CSU volleyball advances to second round of NCAA tournament

Mature, composed and aggressive.

That’s the formula needed in the NCAA tournament and that’s exactly what the CSU volleyball team brought to the court Friday night.

The Rams were efficient and excellent in attack and strong in blocking to take down Michigan 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24) in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“I’m very happy. It was high-level, consistent and composed. That’s what we have to do if we’re to do well in the tournament,” coach Tom Hilbert said. “It’s good for our players. It’s good for them as volleyball players.”

Colorado State University hadn’t played a meaningful match since it clinched the Mountain West title in the first week of November, but the Rams played like a mature, experienced squad.

CSU (29-3) hit .364 for the match as Michigan (21-12) was unable to handle the diverse, varied offensive attack led by setter Katie Oleksak, who had 51 assists.

Kirstie Hillyer and Jasmine Hanna had 13 kills each, Breana Runnels had 12 and Sanja Cizmic had nine.

“Just really solid hitting numbers,” Hilbert said. “It’s insane how good we hit the ball, how mature we hit the ball.”

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And most importantly, in the biggest moments of the match, CSU played its best.

The Rams were dominant at the end of sets. That was never more obvious and important as at the finish of the match.

Michigan led 24-21 in the fourth set, on the verge of forcing a decisive fifth set. The Rams then ripped off five points in a row to grab the win.

CSU also combined some excellent defense to go with the offense. The Rams had 16 blocks and held Michigan to .089 hitting in the final set. Paulina Hougaard-Jensen had nine blocks, Cizmic had seven and libero Amanda Young had 26 digs.

The Rams snap a mini two-year skid of first-round losses in the NCAA tournament. CSU last made the second round in 2014, a year the Rams advanced to the Sweet 16.

CSU, playing in its 23rd NCAA tournament in a row, will play at 7 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. The Rams will face No. 3 overall seed and host Stanford (27-3) after the Cardinal swept Cal State Bakersfield 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-17) Friday.

After playing a high-level foe like Michigan and playing as well as the Rams did, they think they’re ready.

“We’re very ready for a match against a team like Stanford tomorrow because of the match we just played,” Hilbert said. “Everyone played well and played with maturity.”

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.

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