Knudson: A Comeback for the Ages

By Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
September 6, 2011

As we wandered onto the court filled with hundreds of celebrating students, a long-time Colorado State athletics insider looked at me and shook his head. “I’ve seen hundreds of events in this building,” he yelled over the chaos inside Moby Arena. “And that’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Basketball fans might argue that the Rams 2003 ‘Miracle in Moby’ that saw CSU’s Michael Morris hit two three-pointers in the final seven seconds to beat Purdue 71-69 would rank at the top, but there can be no debating that the CSU volleyball team’s improbable, incredible, unthinkable and emotional five-set upset of mighty Nebraska in their home opener was near the top of the list of indoor athletic achievements at the school.

The Huskers came into the game unbeaten and ranked No. 5 in the country. A perennial power, it can be argued that Nebraska’s volleyball program has outshined its higher-profile football team over the last decade and a half. Since 1986, Nebraska volleyball has appeared in 11 Final Fours and won three National Championships. They came to Fort Collins to face the 15th ranked Rams, acknowledging that this would be their toughest non-conference match of the year (Penn State and others await in the Big Ten season) but fully expecting to have their way.

For the first two sets, they did. Nebraska overwhelmed the Rams 25-12 and 25-11 and were making the home team look very bad in front of a Mountain West record crowd of 6,750, including a sizeable faction dressed in red. Then came intermission and a pointed message from Rams head coach Tom Hilbert.

“In the first two sets, Nebraska looked like they could beat the Chinese National team,” Hilbert told me afterwards. “I think at first, in a way, we were mesmerized by the fact that we were playing Nebraska. But we weren’t putting any pressure on them at all. I told the kids to relax and play our game. They were playing their game. We had to play ours.”

When the third set started, who knew? You get a couple of nice plays and a couple of breaks went their way, and all of a sudden the underdog Rams began to believe.

"I think in the third set we put more serving pressure on them, and now, they're not as comfortable and we're getting more comfortable. Before you know it, the crowd's in it, Nebraska's feeling more pressure,” said Hilbert

CSU took the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-20, setting up a final, winner-take-all fifth set. With the momentum and the raucous crowd on their side, the Rams dominated the final set, winning 15-9 and setting off a massive celebration on the Moby Arena floor.

Hilbert’s Rams have won 11 conference titles. He’s taken his teams  to 22 NCAA tournaments, including the last 16 in a row. So where did this win rank among the coaches finest moments at CSU?
 
“It’s right at the top,” Hilbert said, before pausing. “We beat UCLA when they were ranked number one a few years ago, but this was at home in front of this great crowd. Nebraska is a very solid team with great tradition and history. It’s very special for these players, the fans and the entire CSU community to get a win like this."
See all of Mark Knudson's blog entries HERE.