San Angelo, Texas- #19 Metropolitan State University of Denver (27-4, 18-0 RMAC) and the host, #12 Angelo State University (33-3, 18-2 Lonestar) faced off in the NCAA DII South Central Region Championship on Saturday, December 3 in a tight three set match.

Both teams proved why they deserved to be in the championship match as the fight was neck-and-neck for most of the first set. MSU Denver forced Angelo to take a timeout when they pulled away at 11-8. Despite a 16-10 lead for the Roadrunners, the Rams ended up closing the gap and taking the first set 29-27. Both teams had two blocks, two service aces and over 25 digs.
The second set was a similar story as MSU Denver and Angelo battled back and forth until the Roadrunners took the late set advantage at 17-14. The Rams tied up the set, 22-22 and forced Roadrunners head coach, Jenny Glenn into back-to-back timeouts. Set two ended in a ridiculous defensive battle, but the Rams finished ahead, 25-22. Senior Michaela Smith (Littleton, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.) put up 12 kills and junior Jackie Lopez (Encino, Calif./Notre Dame H.S.) finished with just as many digs as the Roadrunners headed into set three.

The Roadrunners showed that they were not ready to roll over as they fought to keep the score close throughout the third set. MSU Denver took an early timeout at 9-12 and came back out with big swings. But, Angelo's defense was too much for the Roadrunners as their lead extended to 18-13. Another timeout came for MSU Denver at 13-19, which helped the Roadrunners fight back to 16-20. Despite 16 kills from Smith, who hit at a .267 clip, and four players who dug double digits, the Roadrunners fell 17-25.

MSU Denver finished their season 27-5 overall, 18-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. First year head coach, Jenny Glenn was named the South Central Coach of the Year while seniors Brandi Torr (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva H.S.) and Michaela Smith (Littleton, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.) were named All-South Central Region.