Facing Virginia Commonwealth for just the second time in program history, the No. 18 Colorado State volleyball cruised to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-12 sweep and its second victory over the Rams in two meetings. With sky-high expectations heading into the 2014 season, CSU looks to be headed in the right direction with a strong performances from their veteran players as well as their newcomers.
“It was a good effort by us and good point scoring for us,” head coach Tom Hilbert said.
Ad
With several service errors on both sides of the net, missed passes on the serve receive and attacks falling past the end line, this afternoon’s game had the feel of the first match of the season. With Kaitlind Bestgen serving strong for the Rams, CSU to limited errors to defeat VCU .
From the start of set one it was a back and forth battle with multiple lead changes and ties mid-way through the set. However, the key turning point this afternoon came from the momentum of winning a block and the arm of senior outside hitter Marlee Reynolds.
“It was really important that Marlee got off to a strong start early,” Hilbert said. “That is her job and that is what I have been trying to tell her everyday. Come out as if you are the terminating point for our team.”
Reynolds, one of three All-Mountain West preseason picks for the Rams, had 13 kills on 27 attempts with two errors and a .407 hitting percentage. Along with Reynolds on the attack was Adrianna Culbert and Kelsey Snider with 6 kills a piece and the true freshman Jasmine Hanna with 5.
“She (Hanna) has been really impressing us in practice as of late and she did some nice things today,” Hilbert said. “We got to get a couple other people in there and we didn’t get enough balls to those guys but we are slowly figuring out who is going to play where and I thought it was a good way to start.”
A win against VCU moves CSU to a 1-0 record on the season with two more games to play in the Rams Volleyball Classic. Check back to collegian.com for more updates and coverage from Moby Arena. Next for CSU will be a matchup with UC Santa Barbara later Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Collegian Sports Reporter Haleigh Hamblin can be reached at sports@collegian.com and on Twitter @haleighhamblin.
