What to watch as CSU hunts another Mountain West title

Every Mountain West squad wants a shot at the CSU volleyball team.

The Rams have a target on their back by virtue of a No. 7 national ranking. Throw in Colorado State University’s five-straight MW titles and the Rams will get every opponents’ best effort.

The road to another MW championship begins at Utah State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. The 18-game conference schedule leaves plenty of opportunity for stumbling blocks, even for the only ranked team in the conference.

“You know them, you’ve played them. You know the personnel. Familiarity breeds composure,” CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. “You won’t shock these guys in their home facility. It’s a great equalizer.”

Here are four things to watch for in MW play:

Road winning streak: The Rams have won 21 straight true road matches and 26 straight regular season road or neutral site matches. CSU has won 14 straight MW matches on the road.

The Rams start with two road matches, at Utah State and at Boise State, before facing UNLV on Thursday, Oct. 2, in their first home match since Tuesday, Sept. 9.

Revenge on the Aztecs: The Rams looked like they were headed for a perfect regular season in 2013 until San Diego State walked into Moby Arena and came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in the final week of the season.

The rematch comes early as the Aztecs visit Fort Collins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. It’s a safe bet that Hilbert and his team will be looking for payback.

Blocking work: The CSU volleyball team has ranked in the top 25 in the nation in blocking nine times in the past 10 seasons, but so far this year, the Rams have struggled in that area.

CSU has been out-blocked three times this season. Hilbert loves his team’s overall defense, led by libero Jaime Colaizzi, who is first in the MW in digs per set at 4.63. Kelsey Snider is 13th in the MW in blocks per set, and Hilbert will look for increased production from her and hope a player like Acacia Andrews continues her growth.

On the attack: Entering the season, the big question mark was who would lead the Rams at outside hitter. That has been answered by freshman Jasmine Hanna, a player Hilbert was thinking about redshirting to start the season.

Hanna is sixth in the MW with 3.24 kills per set, and Marlee Reynolds emerged last weekend in a conference player of the week performance in which she averaged 2.91 kills per set over three matches.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.

Next up: CSU at Utah State, 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25

Next home match: UNLV at CSU, 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2