The ghosts are out of the closet.
It has been nearly seven years since Colorado State volleyball defeated its in-state rival:Northern Colorado, but Tuesday night was a different story as the Rams ended the losing streak, winning 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22).
Although the Rams’ historic win against the Bears is what caught the attention of many, it was the first-year Ella Stowell who stole the spotlight as she finished the game with a team-high of 16 kills and hitting percentage of 32.4%.
Despite slowly tallying multiple kills throughout the night, it wasn’t until the back end of the fourth set when Stowell had her moment. The rivals were tied at 22-22, but Stowell caught fire as she connected on back-to-back-to-back kills, going on her own 3-0 scoring run to push the Rams over the top and oust their big-time rival.
“I mean, she’s just amazing,” outside hitter Halle Jameson said. “All summer she’s been doing exactly that, so we were ready for her to come out and just make a big impact on the court. She’s an amazing teammate too, and I just have gotten really close with her, so I’m so proud of her, and she’s just super competitive.”
Despite being a true freshman, Stowell is proving that no moment is too big. Stowell has not only contributed early, but has quickly gained the trust of head coach Emily Kohan.
“I don’t know about expected, but I’m not surprised,” Kohan said regarding Stowell’s emergence. “She’s an incredibly talented player that’s grown up in a high-level volleyball gym and has great maturity. And as I’ve watched her over the past couple of years, this kid’s come in and competed. And man, she is setting a high bar.”
High praise for the true freshman from both her teammates and coaches in just her short collegiate career. Because of her 16 kills Tuesday, Stowell climbed to No. 2 on the team in total kills on season with 32 — which is just under the sophomore phenom, Jameson, with 34.
In a night that looked like the Stowell show, it was the tandem core of Kekua Richards and Jameson that proved to be too much for the Bears with both contributing on opposite sides of the net. The 6-foot-7 middle blocker Richards finished with a team-leading four blocks along with adding eight kills into the mix. Jameson recorded yet another double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs while also recording her first two service aces of the season.
In spite of the night ending with a positive result for the Rams, the Bears didn’t give up just yet despite losing the first two sets, as UNC would go on a third-set tear thanks to big time plays from first-year outside hitter Gillian Walton and sophomore outside hitter Leila Ballard. The pair combined for 23 total kills to help push the game to four sets.
“(UNC plays) relentlessly, right?” Kohan said. “They get after it. They’re not afraid, and I felt like they blocked us really well. We are probably a taller, more physical team, but they out blocked us, and so I felt like they had a really good game plan for what our offense was.”
Even with the defensive prowess instilled by UNC head coach Lyndsey Oates, the Rams would not be denied for another game against the Bears. Early in the fourth set, CSU went a 5-0 scoring run in which it saw big time plays from players like Erin Debiec, Eve Wilson and Jameson. Despite the third set dominance and the late-game efforts of the Bears, the firepower of the Rams proved to be too much.
While the Rams will now shift their focus toward the first road trip this week against No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels and the James Madison Dukes shortly after, the team finds themselves celebrating something that hasn’t happened in nearly seven years until tonight.
With tonight’s win, the Rams’ all-time record against the Bears improves to 25-9 thanks to the big time plays of the emerging freshman in Stowell along with Jameson.
“We were fired up, we knew we were better than this team,” Stowell said. “We just wanted to end it and really end our losing streak against them.”
Reach John Vu at sports@collegian.com or on social media @johnvumedia.
