Colorado State’s unbeaten volleyball team will host its biggest match of the season Saturday when the No. 18 Rams bring No. 4 Wisconsin to Moby Arena (7 p.m.)
The Badgers, the national runner-up in 2013, will be the highest-ranked team to play on CSU’s home floor since No. 2 UCLA came to visit in 2012. The Rams own 16 victories against top-10 teams, most recently taking down a fifth-ranked Nebraska squad in five sets in 2011, a match the Rams trailed 2-0.
Colorado State is looking for ‘White Out’ for the match, asking their home crowd to wear white and pack the arena. In the past four seasons, the Rams are 3-1 in ‘White Out’ games, with three of those crowd among the biggest in program history. They drew 5,641 when they faced the Bruins, 6,750 against Nebraska.
Coach Tom Hilbert’s teams are 25-12 against ranked team at Moby Arena, and a win would mark the highest-ranked team a Hilbert-led Rams squad has beaten at Moby Arena. In program history, 1987 was a big season for knocking off ranked teams at home, taking down both No. 2 BYU and No. 4 Nebraska that season.
To try to push the crowd, 1,500 White Out posters will be given to fans, and the first 500 students to arrive at Moby will receive free pizza.
Led by senior middle blocker Kelsey Snider, the Rams are 4-0 on the season and have yet to drop a set, rising from No. 18 in the preseason poll to its current No. 13 position. On Friday, the team will host Florida A&M (also at 7 p.m.), a team that is currently 0-3 on the season.
Snider leads the team with 38 kills, averaging 3.17 a set while hitting .444. Senior setter Deedra Foss is off to another strong start, averaging 9.67 assists per set while adding 15 kills, and 12 blocks. Marlee Reynolds is averaging 2.92 kills per set on the outside.
By Mike Brohard
