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Rams Now Will Face Hostile Crowd
Fort Collins Coloradoan Feature Story
Dec. 3, 2001
By Kelly Lyell FORT COLLINS, Colo. - A Colorado State University volleyball team that used the energy generated by home crowds of about 3,792 and 3,804 over the weekend to beat Baylor and the University of Colorado, learned Sunday its next match will be played in one of the nation's most hostile environments for visiting teams. The ninth-ranked Rams (29-3), fresh off a thrilling, five-game win Saturday night over Colorado, continue play in the NCAA Tournament Friday with a 6 p.m. MST match at second-ranked Nebraska (29-1). Seventh-ranked Florida (27-1) and No. 8 Pepperdine (23-3) will play in the first regional semifinal at 4 p.m., with the winners squaring off at 6 p.m. Saturday for the right to move on to the Final Four in San Diego. Nebraska averages 259 more fans for home matches than the 4,200-seat NU Coliseum seats, thanks in part to an Oct. 6 match against Oklahoma that put 8,976 fans in the Devaney Sports Center that is home to Nebraska's men's and women's basketball teams. "The environment there is unbelievable," CSU coach Tom Hilbert said Sunday night. CSU played in a tournament in Lincoln, Neb., early last season, losing the title game 15-7, 7-15, 15-13, 15-13 to the Huskers before 3,987 fans. But Hilbert figures this year's CSU team is better equipped to handle such an environment. The Rams faced large, hostile crowds at Utah, where they lost in five games, and two weeks ago at third-ranked Stanford, where they lost in three. Those losses and a five-game setback to Utah in the Mountain West Conference Tournament final in Provo, Utah, taught the Rams the importance of remaining aggressive in pressure-packed situations. Saturday night, the Rams used that knowledge to rally from deficits of 10-5 and 13-9 in the decisive fifth game to complete a 28-30, 30-17, 30-21, 31-33, 16-14 victory over CU. Soraya Santos started the CSU comeback with two big kills, then kept it going with an ace serve that cut the CU advantage to 13-11. Big hits from Becky Sarauer and Courtney Cox, who also had a key save, completed the improbable comeback.
"Any time you go through any type of experience like we did (Saturday) night, it really helps you, and the more recent it is, the better," Hilbert said. "Let's face it, to beat Nebraska, we have to play really well. We have to make big plays, that's the only chance we have. We're not going to do it in one-swing sideouts or by them making mistakes. That's not going to happen."
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