Box Score

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The No. 24 Metro State volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat UC-Colorado Springs on the road 25-15, 23-25, 15-25, 25-16, 15-12 on Friday.  The win improved the Roadrunners to 20-7 overall this season and 13-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while UCCS dropped to 17-9 overall and 12-6 in the RMAC.  The win also moves Metro State into a two-way tie for second place with Colorado Mines in the RMAC East Division with one match left in the regular season.

It is Metro State's first 20-win season since going 21-10 in 2006.

Emily Greenhalgh (Conifer, Colo./Conifer H.S.) had a career-high 20 kills for Metro State, leading four players in double figures in kills.  Bri Morley (Parker, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) also added 17, while Lisa Jones (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East H.S.) had 13 and Anna Mapes (Chaska, Minn./Chaska H.S.) 10.  Morley had her eighth double-double of the season with a career-high 17 digs.  Mapes also hit .471 (10-2-17) and had six blocks, the most for a Roadrunner since Julie Causseaux (Dumas, Texas/Dumas H.S.) had six on Oct. 6 against Colorado College.

Setter Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) also had a stellar evening, with 59 set assists, 15 digs and four kills.  She helped Metro State out-hit UCCS .228 (72-34-167) to .147 (45-22-156).  Curtis had a season-high 64 assists against the Mountain Lions on Sept. 19 in a 3-2 win at home.

Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) also provided a solid defensive effort with a match-high 25 digs.

Metro State dominated the first set, holding the Mountain Lions to a -.059 (7-9-34) hitting percentage.  The Roadrunners scored four straight points to take a 6-3 lead and seven in a row to lead 15-6 for a big lead early in the night.

UC-Colorado Springs rebounded with a pair of strong sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match.  The Mountain Lions jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second set.  Leading 17-10, Metro State mounted a comeback and cut the lead to 20-18 and 24-23.  But Laura Brodie put the set away with a kill for UCCS.

The Roadrunners trailed 13-10 in the third set, but briefly fell apart, surrendering six of the next eight points as the Mountain Lions took a 19-12 lead.  They closed the set with six of the final seven points, out-hitting Metro State .324 (13-1-37) to .098 (14-10-41) in the third set.

Metro State regrouped in the fourth set, leading 11-6 as Greenhalgh caught fire.  The sophomore outside hitter had seven kills in the fourth frame.  With the Roadrunners leading 18-15, Greenhalgh led a 6-0 run with a trio of kills as Causseaux served to take a 24-15 lead.  Greenhalgh finished the set with another kill as well.

The two teams opened the deciding set evenly, tied a 3-3 after six serves.  Greenhalgh and Morley had back-to-back kills to put Metro State in front 5-3, a lead it would not surrender.

Morley caught fire at that point.  She entered the fifth set hitting just .105 (13-9-38) for the evening.  But she had four kills in five attemps in the fifth set for an .800 hitting percentage.

The Roadrunners led 8-6 and appeared to take control of the set with three straight points, started by a pair of kills from Morley and Greenhalgh, to lead 11-6.  But the Mountain Lions marched right back with three in a row after each team traded points, using a pair of Metro State errors to cut the lead to 12-10.  The Roadrunners came out of a timeout with consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead, going to Mapes for a kill out of the timeout and using a service ace by Jones.

UCCS forced a two attack errors on Greenhalgh to cut the lead back to 14-12, but Mapes ended the match with her 10th kill of the evening.

The match was a must-win for Metro State, as it currently holds the final spot in the NCAA Tournament, ranked No. 8 in the Central Region.  The top eight teams will reach the NCAA Tournament.  UCCS is ranked No. 9 in the region.  The Roadrunners will be looking for their 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Debbie Hendricks.

Metro State wraps up the regular season at Colorado Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m.