6-foot-6 Hillyer ready to stand tall for CSU volleyball
Men’s basketball players are liars.
Or at least truth benders.
You just can’t trust them, at least on matters of the height.
They always want to be taller.
Kirstie Hillyer can call them out on it, though.
She’s now a freshman volleyball player at CSU, but during the recruiting process Hillyer visited campus at the same time as a potential men’s basketball player.
He said he was 6-foot-8. Not so fast, Hillyer said, looking down at a man shorter than her.
Hillyer, the tallest player on the Colorado State University volleyball team, is listed at 6-foot-6. There’s no fudging there. She says she’s still growing and measured over 6-foot-7 in shoes last week.
Being that tall has its drawbacks. Coming from the small town of Bayfield in the southwest of Colorado, Hillyer was always the tallest in her class, which leads to the inevitable questions.
“Anytime anyone sees me at first it’s ‘do you play basketball?’ No, I play volleyball,” Hillyer said. “Some people get mad at me, ‘why don’t you play basketball?’ Because volleyball’s better.”
To be fair, most people in Bayfield probably expected her to play basketball. Her grandfather, dad and brother all played college basketball and now coach the sport.
She played in middle school, but wasn’t as into it.
“I’m kind of the oddball,” she said with laugh.
Instead she took to volleyball, beginning play in seventh grade.
After eighth grade Hillyer participated in a camp in Bayfield that CSU coach Tom Hilbert was helping run.
“I finished that camp and said she’s the real deal,” Hilbert said. Hillyer was already about 6-foot-3.
A prodigious high school career followed that saw Hillyer spend all four years on varsity, never losing a league match. She was named an Under Armour Honorable Mention All-American as a senior.
Now she’s pushing for playing time as a true freshman for the No. 12 ranked Rams, who open the season at home at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 against Baylor.
She’s taller than everyone else on the volleyball team, usually standing in between the 6-foot-5 Acacia Andrews and 5-foot-4 Jaime Colaizzi during Hilbert’s end-of-practice talks.
Based on roster listings, she’s taller than seven members of the CSU men’s basketball team. Although she doubts the 6-foot-7’s are actually taller than her.
Hilbert said he’d like to redshirt Hillyer, but she’s making that a difficult decision. Hillyer’s a middle blocker who can also be used on the right side.
“She’ll do amazing things. You have to be careful because you’ve got to realize she’s still a freshman,” Hilbert said. “When you get into competitive situations you’re not going to be able to lean on a freshman to be a major terminal player for us. That being said, she’s really good.”
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Kirstie Hillyer file
Position: Middle blocker/opposite hitter
Height, class: 6-foot-6, freshman
Notable: Graduated from Bayfield High School, going 95-17 with the Wolverines…Named Under Armour Honorable Mention All-American as a senior…Two-time all-state honors…Her grandfather, father and brother all played college basketball.