CSU volleyball continues the legacy, winning the Golden Spike trophy

Everything’s better with a trophy.

And for Colorado State volleyball, the Golden Spike trophy was not only the cherry on top after back-to-back wins against Colorado, but a chance to destroy its biggest rival on their home court.

The Rams had already ruined the Buff’s 9-0 streak, but now after Friday’s 3-1 (11-25, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24) win, they staked their permanent claim on the trophy in an intense and demanding match.

“The Golden Spike is always emotional, you’ve got that interstate rivalry,” head coach Emily Kohan said. “Going into conference I feel like this gives us confidence too of, hey, great things are on the horizon.”

This was the Rams’ second and final game in the Gold Spike saga after an extraordinarily well-executed game against CU Thursday.

And although it was the same teams and players on the court, the match looked completely different than the night before. What started as a complimentary game of volleyball — several rallies building spikes upon digs — became a turmoil of emotions and talent riding the highs and lows of the night.

CSU played similarly to the other — more average — games of its season. This was seen especially when the Buffs attempted to target different areas of the courts with attacks, something the Rams couldn’t manage to return at first, but slowly began to work through.

“I feel like everyone was kind of playing separate (in the first set),” Aine Doty said. “But I think in the second set, we started playing for each other, it wasn’t as individualized. We were more like a cohesive team. And I think that’s what wins matches is when we’re all playing together.”

Especially in that first set, CSU had fans worried as its hitting percentage was at 0% and it had zero blocks with only eight digs — compared to CU’s 15.

The players who had been working together so well just less than a day ago were falling apart and Kohan had to make her move, adjusting the roster. Evidently, it wasn’t enough to take the first set, but gave the starters the push they needed to carry out the rest of the match.

“We were just getting beat really badly, nothing seemed to be working,” Kohan said. “And when we’re down that bad I hope to motivate a couple of them. … And I felt like in the second set when the original kids went back in their spots, that they picked it up and they realize that no spot is safe depending on what the night is.”

And from there, the Rams capitalized on their strengths whether it was blocking or targeting different areas with tips. From starting as a defense that could not get a single ball to the setter, the team made a pretty solid recovery, allowing them to get that momentum going.

But the Buffs were not going to take a loss easily, especially in their home territory. Compared to Thursday’s match when CU scored zero aces, Friday was a much better improvement as it scored nine throughout the four sets.

CSU also turned around and did the same thing, scoring three more aces, seven more kills and 11 more digs. Even if the Rams weren’t playing with the same electricity that they were in Moby, they were sure infiltrating the CU Events Center with their own energy.

“We can be really great,” Halle Jameson said. “We can compete with the high-level teams, we can play really good volleyball and we can go really far this year.”

Even without the energy radiating from Moby Arena’s stands, the Rams held their own, especially Jameson.

She was part of the slow bug that had bit the team in the beginning, but by the end, was one of the most important members for CSU, showing it’s not about how the game starts, but how it finishes — although CSU still needs to work on hitting the ground running before taking on the conference portion of the season.

But it was Jameson who scored the final two out of three kills for CSU, and coming as no surprise, scored the highest number of kills for the Rams at 14 with a hitting percentage of 37%.

“She’s been unbelievable in a lot of ways,” Kohan said. “I think passing is probably the most remarkable thing. She came in polished and she’s really composed and teams are just targeting her as a freshman and outside hitter.”

Jameson originally came in after first-year Sofia Zabjek was hurt doing a game, and after not hitting up to standard, Kohan encouraged Jameson to rely on tipping instead of swinging hard, but this first-year had incredible potential yet to be seen.

Soon after that first match, Kohan apologized and ever since, Jameson has been dominating whether it is hitting right to the middle of the court or switching up the angle and hitting that sweet spot on the line.

“I just want to keep improving everyday, that’s my goal is just to come and show up and do what the team needs and just to support them in any way I can,” Jameson said. “So just keep being aggressive, keep being loud, just doing everything I can for the team.”

After these two games, CSU looks to be hitting its stride after taking down a team that was 9-0, but now 9-2 thanks to the force of the Rams. This was also CSU’s last nonconference match — ending 6-4 — and will be rolling this rivalry rampage into the Border War next week against Wyoming, entering the game with a trophy to prove their excellence.

And as CSU lives to see another year with the Golden Spike trophy, the Buffs leave Friday with nothing but a Chip on their shoulder.

“We practiced insanely hard before this and had some of our best practices and just came out here and played the best we’ve ever played,” Jameson said. “It gives us a lot of confidence. It shows that we can be really great… and we can go into conference and just do insanely good.”

Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on social media @sophgwebb.