Colorado State Volleyball coach Tom Hilbert continues the trend of tough out of conference scheduling with a slate featuring several teams that finished the 2014 season in the RPI Top 25. Among these is the Texas Longhorns who swept CSU in the Sweet 16 last season before losing to BYU in the Final Four. Texas finished ranked 2nd in the NCAA's official end of season RPI. It appears the Rams will play Texas in some sort of tournament with games against Iona and Texas A&M in a three day period. Texas A&M will prove to be a tough opponent, finishing the season ranked 22nd in RPI.
The schedule features 8 home games including three against teams from Power 5 conferences (Baylor, Arizona State, and Iowa State). The Arizona State Sundevils hosted CSU last season in a nail-biting come from behind victory for CSU in the fifth set. The Sundevils went on to finish ranked 36th in RPI and will prove a tough out at home.
The Rams start the season against the Baylor Bears in a two-day tournament also featuring Northern Iowa and UC Davis. The Rams and Bears last met in the same season opening tournament two years ago, a game CSU won in three sets.
All-in-all, the Rams will play six teams featured in the 2014 NCAA tournament: Arizona State, Iowa State, Northern Colorado, Texas A&M, Texas, and Western Michigan.
Opponent |
2014 RPI |
Baylor | 68 |
UC Davis | 136 |
Northern Iowa | 79 |
Arizona State | 36 |
Western Michigan | 132 |
Northern Colorado | 76 |
Iona | 300 |
Texas | 2 |
Texas A&M | 22 |
Eastern Kentucky | 194 |
Iowa State | 17 |
— CSU Rams Volleyball (@CSUvolleyball) May 6, 2015