FORT COLLINS — According to the bracket, the stay in Minneapolis should be short.
Colorado State’s volleyball team headed into the NCAA Tournament seeded 15th and held court at Moby Arena with a pair of victories. Friday, the Rams will face a Texas team (3 p.m.; ESPN3) that is 25-2 and carries with it the No. 2 seed overall.
“We’re playing with the house’s money,” CSU coach Tom Hilbert said. “I told my team that.”
That’s one reason why he thinks his team will play relaxed at 3 p.m. on Friday, but not the main one. The Rams gained some confidence by beating Colorado in five sets on Saturday in a well-played match, but more so, he has a roster of players who aren’t the type to get intimidated.
Still, the Rams will have to play well against a Longhorns team all agree is more physical and athletic than the Rams are. They boast three-time Big 12 player of the year Haley Eckerrman, who has posted 288 kills and averages 3.84 per set. She also has plenty of help. Khat Bell has 214 kills this season, and three other Texas players have at least 142.
That brings Colorado State’s defense to the forefront for the match, and Hilbert said they have to utilize a host of options to slow down the Longhorns.
“You must disrupt them in some way. It’s either going to be with serving, blocking or defense, or a combination of the three,” Hilbert said. “You have to play your absolute best, because they’re going to block well.”
After last Saturday, when CU’s Taylor Simpson had 32 kills, Hilbert would like to shore up the blocking. It was no secret who the Buffs were going to, but the Rams had a hard time slowing her down.
“CU was a big team as well, so it’s not that we have to be jumping higher,” middle blocker Alexandra Poletto said. “We have to be more disciplined on our block and our defense. More of a purpose towards it. CU was one of our first looks at a really high offense. Going into another team just the same, we have to put a lot of focus on not just going up but taking away space.”
Poletto said it is a host of technical finishes the Rams have to make in the area — better extension and taking away space. The key isn’t always to get a key block, but the Rams have to get touches on the ball to give the back row a chance.
Even if they don’t but are taking away lines, libero Jaime Colaizzi said that much will help.
“It makes it so much easier. It just gives us the ability to use our speed to run down the ball instead of dig on the 10-foot line,” she said. “It makes a world of difference having the block lined up in front of us, whether or not they get a touch on it. If they don’t get a touch, we know exactly where to go, what angle to fill in. It makes a huge difference having the block aligned and going up with a purpose.”
Hilbert knows his team is an underdog, but he’s not about to right them off. Texas did lose two matches, both at home and one was a sweep by Oklahoma, so they can be had.
The goal is to find the secret, because he knows his team will head in with confident, knowing they can sustain a high level of play for five sets.
“I’m not sure that I’ve had a team here ever that plays above their own athletic ability as much as this team does,” he said. “We have some nice athletes, but Deej (Deedra Foss) and Dri (Adrianna Culbert), they’re not intimidated. That doesn’t bother them.”
With a win, CSU will advance past the Sweet 16 for the first time and would face the winner of the No. 7 North Carolina- No. 10 Oregon match later Friday. Saturday’s regional final is set for 4:30 p.m.
Mike Brohard: 970-635-3633, mbrohard@reporter-herald.com and twitter.com/mbrohard
