Portland, Ore. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver volleyball team defeated No. 15 Florida Southern 3-2 and Concordia (Ore.) 3-1 to open the 2016 season.

In the first match of the day, MSU Denver defeated No. 15 Florida Southern 3-2.  The Roadrunners came out firing in the first set winning 25-19.  MSU Denver fell behind 3-5 early in the set before rattling off eight straight points.  MSU Denver hit a whopping .448 in the set.

MSU Denver lost the second set 25-23 before bouncing back with a 25-22 win in the third set.  The Roadrunners trailed 22-21 late in the third set before closing out on a 4-0 run including two kills from junior Ryan Hoerdemann (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe H.S.).

The fourth set went the way of Florida Southern by a score of 25-10.  In  the deciding set, MSU Denver won 15-11.  Once again, the Roadrunners used a 4-0 run late in the set to take control.

Seniors Michaela Smith (Littleton, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.) and Vasati Fiatoa (Las Vegas, Nev./Bonanza H.S.) tied with a team-high 14 kills.  Both Hoerdemann and sophomore Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit H.S.) tallied double-doubles in the match.

In the second match of the night, MSU Denver took on Concordia (Ore.) and won 3-1.  The Roadrunners won the first set 25-22.  MSU Denver found itself down early in the set 10-5.  The team battled back to take the lead 16-15 after a Sturges kill and would not trail again in the set.

MSU Denver won the second set 25-18.  MSU Denver took control of the set early and never trailed.  Hoerdemann notched a kill midway through the set to give MSU Denver a 17-10 lead.  From that point on, the Roadrunners lead would not be less than six points.

Concordia won the third set 27-25.  MSU Denver trailed the entire set before tying the score at 23-23 and would hold a lead at 25-24.  However, three consecutive kills by Concordia forced a fourth set.

The fourth set of the match proved to be the deciding set.  The Roadrunners won 25-19.  Fiatoa and Hoerdemann provided kills midway through the set to spark MSU Denver.  The Roadrunners finished the match scoring the final five points.

Smith led the way for the Roadrunners with 18 kills and Hoerdemann added 12 of her own.  Fiatoa and Sturges each finished the match with 10 kills.

The Roadrunners will conclude play at the Concordia Labor Day Tournament on Saturday, September 3 with matches against Missouri S&T and Western Oregon.