Colorado State University’s women’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to six matches after a five-set victory over San Jose State on Saturday. The Rams won 3–2 (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 15-11) at Moby Arena.
San Jose State was known for playing long matches and tough defense. “San Jose has gone five with a lot of good teams,” coach Emily Kohan said. “They took Utah State to five and San Diego State to five. That was on the scouting report, that they love to play hard defense, and they will not go away. So that wasn’t a complete surprise to us. But again, I was proud that we responded in that fourth set and in the fifth.”
The Rams started strong but lost momentum during the second and third sets as their serving weakened and San Jose’s defense gained control. Eve Wilson explained the shift: “I think the main thing was we didn’t serve as tough as we did in the first set. They were insistent a lot more, and no matter what the team is, it’s hard to defend insistent teams. Once we kind of got our serving mojo back, we were able to get a hold of the ball.”
Once Colorado State improved its serving in the fourth set, their overall play stabilized. San Jose State continued applying pressure with 12 blocks and 55 kills but could not close out the match.
Riley Simpson led CSU with 15 kills and three blocks after returning from injury. She commented on both her performance and areas for improvement: “I thought San Jose State is a really great team. They really rallied on defense, and I’m very impressed. I think there’s a couple areas we definitely need to grow in, including myself. I need to grow in right side blocking and becoming a more versatile attacker. As a team, we have areas of growth that we need, but we also had a lot of great things happen.”
Coach Kohan praised Simpson’s impact late in the match: “She’s starting to figure out how to play volleyball again at a very high level,” Kohan said. “That was one of her best performances, especially in the fifth set. A really great performance in the fifth set, when it really matters, is important.”
Kohan also reintroduced Brenna Rowland into the lineup during crucial moments; Rowland contributed three kills and two blocks across the final two sets.
Wilson highlighted Rowland’s effect: “I think Brenna brings a lot of energy, and we were able to kind of balance out our offense a lot,” Wilson said. “Sometimes there just needs to be a change and that’s what it was.”
Adaptability has been key for Colorado State during its winning streak as they managed difficult stretches without losing composure.
Looking ahead, CSU prepares for another matchup against undefeated Utah State—a team that swept them earlier this season at home.
“I hope we play with a little chip on our shoulder,” Kohan said. “We’ve got something to prove and we’re trying to get a little bit of redemption from a really poor performance in that first one.”
The Rams aim to continue showing resilience as they move forward in Mountain West competition.
