|
|
|
Colorado State Volleyball Release
The Rams take on Idaho for Senior Night on Wednesday.
Nov. 23, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Series History: Idaho Head Coaches: Idaho: Debbie Buchanan is in her fifth year with the Vandals and sports a career record of 74-71 (.510) after spending the three seasons prior to Idaho as an assistant coach under Tom Hilbert at Colorado State, helping lead the Rams to three straight NCAA Tournaments, including two second round appearance and one trip to the NCAA Regional Semifinals. This is the first match between Hilbert and Buchanan and the first time Hilbert has faced his former team since coming to Colorado State in 1997. Senior Night: Colorado State will say good-bye to its five seniors on Wednesday evening in a match against Idaho at 5:00 p.m. The Rams seniors have won 106 matches, which ties for the third most by a senior class and have an overall record of 106-22 (.828). Only the 2000 (113-22) and 2001 (115-20) seniors have more wins or a better winning percentage. These five seniors are the only class to have won six titles (four regular-season, two tournament) in their careers and are the only team to go undefeated in Mountain West Conference play. They are also the only class to win both the regular-season and tournament titles -- and have done so the past two years. Rewriting The Books: Colorado State became the first home team in Mountain West Conference history to win the Championship on its own floor, defeating New Mexico, BYU and Utah to win the second straight title for the Rams. Colorado State has now won at least a share of the last four regular-season crowns and the last two tournament titles. Tournament Recap: The Rams won their second straight Mountain West Conference Tournament after defeating Utah in three-games (30-18, 30-16, 30-18) in the championship match. The Rams defeated seventh-seeded New Mexico (30-21, 30-16, 30-20) in the first round before defeating BYU in four games in the semifinals (19-30, 30-22, 30-17, 30-25). Junior outside hitter Tess Rogers led the Rams with 35 kills (3.89 per game) during the championship, while senior setter Melissa Courtney hit a team best .654 (17-0-26) and averaged 13.30 assists. Senior middle blocker Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon led the Rams with five aces (0.50) and 13 blocks (1.30), while junior right-side hitter Dre Downs was right behind her with 12 stops (1.20). Sophomore libero Kristen Karlik led the Rams with 37 digs (3.70) as the Rams hit .309 over the three matches, with 17.10 kills, 1.60 aces, 15.50 digs and 2.90 blocks per game. Build Another Shelf: Melissa Courtney has won so many award in the last few weeks, she's going to have to add another shelf in her trophy room. She was named the Sports Import/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week, the MVP and Setter of the Mountain West Conference Tournament and the MVP and Setter of the Year in the Mountain West. One of Only Four: Melissa Courtney earned just the fourth National Player of the Week in school history after leading the Rams to their second straight MWC Tournament title. Courtney notched 17 kills (1.70 per game) on 26 attempts with zero errors for a .654 hitting percentage. She averaged 13.30 assists, 0.30 aces, 2.20 digs and 0.30 blocks for the three matches and the team hit .309 over the weekend. She's the first Ram to be honored since Allison Peckham in 2001. All-Tournament: Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon, Dre Downs, senior middle blocker Bri Frech and Melissa Courtney were all named to the Mountain West All-Tournament team. Courtney was named the Setter and MVP of the tournament, while Frech earned her second-straight all-tournament award. Cahoon and Downs were both named to the All-Tournament team for the first time in their career. Earning The Bid: Colorado State receives the Mountain West Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This will be the 10th straight season the Rams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams will host a selection party at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. The place is still to be determined. Stay tuned to www.csurams.com for the location. Trifecta: Melissa Courtney needs just three more aces to break the school record. She currently has 136 aces, which is second on the career charts. The record of 138 is held by Angela Knopf (1998-2001). 1000 Cubed: For just the second time in school history and the first time since 1997, three players have eclipsed the 1,000 kill barrier in the same season. Tess Rogers broke the barrier against Air Force on Oct. 23 and now has 1,146. Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon notched her 1,000th kill against BYU on Nov. 12 and has 1,044, while senior outside hitter Becky Sarauer tallied her 1,000th kill against Utah on Nov. 13 and stands at 1,039. Its So Hard To Say Good-bye: Wednesday night is senior night and the fans from Moby Arena will say good-bye to five of the best players to ever wear the CSU uniform. Katie Jo Cahoon: Ranks second in career hitting percentage, fifth in block assists, ninth in total blocks and 14th in kills at CSU. Currently ranks among top 25 in nation in hitting percentage and leads the Mountain West in hitting percentage. Two-time Mountain West All-Conference team selection and an honorable mention All-American in 2003. Melissa Courtney: Ranks fourth on the CSU lists in career assists with 4,452 and is second in career aces, needing just three more to break the school record (136). Is the two-time Mountain West Player and three-time Mountain West Setter of the Year. Mountain West MVP and AVCA National Player of the Week and a 2003 honorable mention All-American. Senior defensive specialist Kimi Foytich: Has played in 46 matches and 117 games with 150 digs. Has won a conference title all four seasons after winning two with Georgia Southern. Runs the scout team offense. Bri Frech: Mountain West All-Conference and two-time Mountain West All-Tournament team selection. Ranks second among two-year players in blocks and is closing in on 100 career aces. Becky Sarauer: Ranks 15th in career kills at CSU. Was named to the 2003 Mountain West All-Tournament team and 2001 NCAA All-Region Team. Ranks among league leaders in kills per game. On The Hit List: Colorado State has now been ranked in the top 10 the last 10 weeks as the Rams dropped one spot in the USA Today/CSTV Coaches' Top 25 poll to number nine. The Rams have been ranked ninth for nine weeks since 1982 and have been ranked 172 weeks out of 314 possible weeks. Made To Be Broken: Melissa Courtney tallied 642 assists during Mountain West Conference play this season for an average of 13.66 per game, which breaks the conference single-season record. She breaks her own record of 13.59 per game from the 2002 season. Her 642 assists also ranks fourth in MWC history for league matches, behind her record of 693 from 2002 and the 2002 and 2004 totals by Wyoming senior setter Amy Doman. Bri Frech also tallied 28 aces in Mountain West play this season, which ties the senior record held by Angela Knopf from 2001, and ties for fifth all-time in league history. Toil and Trouble: In the semifinals against BYU, three players had double-doubles with Melissa Courtney notching 57 assists and 11 digs, while Tess Rogers tied her career-high with 10 digs and had 14 kills and Bri Frech totaled 12 kills and 13 digs. It marks the first time since August 30, 2003 the Rams had three players with double-doubles, as Frech, Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon and Courtney each had double-doubles against Florida A&M. Putting Them Down: Tess Rogers notched her 100th kill in Mountain West Tournament action in the fourth game against BYU and now has 115. The conference record for kills in tournament play is 161 held by Kim Turner of Utah. Rogers holds the single-season record after blistering 61 kills in the three matches last year. All-Around: Melissa Courtney will be remembered as one of the best setters in school history, as she currently ranks fourth in assists and is the two-time Mountain West Player of the Year, but Courtney does much more than set the ball. She ranks second in kills all-time at Colorado State among setters (Analisa Saylor), is third in digs and ranks fourth in blocks. She also is the top serving setter in school history and is just three away from owning the school record. The Winning Ways: Since the beginning of 2000, the Colorado State program has won 138 matches, which is tied for the fifth most among Division I programs. Hawai'i has won 156 matches, while Florida (152), Nebraska (149) and Northern Iowa (144) rank ahead of the Rams. CSU is tied with USC with 138 wins in the last four-plus seasons. Opposing The Ranks: Colorado State is now 4-3 this season against teams ranked in the top 25. The Rams have beaten Utah twice, Georgia Tech and Pepperdine, and have lost to Utah, Minnesota and Nebraska. Colorado State is 58-129 all-time against ranked teams, while the Rams are 29-28 since the arrival of Hilbert. Climbing The Charts: Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon now ranks fifth in school history with 336 block assists, moving up two spots during the conference tournament. The senior needs 10 more to tie for fourth. Cahoon also needs 34 more total blocks to tie for 8th in that category, as she currently stands at 386 total blocks for her career. Effective: Only two players in school history have hit above .350 for their careers (minimum 500 kills) and Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon is one of them. The senior is hitting at a .386 clip for her career (1044-262-2025), which is second behind Angela Knopf. Cahoon's .386 efficiency also ties her for 12th in NCAA Division I history. Serving It Up: Colorado State recorded more service aces than the opponent in 12 of the 14 Mountain West Conference matches this season. The Rams led the league with 1.98 aces per game, while Utah was second with 1.62 per game. In four of the 12 matches, the Rams recorded double-figure aces, including the season-high of 11 against San Diego State. Offensively Minded: In all but two matches this season (Minnesota, Nebraska) the Rams have recorded more kills in the match than the opponent. The Rams are averaging 17.15 kills per game, compared to 12.74 for opponents. Ms. Rogers Neighborhood: Jill Johnson (1987-90) holds the school record for most kills after three seasons with the Rams with 1,259. Tess Rogers currently ranks fifth on that list with 