ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Metropolitan State University of Denver volleyball team was one point away from winning every set in its Saturday night matchup with Seattle Pacific.
 
Winning three of them turned to be good enough.
 
The Roadrunners stormed back from a disheartening 2-0 deficit and won the final three sets in relatively easy fashion to earn a 3-2 (24-26, 25-27, 25-12, 25-20, 15-7) victory at Nicholson Pavilion.
 
Combined with a 3-0 win over Fresno Pacific (25-22, 25-15, 27-25) earlier Saturday, the Roadrunners finished 2-2 at the Falcon-Wildcat Invitational.
 
Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) had 22 kills, Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View) added 18 and Stephanie Laraway (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) had 13 on .480 hitting as the Roadrunners' three seniors led the way in the comeback effort.

"Tonight was a great win for us against a quality opponent," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "Seattle Pacific played tough defense and made us earn our points.

"We showed some grit to come back from a two-set deficit and find a way to win at the end of the tournament. "I am proud of the progress we made as a group this weekend."
 
MSU Denver hit .242 overall, but hit a red-hot .348 in the final three sets.
 
Morgan Weatherwax (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) had a second straight 40 set-assist match, while Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) had a match-high 30 digs.
 
Gabby Oddo and Maddie Batiste each had 13 kills for Seattle Pacific (1-2), but the Falcons hit just .086 for the match. Seattle Pacific is picked to finish sixth in the 11-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
 
MSU Denver 3, Seattle Pacific 2
 
Set One:The Roadrunners were seemingly in control of the set with leads of 22-15, 23-17 and 24-21, but couldn't hold off a late charge from Seattle Pacific, which fought off three set points to win the set. Sturges and Alexis Benda (Las Cruces, N.M./Oñate) had four kills each for MSU Denver.
 
Set Two: MSU Denver nearly returned the favor on the Falcons in the second set. After taking a 5-1 lead, the Roadrunners eventually fell behind 17-12 as Seattle Pacific scored six straight points. MSU Denver then rallied for a tie at 19-19, fell behind by two points but tied it 22-22, then fell behind by two again but fought off two set points to tie it 24-24. The Roadrunners then served for the set at 25-24, but Seattle Pacific rallied for three straight points to close it out.
 
Set Three: Duryea had five kills to lead an MSU Denver team determined to leave no doubts about in this set. The Roadrunners hit .364 with only one attacking error and cruised, while Seattle Pacific had 11 attacking errors and hit -.053.
 
Set Four: Rolling now, MSU Denver sailed to 15-7 lead before the Falcons rallied and made it interesting, closing to within 21-18. But Sturges had three kills and Duryea finished it with her sixth kill of the set.
 
Set Five: The Roadrunners left no doubt, jumping out to a 4-0 lead to force a timeout, then built a 10-5 lead. Sturges' kill through the Falcons' block, her fourth of the set, was the match winner.
 
 
MSU Denver 3, Fresno Pacific 0
 
MSU Denver got into the win column against Fresno Pacific with a highly efficient attack.
 
The Roadrunners hit .301 as a team, including .565 in the second set.
 
"We played more consistent volleyball and the result was a product of that," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We found some flow with our offense which helped the overall rhythm of our play."
 
Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) had 12 kills on .345 hitting and Taylor Duryea (Logan, Utah/Sky View) added 
11 kills while hitting .333. Stephanie Laraway (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) hit .462 and had six kills.
 
Morgan Weatherwax (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) was the primary setter, and handed out 40 assists. Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley) had a team-best 14 digs.
 
Fresno Pacific (0-3), picked to finish seventh in the 12-team PacWest, was led by Carley Bock's eight kills and .353 hitting.
 
Set One: The Roadrunners never trailed, but saw Fresno Pacific close within 21-20. MSU Denver then responded with kills by Duryea and Alexis Benda (Las Cruces, N.M./Oñate) and finished it out.
 
Set Two: After leading 12-8, MSU Denver scored 10 of the next 14 points to take a 22-12 advantage. The Roadrunners had 14 kills and only one hitting error in the set.
 
Set Three: The Sunbirds played with the lead for much of the third set, then rallied fight off two match points to tie the set 24-24. Fresno Pacific fought off a third match point at 25-24, but kills by Benda and Laraway gave MSU Denver the victory.
  
MSU Denver returns to action next weekend, when it co-hosts the power-packed Colorado Premier. The Roadrunners' schedule in one of the best NCAA Division II tournaments in the country includes matches Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Texas A&M-Commerce (a rematch of last year's five-set, NCAA first-round win for the Roadrunners), and then a 6 p.m. nightcap with defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.).
 
Both matches will be at the Auraria Event Center. Live video and live stats will be available through roadrunnersathletics.com.
 
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