LOGAN, Utah — After three tough sets, No. 7 Colorado State decided enough was enough. Storming out to a big lead early in the fourth set, the Rams put away Utah State on the road to win its Mountain West opener, 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18.
It was the 15th straight road conference win for the Rams who pushed their season record to 13-1. They stay on the road with a Saturday match at Boise State. Colorado State coach Tom Hilbert knew the night wouldn’t be easy, recalling the Rams having to come back from down 2-0 last year to the Aggies (4-7), and in the first set, they had to score the final four points to post the win.
“That’s kind of what happened,” CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. “We started with three strong rotations, and if we’re point scoring right away, which we did, we are more confident. That’s what happened against Arizona State in the fifth set. We weren’t playing different, we were just point scoring in the first three rotations and that happens more as you get into the depths of a match.”
Colorado State setter Deedra Foss (49 assists) steered the offense to the left pin, getting 14 kills from Marlee Reynolds and 13 from Jasmine Hanna. But the Rams also had more balance, getting nine kills each from middles Kelsey Snider and Acacia Andrews, while Dri Culbert added eight.
Andrews had a strong night for the Rams, adding a career-best nine blocks to her total as the Rams finished with 13. Culbert added seven while also leading the team with 17 digs, both matching career bests. Jaime Colaizzi (13), Kaitlind Bestgen (11) and Foss (10) also finished in double digits.
“Acacia had a career blocking night,” Hilbert said. “When the other team is out of system, she sets up very nicely. She made the difference certainly in the second set and again in the fourth set. She was the reason we won those two.”
Kaylie Kamalu led the Aggies with 18 kills, and Rachel Orr added 15, but they also combined for 22 hitting errors as the Aggies hit just .107. Thanks to 19.5 blocks from the hosts, Colorado State hit just .195.
Hilbert felt his team started slow both offensively and defensively, but improved as the match wore on in both areas, showing the resiliency and maturity that has guided the Rams this season. In the end, he felt that made a difference.
“Well, they’re very well prepared, a good blocking team and we got blocked too much as good as we are,” he said. “What we did was we missed three serves and had six unforced errors, and that allows us to hang in there. We hang in there and that was the case the first two sets.”
Contact Sports Editor Mike Brohard at 970-635-3633 or mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard
