People have been approaching Colorado State volleyball coach Tom Hilbert all week, even some on Tuesday morning at breakfast, to tell him about what they saw his team accomplish Saturday night.
"Someone told me today that it was the best athletic event they had ever seen in any spot," Hibbert said. "I heard that all weekend long."
His veteran team earned a somewhat surprising trip to the NCAA tournament regional semifinals Saturday night with a storybook win. On their home floor at Moby Arena. In front of a crowd of more than 6,000. Playing their cross-state rival for the first time in four years. Rallying back after Colorado served for the match.
"I will always remember it," said Colorado State setter Deedra Foss, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.
And yet all it is now is a very fond memory. What counts most is what's next. And what's next is perhaps the toughest challenge for the Rams program in years.
No. 15 seed Colorado State (31-2) moves on the regional semifinals for the first time since 2009 to face second-seeded Texas (25-2) in Minneapolis on Friday (5 ET, ESPN3) as a decided underdog. But the Rams like their chances of pulling off the upset and making the program's first-ever trip to the regional final.
"We know what our strengths are, and we have to play to that," junior outside hitter Adrianna Culbert said. "We are going in with no fear."
After all, Colorado State is one of the nation's most consistently successful programs under Hilbert, who has taken the Rams to the NCAA tournament -- including 10 trips to the regional semifinals -- every year since he arrived in Fort Collins 18 years ago. He is also one of 10 coaches with more than 600 career wins.
Colorado State, who holds the second-best win percentage in the nation this season, is the standard-bearing program in the Mountain West, having won the conference title six straight seasons, the only program in the country to have won its conference title six years in a row.
And this may be one of its best teams, an experienced roster which added key freshmen who have stepped up to fill big roles. But the biggest factor in his team's success this year, Hilbert said, is the ability to play "clean" and minimize errors.
"It's probably not as appreciated as it should be," Hilbert said. "It plays a huge role in volleyball. We have to take care of what we do well and we will be in every match. Will we win it? I don't know. But we will be in every set."
The Rams are the only team in the country to rank in the top 25 nationally in hitting, kills, assists, blocking and opponent hitting.
"We are a mature team," Foss said. "Even our freshmen have been playing with maturity, playing at a high level."
Foss and Culbert are the Rams' centerpiece players. Culbert is considered one of the most versatile players in the nation, averaging 2.44 kills, 3.21 digs and 0.63 blocks per set, while hitting at a .312 clip. Foss ranks third nationally with 11.74 assists per match.
Culbert credited her team's chemistry.
"What makes us great is we know each other so well," Culbert said. "Having Deedra back as the setter, the connection we have with her. We have put a lot of work into that and we are comfortable with each other. Being low-error-type players, we have that confidence in each other. We know everyone is going to do their jobs."
But advancing to being one of the final eight teams in the field will be a tall task against the Longhorns. Texas will be "the most physical" team the Rams have played all season, Hilbert said.
"We haven't seen a team this physical in the last two years, and that's going to be the biggest challenge," Hilbert said. "We need to play clean, stay close and win the crucial points."
Foss said the Rams have nothing to lose.
"It's a good mindset for us to have," Foss said. "We have to play all out."