In her first match back after missing two games with a concussion, outside hitter Jasmine Hanna led No. 18 Colorado State to a 3-0 sweep of San Diego State University (25-17, 25-15, 25-22).
The Rams battled against the Aztecs through three sets, but San Diego could not put a stop to the Rams offense or get through CSU’s defense.
The Rams outplayed the Aztecs significantly throughout the first two sets, but did exactly dominate the third set. CSU went back and forth with SDSU, but eventually took the win off of Hanna’s 13 kill of the night, a team-high.
“It felt great,” Hanna said of the match point. “We didn’t have to go to a fourth [set].”
Hanna had a warm welcome back to the court as she headed into the third set with 8 kills on 14 swings, no-errors and was hitting at .571.
It was hard to tell that Jasmine had taken anytime off, let alone two matches, as she led the Rams in kills throughout the entirety of the match against the Aztecs.
Even Coach Hilbert joked of the irony of getting hit in the head only to come back and play one of the best games that she has played so far.
Hanna attributed her successful match against the Aztecs to her consistent focus. She finished the match with 13 kills on .591 hitting to go with three digs and one block.
“[Jasmine] drove to the ball… she had good vision of the block, the sets were located right to her,” Hilbert said. “She’s doing smart things. If we can get that every match we’re golden.”
CSU volleyball’s defense was clearly effective against San Diego State as they forced 22 errors and kept San Diego’s hitting percentage down to a miserable .083.
“I think as a whole our block was really set up, and it was easy to play defense around that,” senior libero Jaime Colaizzi said.
CSU volleyball out-dug SDSU 46-34, with 15 digs coming from Colaizzi.
The No. 18 Colorado State Volleyball team is maintaining an undefeated Mountain West record (10-0 in conference), and are becoming more and more aware of the pressure of that record after each match.
“With every match that we win, I’m a lot more mindful of that record,” Colaizzi admits.
However, Coach Hilbert knows the team has a tough road ahead to secure the conference with their upcoming schedule.
CSU volleyball has tough matches coming its way, starting off with a match against Nevada this Saturday before the Rams head on the road against to take on Air Force and New Mexico.
Hilbert explained his biggest concern heading into the match is Nevada’s notoriously fast offense.
No. 18 CSU takes on Nevada at 7:30 p.m. at Moby Arena Saturday.
Collegian Sports Reporter Pia Myers can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com and on Twitter @ByPiaMyers.
