DENVER – After MSU Denver fell just short to Regis in five sets at home on Sept. 21, the Roadrunners knew they'd have at least one more shot at their crosstown rivals in 2018. That chance came Tuesday night, but despite making each set more competitive than the last, MSU Denver (15-8, 11-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) found itself on the wrong end of a three-set, non-conference loss (15-25, 21-25, 27-29) to Regis (17-8, 12-3 RMAC).

"We faced a feisty defensive team in Regis tonight," MSU Denver head coach Jenny Glenn said following the match. "They put a lot of pressure on us and played well."

MSU Denver got off to a sluggish start, hitting just .037 in the first set while Regis hit .217. The Roadrunners didn't fare much better on the offensive end in the second set, hitting just .048 while Regis hit .219, but stymied the Rangers on three service aces and improved six points on the first-set deficit.

Finally, MSU Denver got things rolling in the third set. The Roadrunners hit .319 in the final frame with 19 kills and just four attack errors, but it was too little, too late as Regis pulled out a 29-27 set victory to seal the sweep. Overall, Regis hit at a .229 clip to MSU Denver's .143, simply using a more consistent rhythm of play to dispatch their rivals from across town.

Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View) led MSU Denver in kills for the 14^th time this season on Tuesday night, recording 10 for her seventh straight match in double-digits. Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) racked up 20 digs for the sixth match of her career with at least that many. Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) contributed 19 digs, while Mikaela Kubiak (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central) led the team with 17 assists and added 10 digs.  

Tuesday's match did not affect the RMAC standings, so the Roadrunners stayed fifth at 11-3 while Regis stayed fourth at 12-3.

The Roadrunners return to league play with a road swing in South Dakota this weekend, stopping first in Spearfish, S.D., for a match with Black Hills State on Friday night at 7 p.m. MT before a 3 p.m. Saturday meeting with South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Follow @MSUDenverSports and @MSUDenverVB on Twitter for more information about Roadrunners volleyball.