Denver - The Metropolitan State University of Denver volleyball team defeated Regis on Friday night by a score of 3-1 to move to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Roadrunners jumped out of the gates quickly in set one building a 6-2 lead capped by a kill from sophomore
Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.). After a back-and-forth scoring duel, the Roadrunners took a 17-12 lead. MSU Denver commanded the rest of the set winning 25-12.
Regis battled back in set two, after the Roadrunners leapt out to a quick 3-0 lead. After trading points resulting in an 11-11 score, Regis captured the momentum and crept away to an 18-13 lead. MSU Denver and Regis traded points the rest of the way and the Roadrunners could not close the gap and fell to the Rangers 25-21.
With the momentum still in their favor, Regis started the third set with a 3-0 lead. The Roadrunners would close the gap and alternate scoring with the Rangers, resulting in a 13-13 tie. After continuing to trade points, the Roadrunners established a 20-18 lead and never looked back; eventually closing out the set 25-21 on a kill from senior
Michaela Smith (Littleton, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.).
The fourth set followed the trend of the first three. The teams continued to trade points as they had all night, but it was Regis who established an early 10-6 lead. The Roadrunners fought hard to chip away at the Rangers' lead and tied up the set 12-12. The match continued with a flurry of point trading leading to four ties in the set's final moments. A kill by senior
Vasati Fiatoa (Las Vegas, Nev./Bonanza H.S.) for point 22, and service ace by Smith for point 23 helped swing the momentum in favor of the Roadrunners. MSU Denver never looked back, polishing off the Rangers 25-22 on a kill by Sturges for a four set victory.
Senior
Brandi Torr (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva H.S.) led the Road Runners contributing 51 assists and 10 digs. Smith added a double-double of 15 kills and a team high 17 digs. Three other Roadrunners, Sturges, sophomore
Stephanie Laraway (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood H.S.), and Fiatoa contributed double digit kills in the victory.
The Roadrunners will take on Chadron State Saturday, September 17 at 5 p.m. in the Auraria Events Center.
