CSU VOLLEYBALL

Lytle: CSU volleyball team carries burden of success

Kevin Lytle
kevinlytle@coloradoan.com

Perfection is exhausting.

The hardest part of being perfect — in anything — isn’t always the execution of the task at hand.

The mental burden of not messing up can be crippling and is often what’s actually responsible when error occurs.

Just ask the CSU volleyball team.

The Rams’ dominance has risen to a new level in the past two seasons. Last year, Colorado State University flirted with a perfect regular season before losing their second-to-last match of the season to San Diego State. This year, the Rams’ only loss was to No. 4 Wisconsin, and they were perfect through 11 games in Mountain West play.

CSU looked like a near lock to host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games, but the Rams had to be perfect in Mountain West play to guarantee it.

Then UNLV came along Saturday night, played its best match of the year and knocked off CSU 3-1.

And that is why it’s so tough to be CSU right now. Every MW team facing CSU looks at that match as their championship.

“It’s something we accept. We usually get their A game. The crowd in Vegas was brutal,” coach Tom Hilbert said. “I think that it amplifies the pressure that’s on these kids. I know I sound whiny right now, but it’s hard on them because they realize the impact.”

Knock off CSU and you have at least one bright spot on your season.

“Words can hardly describe how proud I am of this team,” UNLV coach Cindy Fredrick was quoted as saying on UNLVrebels.com after the win, the Rebels’ first against a top-10 program. “CSU is such a good team and that makes this win so special.”

Being the lone team everyone else in the conference everyone would love to beat is hard.

The Rams are guaranteed the loudest crowd and best effort of the season in every match.

There’s no room for letdown. Every loss feels like a huge disappointment to fans.

That’s the beast that Hilbert has built at CSU.

It’s an excellent problem to have, one that any program in the country would love to have. But that doesn’t make it any easier.

Volleyball fans from around the country wonder if CSU from the poor Mountain West actually can be legitimate. Undoubtedly, Big Ten and Pac 12 fans look at the loss to UNLV as a sign the Rams aren’t for real.

That will be determined in the NCAA tournament.

But the road there is tough. Not because of the schedule. But because of the burden of perfection.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.