DENVER – It may not have been pretty, and it definitely wasn't perfect, but it was without question a quality win for the MSU Denver volleyball team Friday night.
 
The Roadrunners, technically in second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, earned a 3-1 win over third-place Dixie State, but only after staging an improbable first-set rally and then bouncing back from a second-set defeat.
 
"It was a fast-paced, highly-emotional game, and Dixie brings that energy," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "They came at us, and we were just kind of holding on for dear life before we found a way to kind of push back. It was a fun match. Even though it wasn't a very clean match in some areas, it was a fun match."
 
The Roadrunners (13-4 overall, 8-1 RMAC) found themselves trailing 22-14 in the opening set before scoring 11 of the next 12 points to close out the Trailblazers (12-6, 7-3).
 
"We talked to each other in every huddle, and we said, 'We fight for every point, one point at a time,'" said middle blocker Alyssa Kelling said, who had 10 kills on .474 hitting. "We won't quit. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we've been pushing ourselves in practice, especially this past week, and we were ready for it."
 
But despite the way the first set ended, Dixie State won the second set 25-15, outhitting the Roadrunners .324 to .032.
 
So, at that point, the match was even, but MSU Denver had led for only two points, the final two points of the first set.
 
"Sometimes it takes us some time to figure out how we're going to adjust to teams," Glenn said. "We found some things that started to work for us. We made some tactical moves that, as time wore on, scored some points for us. We dialed in some defensive things.
 
"But when we allowed them to be in system, we felt very much on our heels and it felt like we couldn't stop them. We had to do something to take that away."
 
The Roadrunners won going away, taking the third set 25-21 and 25-15. MSU Denver hit .324 in the fourth.
 
"It's the fight mentality," freshman outside hitter Rylee Hladky said. "We're not going to quit. We're all competitive, as individuals and as a group. I think that finally showed in the third and fourth set.
 
"Dixie State was feisty, so I give them credit. They were all over place. They made it fun."
 
Hladky led the way for MSU Denver, matching a career high with 16 kills, coming up one short of a career best with 15 digs and adding four blocks (one solo). She also hit a solid .297 against a Trailblazers team that entered the night leading the RMAC in blocks at 2.5 per set.
 
"She stayed really composed," Glenn said, noting Hladky's six-rotation steadiness. "She was really solid in the passing lanes, and she did a really good job of attacking high – and that's where we found most of our kills from both left sides. She keeps it simple and takes big swings and changes things up when she needs to."
 
MSU Denver rallied to hit .176 for the match, with Avaline Lai adding eight kills and 3.5 blocks. The sophomore was instrumental in the first-set rally, with two kills and a block assist to get it rolling. Jessa Megenhardt put the Roadrunners ahead 24-23 with back-to-back service aces, two of her four, and then Hladky and Kelling finished the set with a block.
 
For the match, Dixie State hit just .086, well below its season average of .218. MSU Denver had an advantage in blocks, 13-8.5.
 
The Roadrunners are back in action Saturday at 5 p.m., hosting Westminster (3-15, 0-10) at the Auraria Event Center.