Box Score

KEARNEY, Neb. – No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State swept No. 12 Metro State 25-19, 28-26, 25-22 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Kearney, Neb.  Metro State's season ended at 24-7, while SMSU improved to 24-6.  The Mustangs will face the winner of No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney and Colorado Mines in the Central Region semifinals on Friday.

Bri Morley (Parker, Colo./Cherokee Trail H.S.) put down 20 kills, a career high for a three-set match to lead the Roadrunners in the loss, while becoming the school's all-time leader in kills with 1,666.  She moved 12 ahead of Julie Green-McFarland's (2004-07) 1,654.  Morley also hit .426 in Thursday's match.

Julie Causseaux (Dumas, Texas/Dumas H.S.) hit .316 with eight kills as she and Morley were the only two Metro State players to hit over .200 in the match.  As a team, Metro State hit .211.  Emily Greenhalgh (Conifer, Colo./Conifer H.S.) also had seven kills.

Darcy Schwartzman (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest H.S.) set 34 assists and had 10 digs.  Defensively, Ngoc Phan (Lone Tree, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) led the team with 22 digs.

The Roadrunners had 12 team blocks, led by Shayne Kovach (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument H.S.)'s six block assists.  However, it was passing and early deficits that plagued Metro State all evening.  SMSU had seven service aces and led 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second and third sets.

Phan had an incredible 12 digs in the first set, but SMSU hit .245 to take the first set 25-19. The Mustangs had four aces to provide the difference early.

Metro State fell behind 11-5 in the second set, but a seven-point rally put the Roadrunners on top 12-11. The two teams went point-for-point for the rest of the set. Down 24-23, Metro State ran a set to Causseaux in the middle to tie the set and Causseaux and Schwartzman combined on a block for the lead. The Mustangs scored two in a row to hold set point again, but Greenhalgh tipped a ball over the right block to even the score at 26-26.  SMSU again put together a two-point run to end the set with a 28-26 win.

For the second set in a row, Metro State fell behind 4-0 early and had to try to catch up the rest of the match.  A four-point run cut a 17-10 deficit to 17-14, but that was as close as the Roadrunners could get in the third.  They fought off match point five times before finally succumbing 25-22 in the final set.

Metro State will say goodbye to six seniors, including Schwartzman, Greenhalgh, Kovach, Causseaux, Morley and Phan.