The Rams have turned the tables. 

After a recent loss against San Diego, Colorado State knew they were in for a tough match playing them again, and would not only have to play accurately but keep a fierce mentality so as to not be rattled by the Aztecs’ strength. 

Despite this, CSU finished the game in three sets (27-25, 25-21, 25-14), marking tremendous progress within the team’s “Revenge Tour”. 

“You want to play good volleyball teams as you’re heading into championship season,” coach Emily Kohan said. “(It’s) always really fun to get to sharpen yourself against another really efficient offense, and I was proud of the way we just stayed composed and kept hanging away.”

Having previously lost to SDSU in a game of five sets, CSU was looking to rewrite its wrongs, and that it just did.

The team started off hot. The cheers from spectators spilled onto the court only helping the team boost their energy and cheer as if they had won the match with each point they gained.  

“We were so excited,”  Malaya Jones said. “We’re like, ‘okay we’re ready to go.’ You know, because last time it didn’t go our way. So we were just even more pumped, just to come out, swinging.” 

Although sweeps are generally associated with easy wins, CSU had to prove its dominance on the court by being scrappy. Jones not only wailed at every ball, but placed smart tips and set over when needed, achieving 17 kills — seven more than the next closest Ram, Naeemah Weathers. 

Alongside Jones stood Kate Yoshimoto, wiping the court clean with her dives and 12 digs. Emery Herman also strategically set each of her hitters when the time was right, having a total of 35 assists. While Jordyn Tynsky had her fifteen minutes of fame when leading the team in serves, scoring three aces throughout the game. 

“Freshmen are fun because they get better and better so fast each week, right?” Kohan said. “We watch (Maria Brun) do that, and Jordan do that. And Jordan’s really infectious with her energy too, so she plays really well and it carries over.”

As Kohan said, this will not be Tynsky’s only fifteen minutes as she will only grow from here. Tynsky was vital in assuring the first set win as she helped set the gap that secured CSU’s original win and repeated with two aces in the third set. 

SDSU managed to bridge some of the gap in the first two sets, but CSU tore off in the third, practically doubling SDSU’s score. 

“I think we’re like, ‘Let’s get it done,’” Jones said. “We need to be able to finish through…We won the first two this time, so let’s make sure we finish it. We just came out with incredible energy. Everyone was so excited, and we just hammer it from beginning to end.”

When CSU first played SDSU this season, they won the first two sets but were unable to secure the rest, that being the reason why this game held such high importance within the team. 

Before the game even started, the Rams were already filled with excitement after celebrating Herman’s incredible milestone of 5,000 career assists. To commemorate this momentous occasion, Kohan presented her with a golden volleyball.

“I think it’s fun to be able to get that for my teammates,” Herman said. “They’re the ones that get the kills, so I think it’s just (that) I’m doing my job so that they can look good. It’s just being able to instill confidence in everyone around me.”

Confidence they have. Now having destroyed one of the teams that previously beat them, they are taking their Revenge Tour on the road for the next four games including Boise State whom they also lost against. 

“We are a better team than we were the first round. I think our chemistry is better, our confidence is better,” Herman said. “It’s just a little extra momentum for us, of just motivation, of trying to win even harder (and) knowing that we’re better than we were before.” 

The team is sitting at its peak, having played together for multiple months, gaining confidence and momentum along the way.

November marks the final month of the season meaning this is CSU’s time to work for the title of Conference Champion, something it barely lost last year to Fresno State, who it will play for the second time this season on Nov. 14. 

“We’re playing with confidence right now, right?” Kohan said. “We’re playing with some inspiration, and we know we want to be a conference champion. It’s about being our best selves, like working on some of our weaknesses and what we’re gonna get better at.” 

Reach Sophie Webb at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @sophgwebb.

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