Colorado State University Athletics
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Northeastern
Volleyball recap: Rams defeat Northeastern, 3-0
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 11, 2010
By Kaitlyn Comiskey
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After coming out to a somewhat slow start, the No. 15 CSU Rams came out on top once again in their 12 p.m. match of the Rams Volleyball Classic presented by Poudre Valley Health System. The Rams swept Northeastern in three close sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21.
CSU improved its record to 7-1, while Northeastern fell to 5-4.
Set 1 started off slowly, and Northeastern’s scrappy defense allowed it to stay within a few points of the Rams. CSU’s hitting picked up by the end of the set, with Megan Plourde and Katelyn Steffan both finishing with four kills and outside hitter Danielle Minch with five. Minch contributed back-to-back kills late in the set, pushing the score to 21-17. A big block from Steffan and Tori Brummett ended the set to give the Rams a 25-19 victory.
Northeastern hung even more closely with CSU in the second set. Setter Evan Sanders brought the Rams within one point of Northeastern with an aggressive 10-foot-line kill. Two block-kills from the Rams followed, giving CSU an 18-17 lead. Senior Emily Koenning entered the set to serve game-point, setting up teammates Minch and Brummett for a block-kill, ending Set 2 with a score of 25-22.
“We had a lot of unforced errors in that set, but we came back because of good blocking,” said Head Coach Tom Hilbert.
The Rams went on an eight-point run early in the third set, with senior Jacque Davisson serving up tough jump-floaters, providing the team with one of its three aces on the match. Shortly after that, Notheastern answered with a seven-point run of its own, coming within one point of the Rams. CSU managed to hold on to its lead, and a serving error from the Huskies gave the Rams game-point, allowing them to go on to win the final set 25-21.
“We’re doing some nice things late in sets,” commented Hilbert. “That’s the mark of a good team. We need to be a lot better tonight than we played today. Illinois State is a very good volleyball team.”
Minch finished the match with a team-high 13 kills, and Plourde with 11 kills. Izzy Gaulia led the team in digs, finishing with nine.
The Rams are back in action at 7 p.m. Saturday at Moby, when they will take on the 8-2 Illinois State Redbirds. The Redbirds defeated Texas Tech in Saturday’s first match of the day. Texas Tech takes on Northeastern at the 4:30 match of the Rams Volleyball Classic.
