ST. GEORGE, UTAH – The Metropolitan State University of Denver volleyball team stormed into St. George, Utah, on Saturday afternoon and proved its rightful reputation as a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference power, sweeping the Dixie State Trailblazers in dominant fashion (25-20, 25-21, 25-18). MSU Denver (12-6, 8-2 RMAC) made quick work of Dixie State (14-4, 9-2 RMAC) dispatching the home team in straight sets to complete what was a nearly flawless two-game road trip to Utah.

It was just the second conference loss of the season for the Trailblazers, whose only league loss entering Saturday's match was to current AVCA Division II No. 22 Colorado School of Mines.
"Tonight was a great win against a very good Dixie State team," MSU Denver head coach Jenny Glenn said. "We played tough defense and served very well. We handled adversity with great resolve and that led to a win in a tough environment."

The Roadrunners' impressive defensive effort limited Dixie State to a hitting percentage of just .094 on the night, forcing the Trailblazers into 20 attack errors against just 29 kills. Meanwhile, the Roadrunners hit .204 and caught Dixie State sleeping on five serves­ that resulted in aces.

Senior outside hitter Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View) was solid on offense and defense once again, but this was no regular match for Duryea. As the starters were announced in Dixie State's Student Activities Center on Saturday afternoon, Duryea was called out as a member of the visiting team for the first time in her four years of college volleyball.

A transfer to MSU Denver from Dixie State in 2017 after spending three years as a Trailblazer, Duryea has elevated herself into a leadership role with the Roadrunners. Saturday's match was no exception, as Duryea came up big with team-leading totals of 12 kills and 13 digs while handling the certainly strange emotions of playing visitor in a former home. ­­­­

Another Roadrunner also excelled in her first trip to St. George, as freshman middle blocker Avaline Lai (Boulder, Colo./Fairview) totaled 11 kills while hitting .381 on Saturday. Junior Alyssa Kelling (Merton, Wis./Arrowhead) added 7 kills on .438 hitting while recording three blocks.

Redshirt freshman Mikaela Kubiak (Kalamazoo, Mich./Portage Central) and sophomore Jessa Megenhardt (Berthoud, Colo./Berthoud) platooned setting duties on Saturday, as Kubiak notched a team-leading 17 assists while Megenhardt had 16.

MSU Denver will return to the Auraria Event Center in Denver on Friday, playing New Mexico Highlands in the Hispanic Heritage Match at 7 p.m. MT. The Roadrunners will battle CSU-Pueblo at home the following day at 4 p.m. for the Dig Pink Match. MSU Denver Athletics' Hall of Fame festivities will take place on campus later that evening.

Follow @MSUDenverSports and @MSUDenverVB on Twitter to stay updated on all things Roadrunners volleyball.

Set-by-Set Breakdown

Set One: The Roadrunners wasted no time setting the tone for the match, jumping out to a 9-3 lead on two kills each from Duryea and Lai. Dixie State never got within less than three points of MSU Denver after that point, as the Roadrunners' lead ballooned to as many as eight points before an eventual five-point victory, 25-20.

Set Two: The second frame was closely contested early on, but the Roadrunners built a four-point advantage at 9-5 before a Dixie State timeout. MSU Denver maintained at least a two-point advantage for most of the set before the Trailblazers got within one at 20-19. A quick kill from Duryea and two Trailblazers errors staved off the Dixie State run as the Roadrunners went on to take the set, 25-21. MSU Denver outhit Dixie State .265 to .086 in the second frame.  

Set Three: Dixie State attempted a trip down the comeback trail, leading MSU Denver by as many as four points before the Roadrunners knotted the set at 16. From there, it was all MSU Denver as the Roadrunners launched themselves on a 9-2 run to win the set, 25-18, and the match.