Sports

San Jose State volleyball falls in MWC final to Colorado State

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

The Colorado State volleyball team is back to the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament.

The Rams secured the automatic Mountain West bid Saturday by defeating San Jose State, 3-1 (27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16), to win the conference tournament championship game in Las Vegas.

CSU dominated the Mountain West tournament, becoming the first No. 1 seed to win since the conference tournament was re-instated in 2021. The Rams had a bye to the semifinals, where they beat San Diego State 3-1 and then toppled No. 2-seed San Jose State in the title match.

Malaya Jones had a match-high 26 kills, extending her CSU single-season record (modern scoring format) to 541 and counting. Karina Leber had 11 kills and Naeemah Weathers had 10.

The win gives CSU a sweep of the Mountain West’s regular season and tournament championships. The Rams have now won 24 MW titles (regular season and tournament combined).

CSU now returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Rams made every NCAA Tournament from 1995-2019.

OPINION: Don’t blame Boise State players for forfeit vs. San Jose State. Extremists forced the issue.

OPINION: Ruling in San Jose State volleyball case reveals farce of transgender hysteria

Now, under second-year coach Emily Kohan, the Rams are back.

CSU is 20-10 on the season.

NCAA Tournament selection information

The bracket for the 2024 NCAA women’s volleyball tournament will be released at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1 (on ESPN).

First round matches are Dec. 5-6.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY