DENVER – No matter how good Rylee Hladky was at basketball, and she was really good, she just couldn't see playing four more years in college.
 
Volleyball, another sport in which she excelled, was calling to her.
 
"I've played basketball far longer than volleyball," Hladky said. "It's something that no one in our family really knew much about. But my sister and I made it ours."
 
So Hladky, the Wyoming basketball player of the year as a senior when she averaged 22.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.7 steals and 3.5 assists, politely told the schools interested in her for basketball that she was hoping to play volleyball instead.
 
"My basketball coach was surprised," Hladky said. "He was very supportive, but he wondered what I was doing."
 
The state player of the year in volleyball as a junior, Hladky went that route, even though she came from that basketball-centric family – her aunt was her high school volleyball coach, but she married into the family. Aunts and uncles coach basketball, her cousin was the two-time boys player of the year in Wyoming, and her mom played college hoops, too.
 
"She really did choose the road less traveled by playing volleyball," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "It's kind of cool that she paved her own path."
 
Hladky, despite relatively limited volleyball experience, has simply moved into a six-rotation role for the Roadrunners as a true freshman, starring for a team that has an inside track to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship and has a shot at appearing in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 20^th consecutive season.
 
Last weekend, in a key Friday night matchup against Dixie State, Hladky was arguably the best player on the floor, with a match-high 16 kills and 15 digs to go along with four blocks as she had a match-high 18.5 points. She followed that up with a solid match in a quick sweep of Westminster. As a result of her efforts, she has been named the MSU Denver Student-Athlete of the Week.
 
But who knows where Hladky (pronounced Lad-kee) would be, and what sport she would be playing, if not for attending a volleyball camp at Northern Colorado during the spring of her junior year?
 
"I told myself that if it happened, then it happened," Hladky said of her potential to play volleyball in college. "And if it didn't it was OK. I was recruited more for basketball, but I wasn't going to go down that road."
 
After the camp at Northern Colorado, Glenn got a tip about Hladky. And before long, Hladky was making plans to be a Roadrunner.
 
"I was really excited when Jenny contacted me," Hladky said.
 
And Glenn has been excited with the impact Hladky has had. Preseason injuries gave Hladky a chance to show what she could do.
 
"We had a lot of unknowns with the entire freshman class," Glenn said. "Three of the five had limited club experience or played multiple sports. And even those with a lot of club experience, we didn't know how everyone would fit in.
 
"We had some injuries, and out of necessity and with the strengths of our team, it was a better fit (for Hladky to play). Both Mikayla (McClinton) and Rylee had to go early and they proved themselves early on."
 
Despite what she had done in preseason training, Hladky was a little surprised to see the role that was in store for her.
 
"I guess I didn't really realize it until the first scrimmage, to be honest," she said. "It was hard, because I was learning all these new things. But it was really fun – I love playing volleyball all day. We got to the scrimmage and jumped right into it."
 
As the Roadrunners (14-4 overall, 9-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) head into road matches Friday 7 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo (9-11, 6-5) and Saturday at 5 p.m. at New Mexico Highlands (1-18, 0-11), Hladky is second on the team with 2.6 kills per set, third in digs at 2.5 per set, third in service aces (0.37 per set) and fifth in blocks (0.54 per set).
 
Now, as soon as she learns what she's doing, look out.
 
That's a stretch, of course, but Hladky is still learning the sport's intricacies.
 
"What I love about her is how much of a learner she is," Glenn said. "She will just keep getting better because of that. We're seeing her develop more shots as the year goes on. She's getting more confidence in her defense and passing – all areas of her game. She's getting better and better each week."
 
Said Hladky: I really like the learning aspect of it. There's so much to know about volleyball – just like basketball. A lot of the strategies of volleyball I hadn't really learned before. I love going to practice and having her explain why we're doing this or why something is happening. It's more exciting that way."
 
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners' veteran players have helped guide Hladky along.

"I've learned so much from them," Hladky said. "They work hard for me, so I work hard for them. They have a high expectation for us. 'This is the standard, and you will meet it.' I like that."
 
Her teammates like why they see from Hladky, too.
 
"She is so athletic," senior middle blocker Alyssa Kelling said. "And every time I (rotate) in, she's like, 'Kell, come on, let's go get this ball.' So she's definitely committed and into it, and she wants to play hard and win, which is awesome."
 
Said Glenn: "She's a learner. And she wants to be the best she can be. She's very driven and focused when she's in the gym. She has high expectations of herself as well, which is probably why she fits so well in our program."