Rams sweep UNLV for 1,000th program win

Collegian | Gregory James

Colorado state middle blocker Kennedy Stanford (17) tips the ball over the net as University of Nevada Las Vegas middle blocker Dakota Quinlan (2) and rightside hitter Chloe Thomas (5) jump up to block Sept. 22. The Rams, who were wearing their orange out uniforms as a throwback to when they were the Colorado A&M Aggies, won 3-0 against the visiting UNLV Rebels. Stanford led the team with 11 kills.

Braidon Nourse, Sports Editor
September 22, 2022

The Colorado State Rams volleyball took on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the midst of a sea of orange Sept. 22 in celebration of CSU’s Ag Week. The Rams celebrated their ninth win of the season over the Lady Rebels, which doubled as the program’s 1,000th in school history.

Members of the Colorado State student section cheer on the CSU volleyball team at Moby Arena Sept. 22.
Members of the Colorado State student section cheer on the CSU volleyball team at Moby Arena Sept. 22. The Rams beat the visiting University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels 3-0 for their annual ‘orange out’ game and secured a milestone for the program in doing so, notching win number 1,000 in the program’s history. (Collegian | Reuel Indurkar)

The night started with the celebration of Hilbert’s 800th career win as a head coach, which came against the University of Wyoming on Tuesday. 

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The Rams got out to a hot 12-7 start in the first set, which prompted the Lady Rebels’ first timeout. The onslaught of points continued to a degree UNLV could not keep up with. Thanks to the fast pace from the jump, and plenty of UNLV errors, the Rams took the first set with ease by a score of 25-15.

The second set proved to be more sluggish for the Rams from the beginning as they fell to a quick 9-5 deficit. The Rams climbed back into a point-for-point set, and eventually were able to take a 2-0 lead by a score of 25-23.

As the pace slowed slightly over the course of the match, the Rams were able to find a more methodical approach that consisted of good decision-making and a balanced attack to go up 14-9. The Lady Rebels continued to have no answer for the Rams’ offense, and CSU was able to win the third set 25-18 to sweep the conference foes three sets to none.

The Rams, now 9-4 on the year, will take on the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Sept. 29 to look for the program’s next win in the thousands.

Reach Braidon Nourse at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @BraidonNourse.

Head Coach Tom Hilbert receives a commemorative golden volleyball trophy celebrating 800 career wins prior to the Colorado State volleyball match against the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels Sept. 22.
Head Coach Tom Hilbert receives a commemorative golden volleyball trophy celebrating 800 career wins prior to the Colorado State volleyball match against the University of Nevada Las Vegas Rebels Sept. 22. 628 of these wins have come while Hilbert has been the head coach at Colorado State for the past 25 years of his 36 year head coaching career. The game against the Rebels saw the Rams come out victorious, winning 3-0. (Collegian | Reuel Indurkar)