In volleyball, a loss only takes two points.

Those two points against Texas A&M led to the end of Colorado State volleyball’s 2024 season, and the completion of the year came with the departure of seven players, leaving just one main starter on the team.

“You’re always sad to see them go, right?” Head Coach Emily Kohan said. “They won championships. They were champions. … So it’s bittersweet when you say goodbye to them, but the rebuild is fun, right? You have some young kids that have been developing and waiting their turn patiently, and you got some nice new transfers in here, and so it’ll be a different team, but the mission doesn’t change.”

Going into the 2025 season, the Rams are exercising a primarily new roster with nine new players, leaving them with the challenge of maintaining their legacy of being one of the better teams in the Mountain West and building chemistry early.

“And so to put that many new pieces together and play quality volleyball, (I’m) really proud of the way our spring kind of ended here.” -Emily Kohan, volleyball head coach

Five of 18 players on the roster are true freshmen — two of whom are still supposed to be in high school — which makes eight first-years in total, including redshirts.

“All young rosters come with some inconsistency,” Kohan said. “Those fifth-years were really, really consistent, night in and night out for the most part, and it’ll get there. You don’t get consistent without all the opportunities and reps. And we’ll get there, but we’ll probably ride some waves in the process.”

One of the bigger waves CSU was hit with was the number of offensive players who left. Most notably, Malaya Jones transferred to Southern Methodist, but the Rams lost their two main middle blockers in Naeemah Weathers and Karina Leber.

Although the roster has not been set yet, one of the new players and middle blockers, Brenna Rowland, has already been showing promise in her position.

“The coaching staff and, like, the players have been so, so welcoming,” Rowland said. “I’m just so grateful because when you’re transferring, you don’t sometimes know what you can get, especially when it’s such short of a window. … I could not have asked for a better school to attend to. And everyone is here for you.”

In CSU’s final home game of the spring season against Colorado, Rowland was one of the primary players in the victory against the Buffs with several kills and blocks, especially in the second and third sets. 

Right there with Rowland, other players are beginning to assume more key roles, one of them being first-year outside hitter Karsyn Fetzer, who, besides Maria Brun, stayed in the entire match and delivered multiple strong hits.

Although they have not delivered hits like Jones did, the outsides still have a long way to go before graduating.

“You watch the development of any of our kids that we just lost, and who they were their freshman year was far … different than who they were in that departing year,” Kohan said.

Another talented player who transferred out was Kate Yoshimoto, leaving big shoes to fill. And after playing the majority of all four home spring games, Aine Doty seems to be the likely replacement, with Sydney Black occasionally coming in.

Doty played in several games last season, progressively seeing more playing time as the season went on, and she is one of the few returning players who saw multiple minutes each game.

“We’re going to have nine new players on our roster,” Kohan said. “And so, to put that many new pieces together and play quality volleyball, (I’m) really proud of the way our spring kind of ended here.”

But when there is such a large influx of players, the need grows for an experienced player to lead, and that has naturally fallen onto Brun.

Despite only being in her first year with the team, she was constantly on the court in 2024, starting in 25 of 31 matches, and was the team’s main outside hitter besides Kennedy Stanford. In Brun’s first year with CSU, she had 156 kills, helping the team go 20-11 overall.

“I want to be, like, (a) leader inside the court,” Brun said. “I feel like the team also needs that and, well, I’m happy to help the newbies and keep playing.”

But a leader isn’t always just related to skill. Something Weathers provided the team with before graduating was consistently maintaining a positive spirit. No matter the play or outcome of the game, she cheered on her teammates, and first-year Jordyn Tynsky is already emitting that positive energy during matches.

Not only can Tynsky come in and clinch when the team needs an ace, but she also lights up the court with her cheers and attitude.

The Rams do not have an easy start to the conference portion of the season, as their first game is a Border War match against Wyoming. CSU has to work overtime to not only win but build the chemistry that can be harder to curate with a newer roster, and this is when a leader, whether it be from spirit or skill, is necessary.

“I think we were able to just keep getting better and building off each other,” Rowland said. “I saw such an improvement from our first game against UNC to now. We’ve kind of picked out some people that can hold the huddle and bring people together, and everyone has special things they bring to the court, and so I think we’ve really maximized all of that.”

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