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CSU volleyball gets swept by strong UNLV team

Taylor Paumen

February 22, 2021

player passes volleyball on court — Alexa Roumeliotis (8) follows through after passing the ball to the setter. (Luke Bourland | The Collegian)

The Colorado State University volleyball team won just one set in their two-game series against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas last week.

Both the Rams and Rebels came into this matchup on two-game win streaks, but it would be the Rebels that would continue their streak after taking game one of the series 3-0. The Rams again dropped the first set of the game despite leading 8-2 early in the set. The Rebels would win the first set 32-30 in heartbreaking fashion after the Rams hung tight and continued to force the set to extra points. UNLV would win set two 25-17 and set three 25-20 en route to their game one sweep of CSU.

Although the Rebels came out with a win, UNLV ended the night giving the Rams 18 extra points from serving errors; the Rams ended the night with 10. The early season rust was evident as there were 44 serving errors throughout the two-game series.

Alexa Roumeliotis set a program record with 36 digs against UNLV this afternoon! #PointRams

📊 https://t.co/0KrrqHJxls pic.twitter.com/NLXGEFiFnv

— Colorado State Volleyball (@CSUvolleyball) February 20, 2021

The teams returned to Moby Arena for game two of the series two days later. CSU got off to a slow start in set one as they quickly found themselves down 5-10. This time, it was the Rams’ turn to mount a comeback behind the hot hand of senior Alexa Roumeliotis who would bring the game to 12-12 after three aces. The set continued to go back and forth but the Rams would hang on to win the first set 25-23.

Unfortunately, the Rams could not sustain their winning ways. CSU lost their next three sets to the Rebels. Their loss was not without multiple chances as the Rams were leading 12-8 in the fourth set, but after a five-point run in UNLV’s favor, the Rams wouldn’t see another lead. CSU would lose the fourth and final set 20-25.

Roumeliotis, a bright spot in the disappointing series, ended Thursday’s match with a season-high 21 digs. She proceeded to demolish that number in Saturday’s game and set a program record of 36 digs throughout the four-set match. The senior also had five service aces, getting her to tie for fourth all-time for aces in a four-set match.

Runnels contributed a notable 14 kills on Saturday, ending the series with 25 total. Overall the Rams ended the series looking good from the stat book but failed to bring it all together for a win.

With their next contest not until Feb. 26 against the University of Wyoming, the Rams will have a couple of days to regroup and get ready for the contest. The Cowgirls recently got swept by Boise State University in their most recent series, making this a series both teams will look to as a way to snap their losing streaks.

You can listen to a broadcast of the game at kcsufm.com.

Taylor Paumen can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @TayTayPau.

About the Contributor

Taylor Paumen, Content Managing Editor

Taylor Paumen is the 2022-23 content managing editor for The Collegian and has been with the newspaper since February 2021. She started out as a volleyball recap reporter and was promoted three months later to sports director. Now going into her fourth year, she is working on finishing a major in journalism and media communication and a minor in sports management. As The Collegian's content managing editor, Paumen takes care of approving content for the week, guiding the directors and editors of each desk and occasionally supplying her time to the cannabis and sports desks when they let her. When she first joined The Collegian, her time covering volleyball games was tough, as COVID-19 had just taken over. Games were fanless, but she knew it was where she wanted to be. Now as content managing editor, she loves learning things outside of the sports world and strengthening her skills. Now, fans are back, and working in the newsroom to create a weekly paper is her new passion. Paumen is most grateful for the memories created with the entire Collegian team and their work together to create the best content. When coming to Colorado State University, Paumen started as a health and exercise science major but quickly tried to find something new. She found writing and sports were her passions, and The Collegian welcomed her with open arms, reassuring her that this is where she was meant to be.

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