1,146 and is three away from taking over the fourth spot and needs just five more to rank third. She has a chance, depending on the number of matches left in the Rams' season, to break Johnson's record as she is averaging 3.89 kills per game. Well Rounded: Colorado State boasts better per game numbers in every category than its opponents this season -- kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks. The Rams are also hitting .126 points better than the opposition. In conference matches, the Rams rank higher in all five per-game categories, as well as in hitting percentage. Two-Year Sensation: Bri Frech will be remembered as one of the best blocking players in school history. The senior has 268 blocks in her time 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. Magical #20: 2004 marks the 10th straight season the Colorado State volleyball team has won at least 20 matches in a year. This is also the 16th time in the school's 27-year history the Rams have won 20 or more matches. The CSU record for wins in a season is 32 by the 2000 team and three times in school history (1999, 2000, 2003) the Rams have eclipsed the 30-win plateau. Going The Distance...And More: Colorado State is now 4-2 in extra-point games this season after winning two at BYU. In the last two years, the Rams are 11-5 in games where extra points (beyond 30, or 15 in game five) are needed to be victorious. News & Numbers: CSU has recorded double figures in blocks in 10 of the last 14 matches. The Rams are averaging 3.04 blocks per game this year, which ranks fifth in school history. 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. Tyler Krause also helps out. The match against Idaho can also be heard on KCSU, 90.5 FM. Service With A Smile: After recording more service errors than aces in the first 19 matches of the year, the Rams have had either an equal amount or more aces than errors in six of the last nine matches, including five of those matches having twice as many aces as errors. For just the second time this season, an opponent recorded no aces on the Rams, as Utah had zero aces with eight errors in the championship match of the tournament. Dominance: During Mountain West Conference play, the Rams averaged 5.40 more kills per game than their opponents. CSU led the league with 17.38 kills per game, while its opponents averaged just 11.98 kills per game. CSU also hit over .140 points better than its conference opposition. The Rams hit .286 and limited opponents to .145 -- a difference of .141. A Lot Of Action: Three players on the roster have seen action in all 95 games this season. Bri Frech, Melissa Courtney and Kristen Karlik have been on the floor during every game, but none of the three have played every point of every game. That trio, along with Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon have played in all 28 matches for the Rams, while Dre Downs, Katherine Whitney and Tess Rogers have played in 27 of the 28. On A High Note: Colorado State has a winning streak against every team in the Mountain West Conference. The Rams have won the last 22 meetings against Air Force, five against BYU, 13 against UNLV, 17 against New Mexico, five against San Diego State, two against Utah and 14 against Wyoming. Best In The Mountain West: The Rams lead the Mountain West in hitting percentage (.278), assists per game (15.82) and kills per game (17.15). Individually, Melissa Courtney leads in assists at 13.60, Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon leads in hitting percentage (.387) and Tess Rogers leads in kills per game (3.89), while Bri Frech ranks second in aces (0.42). In conference matches only, the Rams led in hitting percentage (.286), assists (15.77), kills (17.38) and aces (1.98). Individually, Courtney led in assists per game (13.66), Cahoon led in hitting percentage (.396) and Frech led in aces (0.60), while Rogers finished second in kills per game (3.93). Tough Defense: Colorado State has held nine opponents this season, including two of the last three, to a hitting percentage of .100 or below. Since Tom Hilbert joined Colorado State in 1997, the Rams have held 82 opponents (of 263 -- 31.2%) to .100 or lower, including 18 to .000 or below. No opponent has hit .300 against the Rams this season and only one, Minnesota, has hit above .250. 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 in kills in a match, eight have led in hitting percentage (minimum five kills), eight have led the team at least once in aces, five have led in digs and four different players have led the team in blocks. Early Starts: Colorado State has won its last 61 matches when winning the first two games of a match. The Rams are 137-1 since the beginning of the 1999 season, losing only in the Mountain West Championship to Utah in 2001. In 2004, the Rams are 20-0 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 11/14), Melissa Courtney ranks 13th in assists per game, averaging 13.64 and Katie Jo Shirley-Cahoon ranks 22nd in hitting percentage at .388. The Rams rank ninth in assists per game (15.82), 12th in kills per game (17.15), 14th in winning percentage (.880), 17th in blocks per game (3.06) and 21st in hitting percentage (.275). 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. Scouting The Opposition:
|
|
