MATCH STATS
- No. 21 Colorado State def. UNLV 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-8)
- Colorado State moves to 12-2, 2-0 Mountain West; UNLV falls to 4-11, 0-2 MW
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Attendance: 2,386
- Box Score
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – No. 21 Colorado State dominated UNLV to move to 2-0 in the Mountain West with an easy sweep.
The Rams more than doubled up on the Rebels in kills (44-17), while hitting at a .425 clip and holding UNLV to a -.042 effort with 11 blocks. CSU won the block 11-5 and edged UNLV 5-4 in aces.
Senior outside hitter Jasmine Hanna was the lone player in the match to post double-digit kills, tallying 12, while redshirt freshman outside Breana Runnels added nine for the Rams. Sophomore setter Katie Oleksak racked up a team-best five blocks for CSU, while senior middle blocker Alexandra Poletto and redshirt sophomore middle Kirstie Hillyer added four apiece. In the backcourt, sophomore libero Amanda Young posted a match-high 13 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Maddi Foutz served up three of the team’s five aces.
Senior middle Ashley Owens notched a team-best seven kills for UNLV, followed by junior middle Elsa Descamps‘ four. Owens also managed a team-best three blocks. Sophomore libero Leka Kiner-Falefa pulled up a team-leading six digs, followed by freshman defensive specialist Shania Scott and freshman outside Marlena Hayden, with five apiece.
Colorado State made just two errors in Set 1, hitting at a .448 clip. CSU pulled away early and never looked back, turning a 7-2 lead into a 16-6 advantage midway through. Three blocks and three Runnels kills helped the Rams to the 10-point lead. Putaways by Hanna and Poletto pushed the margin to 11 at 19-8. UNLV got within single digits at 21-12 on an ace by Kiner-Falefa, and again at 23-14 on a perfects serve by Riley Jacobs. Down 24-14 after a Oleksak putaway, the Rebels kept the game going with help from a CSU service error and an ace by Hayden. Hanna stopped any hopes of a UNLV comeback with a kill at 25-16.
The Rebels came out firing in Set 2, scoring four of the first five points, including two CSU miscues. Colorado State tied it up at 4, but UNLV went up 7-5 with a Elena Ivanova ace and Hayden kill. The Rams took control with a 5-0 run, capped by two Rebel errors. UNLV fought back to tie it at 11 on back-to-back blocks by Descamps, but the Rams put the game out of reach with a 9-4 run, which made it 20-15. Three blocks coupled with three Hanna kills gave CSU the edge it would not relinquish. Four Runnels putaways upped the lead to 24-18 and Hanna closed the door at 25-19.
In the final stanza, CSU forced nine UNLV errors and a -.533 hitting effort, while posting a match-best .474 hitting effort of its own. A trio of stuffs and a pair of Hanna kills put Colorado State up 8-0 in Set 3. It was an 11-point game soon after at 15-4 and the Rams wrapped up the stanza and the match with a 6-0 run. A stuff by Poletto and Hanna followed three Rebel miscues and a Jenna Heinemeyer ace in the final stretch.
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