Dominance: Through the first nine matches in Mountain West Conference play, the Rams are averaging 5.97 more kills per game than their opponents. CSU leads the league with 17.87 kills per game, while its opponents are averaging just 11.90 kills per game. CSU is also hitting over .150 points better than its conference opposition. The Rams are hitting .312 in conference play and limiting opponents to a league-low .147 -- a difference of .165.

Tough Defense: Colorado State has held six opponents this season to a hitting percentage of .100 or below. Since Tom Hilbert joined Colorado State in 1997, the Rams have held 79 opponents (of 254 -- 31.1%) to .100 or lower, including 17 to .000 or below. No opponent has hit .300 against the Rams this season and only one, Minnesota, has hit above .250.

Keys To Success: In all 17 wins this season, the Rams have tallied more kills than the opponent, have hit for a higher percentage and held the opposition to .235 or lower. In the two losses, the Rams have trailed in attack percentage and have hit under .300 for the match.

Double Grand Watch: Two more Rams are closing in on 1,000 career kills. There have only been 14 Rams in school history to eclipse the one grand mark and surprisingly, this could be the second time three players have done it in the same year (1997 - Rainie Rogers, Janie Penfield and Judy Rexroth). Tess Rogers hit the mark against Air Force and now has 1,030 to rank 13th, while Becky Sarauer is 15th with 977 kills and Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon is 17th with 955 kills.

Keep Her Traveling: Casey Bauer must like the other cities in the Mountain West Conference. In road league matches, the junior leads the team with a .361 hitting percentage (33-11-61). At home against conference foes, she is hitting just .033 (25-22-90).

A Negative Into A Positive: Only five times in the first 19 matches have the Rams committed less service errors than the opponent (Georgia Tech, Idaho State, Pepperdine, BYU, Air Force), however in 13 of those matches, the Rams have more aces than the opposition and are averaging 1.57 aces per game, compared to 0.97 for the opponents.

Two-Year Sensation: Bri Frech will be remembered as one of the best blocking players in school history. The senior has 238 blocks in her year-and-a-half with the Rams, which ranks second among Colorado State two-year players. The only other two-year player with more blocks is Angie Miller (1988-89) with 377 blocks, which ranks ninth all-time in the record books.

Tested: Colorado State has yet to play a five-game match this season and only eight of the 19 matches -- including both losses -- have gone four games. The last five-game match was in the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament against San Diego State -- a span of 25 matches.

Digging Machine: Kristen Karlik has recorded double-figure digs in five of the last six matches, including a career-high 20 against Utah and now has 12 double-figure dig matches this season. The sophomore has had at least five digs in all but one match this season and has 14 with nine or more digs. Karlik has 222 digs this season (3.42 per game) to lead the team and ranks sixth in the Mountain West in digs per game.

Sarauer Steps Up: In non-conference play, Becky Sarauer hit .177 with 2.55 kills per game. In the first five conference matches, she hit .385 with a team-best 3.93 kills per game -- increasing her hitting percentage by .208 and kills per game by 1.38.

Best In The Mountain West: The Rams lead the Mountain West in hitting percentage (.292), assists per game (16.08) and kills per game (17.40). Individually, Melissa Courtney leads in assists at 13.92, while Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon ranks second in hitting percentage (.385), Bri Frech ranks second in aces (0.47) and Tess Rogers ranks second in kills per game (3.79). In conference matches only, the Rams lead in hitting percentage (.312), assists (16.27), opponent hitting percentage (.147), kills (17.87) and aces (1.67). Individually, Courtney leads in assists per game (14.37) and Frech leads in aces (0.67), while Cahoon is second in hitting percentage (.382) and Rogers is second in kills per game (3.86).

Balanced Attack: In eight of the 19 matches this season (Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Washington State, Ohio, Pepperdine, UNLV, Utah and Air Force), four Rams have been in double figures in kills, and in six others (Colorado, Gonzaga, Southern Miss, New Mexico, San Diego State and New Mexico), three Rams have notched at least 10 kills. The Rams are averaging 17.45 kills per game, compared to 12.92 for their opponents.

Rams On The Air: Every match this season will be broadcast on the internet on Yahoo! sports. The play-by-play duties are being handled by Chris Dittmer, while Travis Huntington does the color commentary in home games and Heather Kennedy in road contests. Tyler Krause also helps out.

Moby Madness: The Rams rank 8th in attendance this week. They are averaging 2,035 fans per match, trailing Hawai'i (6,861), Nebraska (4,521), Wisconsin (3,981), Minnesota (3,304), Florida (2,630), Penn State (2,487) and Washington (2,410). Colorado State has ranked among the top 25 in attendance the last five years and in all but one year since the statistic began being tracked in 1986. The 2,035 fans is the fourth highest total in school history, ranking behind 2001 (2,846 -- 4th), 1987 (2,229 -- 2nd) and 1988 (2,206 -- 1st).

