Complete Release (PDF)

This Week:
The No. 18 Metro State volleyball team will host New Mexico Highlands on Thursday and Western New Mexico on Friday. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, the Roadrunners travel to Colorado College in Colorado Springs for a non-conference match.

Scouting the Opponent:
New Mexico Highlands: The Cowboys enter the weekend 1-14 overall and 0-6 in the RMAC. They are currently on a seven-match losing streak. Dominique Benton is the only player averaging over two kills/set at 2.12. She is hitting .152. As a team, NMHU averages 8.22 kills and allows 11.43 kills per set. The Cowboys hit just .043 compared to .234 by their opponents.

Western New Mexico: The Mustangs enter the weekend 7-7 overall, but 5-1 in the RMAC. They have won their past four matches. Natali Murdock leads the team with a 3.21 kills average, followed by Ziona Verhulsdonk at 2.44. Marilee Frost leads the team in digs, averaging 3.65. WNMU averages 11.25 kills and allows its opponents 11.81 per set. The Mustangs are hitting .184 for the season and their opponents are at .179.

Colorado College: The Tigers enter this weekend 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. Emily Perkins leads the team with a 3.39 kills average, followed by Laura Goldsmith at 2.47 and Meredith Ballard at 2.38. Ballard hits a team-high .310. As a team CC averages 12.82 kills and hits .236.

All-Time Series Records:
New Mexico Highlands: Metro State leads the all-time series 19-2, including a perfect 9-0 at home. The Roadrunners have won the past 11 meetings.

Western New Mexico: Metro State leads the all-time series 5-2, but is 1-1 in matches played at the Auraria Event Center. Last season Metro State won the only meeting in five sets in Silver City.

Colorado College: Metro State leads the all-time series 18-8, but is even at 6-6 in matches played in Colorado Springs. However, the Roadrunners have won the past eight meetings, though the two teams have not played each other since 1997.

Watanabe Nears Digs Record:
Senior libero Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) is closing in on the school's all-time digs record. She currently has 1,296 and needs just eight more to tie Chris Hines and Heather Hotchkiss' record of 1,304.

Career Digs
1. Chris Hines (1989-90) 1,304
Heather Hotchkiss (1988-89) 1,304
3 Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) (2006-09) 1,296
4. Jessy Roy (2000-03) 1,293
5. Stacey Hoyt (1994-96) 1,277

Curtis in Top-10 in Career Assists:
Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) is currently eighth in Metro State's all-time list of assist leaders with 2,492 set assists. Devon Herron (2000-03) is the career leader with 6,286.

Career Assists
1. Devon Herron (2000-03) 6,286
2. Jennifer Drees (1990-91) 3,304
3. Lora Houdek (1992-93) 3,267
4. Sue Hays (1983-85) 3,222
5. Laurie Anderson (1994-97) 3,124
6. Stephanie Levi (2006-07) 2,881
7. Verna Julaton (1987-88) 2,703
8. Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) (2004-05, 09) 2,571

Finally Ranked:
The Metro State volleyball team is ranked No. 18 in the latest NCAA Division II American Volleyball Coaches Association top-25 poll. The Roadrunners' No. 23 ranking on Aug. 31 was the first national ranking for Metro State since the being ranked No. 25 on Sept. 5, 2005. Metro State has received votes four times since then (Sept. 12, 2005; Aug. 21, 2006; Nov. 13, 2006; Nov. 20, 2006).

Metro State is in the top-25 for the fifth week in a row, the longest streak in the poll for the Roadrunners since spending 46 consecutive weeks in the top-25 from the 2001 preseason poll through the Sept. 7, 2004, poll.

Hendricks Hits Two Milestones:
Head coach Debbie Hendricks reached her 200th win at Metro State on Saturday, Aug. 29 against No. 16 Florida Southern. She is in her 10th season at the helm of the Roadrunners volleyball program.

On Saturday, Sept. 5, she won her 400th career match in a 3-2, come-from-behind thriller against No. 3 West Texas A&M. She became the 20th active NCAA Division II coach to reach 400 career wins.

Roadrunners Update:
The Roadrunners are 10-4 overall and 3-3 in the RMAC entering Saturday. They dropped a 3-1 decision on Saturday to No. 9 Nebraska-Kearney after falling 3-0 at Regis on Tuesday. Bri Morley (Parker, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) led the team with 16 kills on Saturday, followed by Lisa Jones (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East H.S.) with 15 and Anna Mapes (Chaska, Minn./Chaska H.S.) with 10. Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) had 48 assists and Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) led in digs with 19.

Morley enters the weekend leading the team in kills for the season with an average of 3.68 per set, while hitting .266. Emily Greenhalgh (Conifer, Colo./Conifer H.S.) is second with a 2.98 average. Curtis is averaging 11.12 assists, while Watanabe averages 4.82 digs. Complete individual and team rankings in the RMAC are listed on page 4.

RMAC Players of the Week:
Bri Morley (Parker, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 31. In four matches at the St. Mary's Invitational, Morley led Metro State with 4.08 kills/set, a total of 53 kills in 13 sets. She hit .370 (53k-9e-119a), while adding 17 digs and four blocks. She led the Roadrunners and their opponent in kills in each of the final three matches at the tournament.

Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) was named RMAC Setter of the Week on Sept. 7 after finishing third among all setters at the tournament in assists per set, averaging 11.64 assists, a total of 163 in 14 sets played. She added eight kills, two service aces, 27 digs and six total blocks as well. Her setting helped the Roadrunners to a .200 hitting percentage (192-84-540) in four matches.

Amy Watanabe (Littleton, Colo./Heritage H.S.) earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 7 after placing third among all players at the tournament in digs per set, averaging 4.93 digs, a total of 69 in 14 sets. She also had three assists, three aces, two kills and only two receiving errors all weekend. Opponents hit only .171 against Metro State (152-68-490).

Watanabe earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors again on Sept. 21 after totaling 47 digs in two matches over the weekend and averaged 5.88 digs per set in those two matches. She also had two assists. In Metro State's 3-2 win over UC-Colorado Springs on Saturday, Watanabe had a career-high 37 digs, just four off the school record of 41. Her 37 digs tied her for the fourth-most in a single match in school history.

The four players of the week have already surpassed last season's total of one RMAC player of the week (Watanabe, Defensive POW, Oct. 13, 2008).

Colorado Premier Challenge:
Metro State went 3-1 at the 2009 Colorado Premier Challenge to win the Silver Division championship. It was the best finish for Metro State at the Premier since going 3-1 and taking third place in the Gold Division in 2005. Senior setter Gabe Curtis (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) earned all-tournament honors for the second time in her career.