Print Edition

Letter to the editor submissions

Have a strong opinion about something happening on campus or in Fort Collins? Want to respond to an article written on The Collegian? Write a Letter to the Editor by following the guidelines here.

Colorado State volleyball gains 3 wins before trip to Boulder

Taylor Paumen

September 13, 2021

Kennedy Stanford kneels down to pass the ball towards the setter — Kennedy Stanford (17) kneels down to pass the ball toward the setter during Colorado State University’s opening match versus Northwestern University at Moby Arena. Northwestern won 3-1. (Devin Cornelius | The Collegian)

Colorado State University volleyball had a packed weekend playing a total of three matches: two on Friday and one on Saturday. The Rams came out on top despite the long weekend, as they went 3-0 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2-7), Oregon State University (2-6) and University of Alabama at Birmingham (3-4).

After adding two wins to coach Tom Hilbert’s 600th win last Saturday, the Rams took on the UAB Blazers Sept. 11.

The Blazers snatched set one 26-24 although the two teams battled back and forth, tying throughout the set and ending in even errors, both at eight. UAB had a .097 higher hitting average while totaling four more kills than the Rams, but those numbers didn’t last for the Blazers.

Senior and this week’s Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week Alexa Roumeliotis was reassuring though, saying in a press release, “Our mentality was, ‘We have to come out with more energy than they did.’ And I think all the way through, we really did that.”

The tides changed in set two as the Rams kept UAB at a match-low .071 hitting average and outscored them on kills 12-9 and errors 4-7. CSU stayed ahead after a 7-1 scoring run, eventually taking the set 25-15 and tying the match 1-1.

With both teams wanting set three, the Rams had to come out strong, and like Roumeliotis said, “The third set is really a game changer.” For CSU, that third set was a ride to the win.

The green and gold team kept their momentum through the third set while the Blazers got lost after a six-point run, which led to a 25-14 win and 2-1 match lead. The Rams again outnumbered UAB on kills, 14-8, and with the accuracy of CSU’s defense, they only had two errors while forcing the Blazers to five.

To end the evening, Colorado State led set four from the start as they perfected their mistakes, claiming a match-high hitting average of .571, keeping the Blazers at .3 and adding only three errors to their stats.

CSU grasped the set and match win 26-17 and 3-1, respectively. For the fifth time this season, sophomore Kennedy Stanford led the team in kills, adding 17 to her personal stats, followed by Jacqi Van Liefde and Annie Sullivan both tying for 10.

While the team additionally scored a total of 11 aces, Ciera Pritchard kept the ball moving, sharing 35 assists to the offensive side. Roumeliotis finished the three-game weekend with 58 total digs as she seized the MW Defensive POW award for the fourth time in her career.

The Rams hope to continue this four-game winning streak as they head over to take on rivals the University of Colorado Boulder Buffaloes. If you can’t make the 7 p.m. away battle Sept. 16, hold tight as the Buffs will head to Moby Arena this Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.

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

About the Contributors

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.

Devin Cornelius, Digital Managing Editor

Devin Cornelius is the digital managing editor for The Collegian. He is a fifth-year computer science major from Austin, Texas. He moved to Colorado State University and started working for The Collegian in 2017 as a photographer. His passion for photography began in high school, so finding a photography job in college was one of his top priorities. He primarily takes sports photos, volleyball being his favorite to shoot. Having been on The Collegian staff for 4 1/2 years, he's watched the paper evolve from a daily to a weekly paper, and being involved in this transition is interesting and exciting. Although Cornelius is a computer science major, his time at The Collegian has been the most fulfilling experience in his college career — he has loved every second. From working 12-hour days to taking photos in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference, he cannot think of a better place to work. Working as a photographer for The Collegian pushed him outside of his comfort zone, taking him places that he never expected and making him the photographer he is today. As the digital managing editor, Cornelius oversees the photos, graphics and social media of The Collegian along with other small tech things. Working on the editorial staff with Katrina Leibee and Serena Bettis has been super fun and extremely rewarding, and together they have been pushing The Collegian toward being an alt-weekly. Outside of The Collegian, he enjoys playing volleyball, rugby, tumbling and a variety of video games. When in Austin, you can find him out on the lake, wake surfing, wake boarding and tubing. You can expect that Cornelius and the rest of The Collegian staff will do their best to provide you with interesting and exciting content.

Comments (0)

When commenting on The Collegian’s website, please be respectful of others and their viewpoints. The Collegian reviews all comments and reserves the right to reject comments from the website. Comments including any of the following will not be accepted. 1. No language attacking a protected group, including slurs or other profane language directed at a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, age, physical or mental disability, ethnicity or nationality. 2. No factually inaccurate information, including misleading statements or incorrect data. 3. No abusive language or harassment of Collegian writers, editors or other commenters. 4. No threatening language that includes but is not limited to language inciting violence against an individual or group of people. 5. No links.

Share your thoughts...

All The Rocky Mountain Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest