GOLDEN, Colo. – A more epic comeback seems impossible.
 
With its season on the line, and having been heartbroken after dropping a second set that it appeared to have won, Metropolitan State University of Denver nearly had the same thing happen again in the third set.
 
But the Roadrunners fought off four match points – four! – to win the third set 33-31, then absolutely rolled past top-seeded Colorado School of Mines in the final two sets Friday night for a stunning, scintillating and season-defining 3-2 victory in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball tournament.
 
"We showed a ton of passion and heart to come back from 0-2 and our backs against the wall in the third set with four match points against us," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "This postseason Roadrunners team is gritty and determined."
 
The fourth-seeded Roadrunners get a second chance at third-seeded Colorado Mesa (22-6) in Saturday's 6 p.m. RMAC championship match, also at Mines' Lockridge Arena. An automatic berth in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional at stake.
 
MSU Denver (21-8), ranked eighth in the region, entered the week on the bubble for reaching the national tournament for the 19^thstraight year, but its win over regional No. 7 Regis in Tuesday's quarterfinal, an upset loss by regional No. 6 Angelo State (Texas) in the Lone Star Conference tournament, and Friday's win over the regional No. 3 Orediggers would seem to have greatly improved the Roadrunners' chances of reaching the regional should they need an at-large invitation.
 
But there would be no doubt with a win over Mesa.
 
"There are so many factors," Glenn said. "But the only guaranteed berth is through the automatic qualifier."
 
There was some doubt about getting a win Friday against Mines until the Roadrunners started rolling to their 17-25, 24-26, 33-31, 25-15, 15-12 victory.
 
After dropping the first set, the Roadrunners got an awful taste of reverse déjà vu in the second. They led 24-21 but saw the Orediggers fight off three set points score and five straight to seal the steal. Against Regis on Tuesday, MSU Denver had overcome the exact same deficit to close out the match in the fourth set.
 
Then Mines (23-5) jumped out to a 5-0 third-set lead and MSU Denver's hopes appeared to be fading.
 
But they summoned the strength to rally with a 7-0 run that forged a 16-11 lead, and they held another 24-21 advantage. But again the Orediggers had other ideas. They fought off five set points this time. They held match points at 25-24, 29-28, 30-29 and 31-30.
 
But a kill by Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View) and a service ace by Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) closed out the set and the Roadrunners barely looked back the rest of the night.
 
"We were slow to start, but we found some flow after we broke through with the third-set win," Glenn said. "I'm proud of this group's determination and fight."
 
They hit .438 in the fourth set and .400 in the fifth for a two-set tear of .423 hitting.
 
They jumped out to leads of 7-3 (though Mines rallied for a 7-7 tie), 13-8, 17-10 and 20-12 in the fourth.
 
In the fifth the Roadrunners led 4-1, 7-2, 11-4 and 12-5 before Mines rallied within 12-10 and 14-12. But a Duryea kill ended it.
 
Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) led the Roadrunners with 20 kills and hit .298 while adding 11 digs. Duryea had 18 kills and had 10 digs. Alyssa Kelling (Merton, Wis./Arrowhead) had eight kills and seven blocks while hitting .538. Kayla White (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Academy) had eight kills. Stephanie Laraway (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) had seven blocks. Hebert had 22 digs. Jessa Megenhardt (Berthoud, Colo./Berthoud) set 25 assists, and Morgan Weatherwax (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain), who hadn't played the past five matches, played the last three sets and had 19 assists.
 
Comebacks from 2-0 deficits are rare, and comebacks from 2-0 deficits against quality opponents such as Mines are rarer still. Yet MSU Denver has done it five times in 19 chances when faced with that opportunity since Glenn became head coach in 2016, and it's the second time the Roadrunners have done it this year. 
 
"Mines is a very good team who makes you very uncomfortable," Glenn said. "We defended and served well, which ultimately made the difference in the match."
 
Mesa, Saturday's championship opponent, surprised the Roadrunners in with a sweep in Grand Junction back in September. The teams tied for third in the regular season with 15-3 league records, but Mesa was the third seed because of the head-to-head win. The Mavericks beat Dixie State 3-1 in Friday's other semifinal.
 
"We're excited to play them again," Glenn said. "They are playing very good volleyball, so it should be a great match."