Hard To Stop: Colorado State has such a balanced attack this season, an opponent has a hard time trying to stop the "go-to" player. Five different Rams have led the team in kills in a match this year, eight different Rams have led in hitting percentage (minimum five kills), eight have led the team at least once in aces, four have led in digs and four different players have led the team in blocks.

Early Starts: Colorado State has won its last 56 matches when winning the first two games of a match. The Rams are 132-1 since the beginning of the 1999 season, losing only in the Mountain West Championship to Utah in 2001. In 2004, the Rams are 15-0 when winning the first two games, while in 2003 they were 23-0, 17-0 in 2002, 25-1 in 2001, 28-0 in 2000 and 24-0 in 1999.

Among The Best: In the most recent NCAA Statistics (through 10/24), Melissa Courtney ranks 7th in assists per game, averaging 13.92 and Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon ranks 26th in hitting percentage at .385. The Rams rank fifth in assists per game (16.09), eighth in kills per game (17.40), 10th in hitting percentage (.292), 16th in winning percentage (.889) and 26th in blocks per game (2.92).

Looking Good: Colorado State has won its last 44 matches against unranked opponents. The Rams last loss against a non-ranked team came in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 at the hands of Washington. The last regular season loss against an unranked opponent came at San Diego State on Nov. 2, 2002 -- a span of 45 matches.

Wearing Their Hearts On Their Sleeves: This season, the Colorado State volleyball team is wearing an emblem on all of their game attire and practice gear. Assistant coach Andy Klussmann was injured in a car accident in June that took the life of his wife, Janna. The emblem on the jerseys this year is a memorial for Janna as well as support for Andy's full recovery. The team is dedicating this season to the Klussmanns and the heart is just one way the team is showing their feelings and well wishes for their coach.

Defending POW: This will be the second time this season the Rams have faced the Mountain West Player of the Week right after she was honored. The first time, the Rams played Lindsy Hartsock of BYU and held her to a .118 hitting percentage and just five kills in the three game CSU victory. This week, the Rams face UNLV senior setter Nicki King, who won the award after leading the Rebels to a sweep over San Diego State.

Scouting The Opposition: San Diego State The Aztecs are 3-18 on the season, including a 3-5 mark in Mountain West Conference play. The two teams did not face any common opponents during the non-conference season and the Aztecs have not won in Fort Collins since 1996.

Freshman Lindsey Mahan leads SDSU with a .289 hitting percentage, while senior Kara Moriarty is getting a team-best 3.56 kills per game. Junior Ashley Bowker leads the team with 1.34 blocks per game, while freshman setter Kristen Castillo is getting 10.23 assists and 0.26 aces per game to lead the squad and freshman libero Aime Cordeiro is getting 3.67 digs a game.

San Diego State is hitting .161 on the year, with 13.26 kills, 1.26 aces, 12.10 digs and 2.63 blocks per game, while opponents are hitting .286 with 16.49 kills, 1.88 aces, 12.99 digs and 2.93 blocks per game. In conference play only, Mahan is hitting .316 and Moriarty is at 3.50 kills per game. Junior Melissa Stapley leads the team with 0.36 aces a contest while Cordeiro is at 4.36 digs and sophomore Audra Dent and Bowker are tied for the team lead with 1.25 blocks per game. The Aztecs are hitting .217 in league play, with 14.64 kills, 1.00 aces ,12.68 digs and 2.58 blocks per game, while their opponents are hitting .296 with 17.32 kills, 1.12 aces, 12.24 digs and 2.84 blocks per game. Mark Warner is in his 10th season at San Diego State and coached his 300th career match against UNLV and has a record of 160-140 during that span.

Scouting The Opposition: UNLV
UNLV is 11-7 overall and 5-3 in Mountain West Conference play. The Aztecs have won their last three matches and play at Wyoming on Friday before facing the Rams on Saturday. Junior transfer Mariana Pencheva is hitting a team-best .277 on the year, while freshman Maria Aladjova is getting 4.05 kills per game. Freshman libero Jada Walker is averaging 4.67 digs per game and sophomore Lauren Miramontes is averaging 0.93 blocks per game to lead the team, while defensive specialist Kristin Koochi averages 0.40 aces a game.

UNLV is hitting .203 on the season with 15.94 kills, 1.82 aces , 17.92 digs and 1.96 blocks per game while opponents are hitting .186 with 13.29 kills, 1.03 aces, 15.91 digs and 2.50 blocks per game. In conference action, Pencheva is hitting .292 and leads the team with 0.97 blocks per game, while Aladjova leads the conference with 4.10 kills per game. Walker is at 4.90 digs per game, and Koochi is at 0.38 aces a contest.

The Rebels are hitting .222 with 16.03 kills, 1.55 aces, 16.31 digs and 1.90 blocks per game. Their opponents are hitting .181 with 12.90 kills, 0.90 aces, 13.66 digs and 2.29 stops a game.

Allison Keeley is in her first season with UNLV with a career record of 50-57 after spending the last three seasons at Villanova.