Runnels Hits .458 as (RV) Colorado State Sweeps San Diego State

MATCH NOTES

• Colorado State def. San Diego State 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21)
• Colorado State moves to 27-3, 17-1 MW
• San Diego State drops to 16-15, 10-8 MW
• San Diego, California
• Attendance: 344
• Box Score
• VolleyMob Top 25 Power Rankings (Week 13)  

San Diego, Calif. – The Colorado State Rams defeated the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday afternoon. The Rams had 10 blocks, holding the Aztecs to a .172 hitting in the 3-0 sweep.

The Rams were led by freshman outside hitter Breana Runnels, who had 13 kills with .458 hitting. Senior setter Katie Oleksak paced the offense with 29 assists, while Kirstie Hillyer contributed 6 kills and 5 blocks.

For the Aztecs, senior libero Devyn Pritchard tallied 14 digs, while freshman setter Gabi Peoples notched 35 assists.

In the opening set, both teams traded points with neither team leading by more than 2 points until the Rams pulled away making it 23-20. A kill from Runnels took the Rams to set point. The Aztecs fought back with a block from Peoples and Deja Harris, followed by a service ace, but the Rams would take the first set 25-22.

The Aztecs controlled the second set until the Rams went on an 8-0 run for a 25-20 victory. The third set stayed close and was tied at 19-19 before a San Diego State timeout. The Rams went on a 6-2 run to close out the set and match on a Hougaard-Jensen kill at 25-21.

With their 17-1 conference record, Colorado State wins the Mountain West Conference championship, while San Diego State finishes fourth overall.

Colorado State heads home to play their last regular season game against UC Davis on November 25. 

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Colorado State Athletics

Mountain West Conference finale on Saturday afternoon in Peterson Gym. The sweep is the Rams’ 20th of the season as they finish their conference schedule with a 17-1 record and improve to 27-3 overall.

The Rams were led by Breana Runnels who floored 13 kills while hitting at an impressive .458 mark with only two errors in 24 attempts. Paulina Hougaard-Jensen also played very efficiently adding eight kills while hitting at a .500 clip. Katie Oleksak put up 29 assists in the sweep while also adding three kills to the team’s total of 40. Oleksak paced the defense with six digs while Kirstie Hillyer controlled the net with five stuffs.

The two teams battled for the lead, tying the score up 15 different times in the first set. CSU trailed the Aztecs 18-17 but would soon go on a three point run to make the score 21-19. The Aztecs came within a point at 21-20, but the Rams maintained their lead down the stretch to close the set 25-22. Colorado State trailed for most of the second set with the deficit reaching five points at 14-9. But the Rams fought back later in the match going on an eight point run to win the set 25-20. The third set was also evenly matched, and the Aztecs looked to win when they reached a three point lead at 19-16. But the Rams went on another eight point scoring run to grab the lead 24-20. A kill by Hougaard-Jensen finished out the match to record a sweep, 25-21.

The Rams will close their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 25 against UC Davis at noon. CSU will recognize its five graduating seniors prior to the match and will celebrate its Mountain West championship following the match.

Courtesy: San Diego State Athletics

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State volleyball team concluded its 2017 campaign with Senior Day on Saturday afternoon and suffered a 3-0 (22-25, 20-25, 21-25) loss against nationally ranked Colorado State. The Aztecs conclude the 2017 season at 16-15.

To start the first set, the Aztecs hung tight with the Rams towards the late stages of the game with the Aztecs collecting a 19-18 lead after a Deja Harris kill. The Rams responded with a 3-0 run to gain a 21-19 lead to distance itself from SDSU and eventually take the opening stanza, 25-22.

The beginning of the second set was all Aztecs, as SDSU jumped out to an 8-4 lead after another Harris kill. The Aztecs and Rams went back-and-forth for the next several services, but the Aztecs clung to a 16-12 lead after a CSU attack error. With SDSU leading 20-17 in the later stages of the second set, the Rams closed the set on an 8-0 run to jump out to a 2-0 lead.  

The third set was another close battle and featured another Aztec lead, with SDSU holding a 19-16 edge after a CSU service error. The Rams, however, were able to duplicate an effort similar to the late second-set run, and use an 8-2 run to win the match-clinching third set, 25-21.

For the Rams, it was the team’s sixth sweep in its last seven matches and CSU’s 17th win in its last 18 contests. The Aztecs were outhit in the contest, .172  to .378.

Ashlynn Dunbar posted a team-high 11 kills, while setter Gabi Peoples posted a game-high 35 assists. Senior Devyn Pritchard logged a game-high 14 digs, while Deja Harris led all players in the match with at least four swings with a .571 hitting percentage, going 9-of-14 on attack attempts with only one error. Harris also recorded a pair of service aces as the Aztecs led the Rams in the statistic at 5-4.