FORT COLLINS — On the bracket, the pairing was intriguing, if only it would happen.
Beyond the fact Moby Arena hosted an all-Colorado sub-regional in the NCAA Tournament, the two biggest schools in the Centennial State — No. 9 Colorado State and No. 19 Colorado — were primed to meet in the final, all each had to do was get past another in-state foe.
After the Buffs (20-13) did their part by beating Northern Colorado in four sets, the Rams (30-2) set the table with a 25-21, 25-17, 25-22 sweep of Denver in the evening’s finale. For a team that had been bounced after one match the past two years, it was nice to remove that stigma.
The match begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to face No. 2 Texas in the Minneapolis regional.
“I think it’s a relief, for sure,” senior Marlee Reynolds said. “It helps build confidence and everything. It’s good to not be a first-round knockout anymore.”
CSU and CU meet for the first time since 2010, and it’s a matchup between top 25 teams. History would suggest the Rams will have the edge, with coach Tom Hilbert 46-0 against state teams at Moby Arena. Colorado’s tournament history is not good in this spot, either. The Buffs are 0-12 in the tournament when facing a team on its home floor, three of those losses to the Rams.
Hilbert knows history won’t mean a thing Saturday.
“It makes for good media,” said Hilbert after his team hit the 30-win mark for the first time since 2003. “None of these guys have ever played CU, so you can’t draw from some old match or whatever. I will say this, there have been some great NCAA sub-regional finals between the Rams and the Buffs before.”
What Hilbert liked best Friday was the fact the Pioneers challenged his team. Though the Rams posted a sweep, two of the sets were very tight, the second the exception, against a team and a program he feels is on the rise.
The Rams followed the lead of seniors Reynolds and Kelsey Snider to post their second sweep of the Pioneers this season, each posting 12 kills. Snider’s production came on just 16 swings, and she didn’t have an error, posting three blocks as well. The key for her was getting in a rhythm early.
“I think so. I think we also had a matchup advantage in the middle,” she said. “I was getting up fast at zero tempo, and Deedra (Foss) set me nice and high, so I think hitting high and fast was really working.”
Foss, the Mountain West player of the year, closed with 36 assists, adding four kills. Adrianna Culbert and Jasmine Hanna had six kills each as the Rams hit .275 on the night.
Defensively, the Rams limited Denver to just .230, as Nola Basey led the Pioneers with 10 kills.
Saturday’s final will take a different approach, Hilbert said.
“They will try to beat us I think with athleticism, and we’ve got to be able to match,” Hilbert said. “Player for player, that team is more athletic than we are. We’re going to have to figure out a way to counter it with defense, tempo and by playing the game well.”
CSU’s players are ready for a challenge, as Hilbert pointed out, they have had yet to experience in their careers. They’ve taken down ranked teams before — Arizona State and BYU, both on the road — and figure they don’t need any more incentive than they have already.
“Playing CU, I don’t know how much we need before to get pumped up because it is such a rivalry, but I mean I think this match gives us some confidence and we get into the flow of this new season, the postseason,” Reynolds said.
Colorado 3, Northern Colorado 0
Colorado had little issue in moving into the second round of the tournament as the No. 19 Buffs swept past Northern Colorado in the first of two in-state matchups on the day, 25-19, 25-15, 24-26, 25-15.
Led by outside hitters Taylor Simpson and Alexis Austin, the Buffaloes won their 20th match of the season (20-13) for the first time since 2003, advancing to the second round. Simpson led all hitters with 21 kills in the match, hitting .354 on 48 swings. Austin finished with 16 kills. Nicole Edelman led the Buffs with 25 assists, while Gabby Simpson added 19 and led the team with 14 digs.
Defensively, the Buffs posted 13 blocks in the match and limited the Bears to just .075 hitting. Brianna Strong was the only Bear in double digits with 13 kills.
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard
