DENVER – Metropolitan State University of Denver got a little bit of everything Saturday in an easy 3-0 win over Black Hills State.
The Roadrunners hit a season-best .319 as a team.
Five players at least six kills, and it wasn't necessary for anyone to have more than 10.
Santaisha Sturges (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) hit a season-best .529, with a match-high 10 kills.
Alyssa Kelling (Merton, Wis./Arrowhead) hit .583 with eight kills.
The list could go on, but let's just stop there.
"This was a really good night from start to finish," MSU Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said.
After a disappointing road loss last weekend to Colorado Mesa – which doesn't look quite as troubling now that Mesa also beat nationally-ranked Regis and stands second in the league at 8-1 – MSU Denver (10-6 overall, 6-2 and fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) completed a relatively easy two-match weekend home sweep of South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Black Hills State.
There was the matter of having to go four sets in Friday's win, but that might be nitpicking.
"This was a great team win for us," said libero
Caiden Rexius (Eaton, Colo./Eaton), who had a match-high 15 digs. "We've been trying to stay consistent throughout a whole match, and I think tonight just showed how we're coming together. We had good energy, and we finished each set, didn't have a lull, and our momentum is building."
In the 25-19, 25-8, 25-19 win, MSU Denver hit .424 in the opening set and .387 in the second set. In fact, midway through the second set the Roadrunners' hitting percentage for the match had soared to .487.
Sturges was a big part of the equation.
"It doesn't come without the rest of the team," Sturges said. "I can't get a kill without the setters pushing the ball out, can't get a dig without the blockers."
Black Hills State (5-10, 2-6) hit .040 for the match, including -.045 for the final two sets.
So, after weekend of re-charging, the Roadrunners are set for a Utah road trip next weekend that includes a Saturday showdown with Dixie State (12-3, 7-1 and third in the RMAC).
"It was a great win, a great team win, and a step that we needed to take as a group," Glenn said. "But I have a list for (practice) Monday, and we need to be determined to fix those things.
"We have a big week next week and we need to continue to get better. This was a really good week for us improving from a blocking standpoint, and our offense was a focal point. We took big strides in those areas. So now we have our next steps on our to-do list."
