You can’t judge a volleyball game based solely off its first set.
At least, that was the case for Colorado State volleyball’s inaugural Pac-12 game against San Diego State.
After dropping a back-and-forth first set that featured 13 ties, CSU came into the second with a different level of intensity. The final score was 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-19) for the Rams. With the win, they improved their record to 8-3 on the season.
“I think our team was a little honestly shocked at how good they were at first,” head coach Emily Kohan said. “Their setter was slinging balls around, and it was almost like men’s volleyball—it’s just kill, kill, kill.”
After SDSU’s passing got the best of the first set, the Rams did not panic. Instead, they made adjustments and inspired one another.
“Honestly, after the first set, I watched our team kind of own the huddle,” Kohan said. “I didn’t even say anything. They just held the huddle and kept talking, and people… my favorite teams are player-led teams.”
CSU sparked the comeback after sprinting out to a 9-1 lead to begin the second set.
At that point in the game, the energy in the arena began to shift. Moby Madness had arrived.
“Moby is the best place to play volleyball, and I think when we start to get the crowd going up like that, it just changes how we play completely,” senior middle blocker Kekua Richards said.
Richards recorded a team-high eight blocks in the game, making her defensive efforts felt.
This is something she has done all season— demonstrated by the fact she’s coming off a week in which she received Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“I can’t get better without my teammates, so it’s like a reward for all of us,” Richards said about the award.
This season, one of the Rams’ greatest strengths was being able to keep their hitting percentage high, and their opponent’s hitting percentage low. The green and gold were able to hold SDSU to just a .126 hitting percentage in the victory.
CSU’s offense kicked up a notch as the game went on. After shooting a hitting percentage of only .294 in the first set, they were able to finish the match with a mark of .317.
Kohan said that getting SDSU out of its system was the key to those numbers changing. She described SDSU as “one of the country’s best passing units.”
“In the second set, our servers really settled in, and found some depth in their serves,” Kohan said. “They were a little more out of system, which allowed us to be a little more human in terms of blocking and defense.”
The Rams broke up the Aztecs’ rhythm, and were able to capitalize from there on out. Keeping the Aztecs out of their controlled system was the key to shifting momentum.
“(Our adjustment) was definitely our serving to get them out of system, so then blocking is a bit easier,” sophomore pin hitter Sofia Zabjek said.
Zabjek came one kill from a season-high, notching 12 on the game. She only trailed Halle Jameson, who ended her night with 13.
Now, with their first conference win of the season under their belt, the Rams know what comes with being projected to win the Pac-12 in the preseason coaches poll.
Now with their only three losses coming to ranked teams, they look ready to prove the poll right. CSU has now won six of its last seven.
“Going into conference, we know we have that target on our back,” Zabjek said. “We want teams to play their best against us. We want that competition.”
After finishing nonconference play 7-3, the team feels battle-tested. After sweeping the Golden Spike clinching matchup against Colorado, bouncing back from a loss to them the day before, the Rams look like the team to beat.
“I think that our non-conference schedule did a really good job of preparing us for conference (play),” Zabjek said.
With high expectations and a conference championship in sight, Kohan has a message she reiterates to the team.
“My message to them is: I know we have big goals, but you take this one game at a time,” Kohan said. “The most important game is the next game.”
For the Rams, that next game will be in San Marcos, Texas, where they will matchup with Texas State.
“We’ve all never been to Texas State before,” Kohan said. “I don’t know what to expect with a venue or a crowd, and we have to be pretty adaptable to go to someplace new.”
The Rams will square off with the Bobcats at 11 a.m. on Sept. 26, hoping to start conference play 2-0.
Reach Caleb Morrow at sports@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
