DENVER – As a freshman, Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) was trying to fit in.
 
Now, as a senior, she is standing out.
 
Metropolitan State University of Denver's 5-foot-9 outside hitter surpassed 1,000 career kills in last Saturday's dramatic, five-set loss to Regis. It's a career accomplishment that few surpass.
 
"It's something I never thought about," Sturges said. "I just knew, coming in as a freshman, that I wanted to just play and progress throughout my senior year. Now that it's here, it's a pretty cool thing."
 
Sturges said she was anything but cool and calm as a freshman, when she played in 14 matches and had 64 kills.
 
"My freshman year I was so scared, so timid," she said. "The coaches worked with me through that. And my sophomore, junior, and now senior year, I've gotten so much better."
 
She improved her consistency throughout a sophomore year that included 330 kills, then was a second-team All-American and an All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player last season with 459 kills – an average of 4.0 per set.
 
"She had taken huge strides by the end of her sophomore year," Glenn said. "And last year she was just a rock for us. She scored a lot for us. And she continues to be a rock for us and to be a mainstay in our offense."
 
Sturges is proud of her improved consistency throughout her career. Combined with her athleticism and shot arsenal, the results are impressive.
 
"It's a milestone for any attacker and a great accomplishment," Glenn said. "To have 1,000 kills in your career means you are good enough to have played in a lot of matches. And she wasn't a regular player as a freshman, so she's done it in just a little over two years, really.
 
"It's a testament to her work ethic and how hard she works every day. With her being only 5-9, she's developed shots with her wrists. She has the ability to throw an off-speed and sell it, to hit different angles, to attack the block. That's the reason she has 1,000 kills."
 
This season, Sturges is slightly behind last year's pace with 3.4 kills per set, though she's in familiar territory in RMAC play – she's first with 4.1 kills per set.
 
At her current pace of 13.2 kills per match, and if the Roadrunners play four postseason matches, she would finish with 1,261 kills – tied for 10^th on MSU Denver's all-time list.
 
If she duplicates last year's total of 459 kills, she would rise to eighth place at 1,312.
 
"We expect a lot more kills from her this year, so she's not done yet," Glenn said.
 
Sturges and MSU Denver (7-5 overall, 3-1 and tied for fifth in the RMAC) hit the road for matches at 7 p.m. Friday against Western State Colorado (1-12, 0-5) and Saturday at 5 p.m. against Colorado Mesa (9-4, 4-1 and tied for third).
 
"It's always fun playing anyone in the RMAC, especially after not getting the win last weekend against Regis," Sturges said.
 
Sturges' 1,000^th kill came on what appeared to be a momentum-changer – the final point of a 27-25, third-set win that put the Roadrunners ahead of their nationally-ranked foe 2-1.
 
But despite Sturges' fifth-set run of five kills that counted for MSU Denver's final five points and upped her career total to 1,011 kills, she and her teammates couldn't pick up what would have been a key early-season victory.
 
"As much as the Regis loss stung, it's time to move forward," Glenn said. "The most important match on our schedule now is Western State. That's never an easy place to play, they have a new coach and that always leads to a lot of energy, and they'll always provide a battle on their home floor."
 
And Sturges will keep swinging away.
 
"It's honestly such a good opportunity to be able to have 1,000 kills," Sturges said. "But it doesn't come without my past teammates, my current teammates, my setters and all that."