From the start, coach Emily Kohan and Colorado State volleyball knew their season opener wouldn’t be a cakewalk. 

Matched up against No. 11 Florida to kick off their season Friday night, the Rams had the odds stacked against them before the first point was even scored. 

However, in their 3-1 (21-25, 21-25, 26-24, 11-25) loss to the Gators, Kohan said the team showed they can stay competitive with some of the best talent collegiate volleyball has to offer. 

“I thought actually (in) the first three sets, we were pretty competitive,” Kohan said. “We were right there hitting with them — we had some serving woes.”

While the result may tally up the same in the loss column, CSU certainly did prove it can hit with the best.

In the final set, the Rams lost by double digits off a -0.222 hitting percentage. In the first three sets, CSU hit 0.305, just half a point shy of Florida’s 0.310 over the same period. 

As usual, the name that stood tall above the others in offensive production was Malaya Jones. 

“She does a great job, not just in the front row, but I think her back row attacking was something that was most impressive tonight,” Kohan said. “She does a really nice job just being aggressive.”

Jones finished the night with 17 kills, six digs and one block while hitting 0.270 off 37 attacks.

However, even with Jones’ hugely impactful production, the Gators stood above it all with Kennedy Martin at the helm. 

Martin was an offensive powerhouse for Florida. The 6-foot-6-inch sophomore tallied 25 kills off of an astonishing 0.568 hitting percentage. 

“We knew she was going to come to score points — there’s no doubt about it,” Taylor Pagan said. “It wasn’t about stopping her; it was more so about getting touches and slowing her down.”

Pagan, who started for the first time in her career, played a huge role in CSU’s offensive production throughout the night.

The sophomore played in only 27 sets last year, recording one kill and two errors.

This year, however, has been a different story. Pagan recorded nine kills, the second most on the team, and scored a key service ace to get the Rams to set point in their only set win.

“She passed really well,” Kohan said. “Everybody likes Taylor’s arm and how hard she hits, but she did a crucial job passing. … She’s got a really bright future for us.”

The Rams sorely missed a member of their backcourt Friday night in Kate Yoshimoto. The veteran libero — who has not missed a start in over a year — was absent from the lineup with a concussion. 

In her stead, CSU appointed Idaho transfer Aine Doty to the starting libero spot. 

“Kate’s fantastic — she digs balls left and right,” Jones said. “I think Aine stepped up to the role, and she did a great job. It’s a big stage, and it’s her first time playing in front of such a big crowd like this, so I can only commend her — it’s scary.”

Doty posted five assists and five digs in the match but struggled to keep up with Martin’s offensive production. No timeline was given on Yoshimoto’s return, but Doty will most likely get to see significant playing time in CSU’s match against Michigan State Saturday, Aug. 31.

Reach Will Engle at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @willengle44.