first set and .438 in the second with four combined hitting errors. They had seven in the third set, eight more in the fourth.
The clear swings Marlee Reynolds (17 kills) and Michelle Lawrence (14) were getting on the left were no longer there. Kelsey Snider was solid all night in the middle, posting 12 kills on 26 swings.
But in the final three sets, the Rams never hit better than .158, and that wasn’t good enough despite the fact they held SDSU below .230 in all three sets.
“I think San Diego just stepped up their game and they were playing really well and we just couldn’t keep up,” CSU setter Deedra Foss said after posting 55 assists. “They gained momentum and we never got ours back.”
But the Rams intend to Friday. They close out the regular season at home against UNLV — a night they will be presented with the Mountain West trophy for the fifth consecutive season — looking to regain their footing heading back to the NCAA Tournament.
“We still know our potential. We know what we can do,” Culbert said. “It’s not like this one loss is going to state our whole entire season. We’ve already come out and played and competed every single game. We competed that game, we just didn’t compete as hard as we should have and as hard as we needed to to win. We’re still going to be the same team and come out hard and compete because we are competitors. The one loss sucks now, but I think it will help us against UNLV and in the tournament.”
Mike Brohard can be reached at 635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and @mbrohard
