The Colorado State Rams volleyball team will be taking on the University of Nevada, Reno and San José State University this week on Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 and, by the looks of it, they have a very good chance of bringing home a win in both matches.

The green and gold team has been doing extremely well with taking on some great teams this season. They currently have a 7-6 record but have been improving by learning from each mistake. 

The first game the Rams will be playing this week is against the Wolf Pack. The Nevada women’s volleyball team has had a difficult time maintaining a steady winning streak this season. Their current record stands at 3-12 and is placed toward the bottom of conference play, going 0-4 so far. This team has been struggling to get out of a four-game losing streak that will likely be five after facing CSU.

Though Nevada’s coach Lee Nelson has a lot of respect within the world of volleyball, he has yet to get this year’s team the winning streak he once had previously, with the team finishing the 2019 season with a 17-13 record overall and going 7-11 in conference play. 

Nelson’s team has faced many challenges with injured top players not being able to join the rest of the team in many of their recent games. With the number of injuries on the team, Nelson has been forced to place freshmen with less experience onto the court to try to save their once-great winning streak. 

The love that these teams have for this sport is unmatched.”

“We have a number of players that are injured that may not come back for the season at all, so we’ve been forced to throw a number of freshmen out there and just kind of say, ‘Hey, it’s time to sink or swim,'” Nelson told Nevada Sports Net.

The next team Colorado State will be taking on this week is the San José State Spartans. This season, the Spartans have a 9-5 record and are currently trying to bounce back after breaking their five-game winning streak last Saturday. However, the two teams stay generally close together for stats: both have strong defenses, with CSU averaging 13.2 digs per set compared to San Jose’s 14.3 and blocks being only two points apart at 96.0 and 98.0, respectively.

The Spartans are off to a great start this season and could potentially be a threat against the Rams, but CSU’s mere toughness and persistence will make Saturday’s match a competitive one.

The love these teams have for this sport is unmatched. Though our ratio is not as strong as the Spartans’, the Rams have yet to lose their passion for learning from their mistakes.

Last week’s loss to California State University, Fresno has only fueled the fire for Rams volleyball to push forward and secure their next wins. The Rams are seeming encouraged when it comes to recovering from losses, and as they continue, CSU has proven to be a strong competitor in Mountain West Conference play. 

Michael Giles can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @Michaelrenee10