SPORTS

No. 8 CSU volleyball team holds off No. 18 Arizona State

Stephen Meyers
stephenmeyers@coloradoan.com

It took five sets, but the No. 8 CSU volleyball team escaped Tempe, Arizona, with a 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 17-25, 15-5 win over No. 18 Arizona State Friday, Sept. 19. It is the the program's first-ever win over the Sun Devils.

The Rams had been 0-10 entering Friday's matchup with the Pac-12 program, and it appeared early they'd cruise to a sweep. The Sun Devils, of course, ripped off two straight sets, sending the match to the decisive fifth set.

The Rams (10-1) didn't play around in the fifth, as Kelsey Snider and Jasmine Hanna alternated kills, leading to a 9-0 start from which Arizona State couldn't recover.

"We switched sides at 8-0. That's never happened to me in my career," coach Tom Hilbert said. "That's something else."

The Rams ended up taking a 9-0 lead before Arizona State scored.

Hanna, playing 30 minutes from her home town of Queen Creek, tied with Kelsey Snider for the team lead with 14 kills.

Marlee Reynolds added 13 and Dri Culbert had 10 as the Rams hit .271 for the match.

Former Windsor High School star Jaime Colaizzi had a season-high 25 digs as CSU limited Arizona State to hitting just .183 for the match.

"It was a good defensive performance," Hilbert said. "That's what you have to do against a team like this with outside hitters like this."

The Rams face Pepperdine (11 a.m.) and North Carolina Central (6 p.m.) Saturday, Sept. 20 in the final two matches of the Residence Inn Challenge. They're the final nonconference matches of the season for CSU.