Metropolitan State University of Denver returned to the national tournament for the first time in six years in 1988.
 
Bt this time it was the NCAA Division II tournament, the program's first in five seasons at the higher level.
 
Yet what seems significant now seemed more like business as usual at the time.
 
"It was great when it happened, but the program had been successful and had done very well in the AIAW and the NAIA," said Joan McDermott, who was in her first year as the MSU Denver coach after taking over for Pat Johnson. "So you didn't really see the difference. We just knew it was a successful season."
 
McDermott serves as the bookends for an era of the program's volleyball history. She led the program to NCAA tournament trips in both 1988 and 1989, left for Morningside (Iowa) College, then returned for three more seasons – and two more national tournament appearances -- from 1996 through 1998, compiling an overall record of 136-64. She then moved into a new role as athletic director through the 2014-15 academic year.
 
In between, McDermott's two stints, Rhonda McMullen had a six-year stretch as head coach from 1990 through 1995 that was every bit as successful: 154-85 with three NCAA tournament trips.
 
Metropolitan State University of Denver is preparing to celebrate 50 years of volleyball at the school with festivities this weekend. Our five-part series on the program's history continues with Part Three, Becoming a Division II Power, which focuses on the years 1988 through 1999.
 
Between the McDermott and McMullen, from 1988 through 1998, MSU Denver was 290-149 with seven NCAA tournament appearances and four conference championships. Each was the region's coach of the year: McMullen in 1992, McDermott in 1998.
 
They continued what Pat Johnson had started in the program's first 20 years. And it still continues today.
 
"The thing that hasn't changed is the success the program has sustained over the years, which is amazing," McDermott said. "Very few programs have had this kind of continued success.
 
"Even at MSU Denver, we have had national champions in other sports (two each for men's basketball and women's soccer), but even they haven't had the sustained success that this program has had."
 
Sue Gillette became the program's first first-team All-American in 1989 and Stacy Goldsberry (1992) and Tracy Thompson (1993) followed suit. Crissy Canada became the Roadrunners' first two-time first-team All-American after being honored in both 1993 and 1994.
 
While the program continued to grow, so too did the school.
 
"Pat Johnson had set the tradition within the program, and all that really changed in that era was the university evolving from a college to a university," McDermott said. "The growth within the university added to the athletic department, the type of facilities we had, the staffing, and the academics continued to grow."
 
As with any great program, sometimes there are more heartbreaks than glory, more near-misses and what-ifs than pinnacles.
 
Certainly McDermott and McMullen had those moments. As have Debbie Hendricks and third-year coach Jenny Glenn after them.
 
It's part of athletics.
 
McDermott's first team lost to West Texas A&M in the NCAA tournament, finishing 30-11. Her second team, which went 11-1 to win the Continental Divide Conference, lost in the first round in four sets to the same Regis team it had beaten in four sets in its previous match. That team was 39-12.
 
In 1991, McMullen's team lost in the first round to Northern Colorado, which it had beaten a few weeks earlier, finishing 31-16. Northern Colorado dashed the Roadrunners' hopes the following year, too, but it was Regis' turn in 1993 – this time in the second round – ending the season for the Colorado Athletic Conference champions at 32-5.
 
Back to the NCAA tournament in 1997 under McDermott, Regis again spoiled the fun for a team led by all-region picks Michelle Edwards, Laurie Anderson and Audra Littou. Same for 1998, when Metro State had won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 17-2 behind all-region selections Kelly Hanlon and Kelly Young. Those two teams were a combined 54-20, including 33-5 against RMAC competition and 3-2 against Regis in non-NCAA tournament matches.
 
In her first stint at MSU Denver, McDermott started bringing in players from California as the attraction of Metro State to local players had begun to waver. But, by the end of her second stint, the Colorado influence was returning.
 
McDermott had long wanted to move into administration and had returned to the school with the plan of becoming athletic director after the 1998 season.
 
"I did miss coaching, but I loved being the athletic director," she said. "It was fun building up our teams."
 
In McDermott's first year as AD, the volleyball program slipped to 10-21 under the direction of Janelle Duvall. The position opened again.
 
Meanwhile, former West Texas A&M coach Debbie Hendricks was watching her old team play at the NCAA tournament in Canyon, Texas. She was having second thoughts about her decision to leave coaching to start medical school.
 
McDermott just happened to be at the tournament as the NCAA's representative. McDermott and Hendricks, who already knew each other, talked about MSU Denver's opening.
 
Soon the Roadrunner program was about to reach an even higher level.
 

50 Years of Volleyball Series Schedule

Monday, Sept. 10	Part One: Building the Foundation, 1968-77
Tuesday, Sept. 11	Part Two: Taking it to a Higher Level, 1978-87
Wednesday, Sept. 12	Part Three: Becoming a Division II Power, 1988-99
Thursday, Sept. 13	Part Four: The Postseason Streak Begins, 2000-15
Friday, Sept. 14	Part Five: Maintaining Competitive Excellence, 2016-present