DENVER – Who will come up big for the MSU Denver volleyball team?
 
It depends on the weekend. And that's a very good thing.
 
"Positionally, one time our left-sides step up, then our rights, and then our middles," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "That's awesome, because sometimes it's just about matchups on the other side. But all positions have been able to execute for us. That makes us difficult to defend."
 
So, stay tuned this weekend as the Roadrunners play Friday in a 7 p.m. match at Black Hills State and Saturday in a 3 p.m. match at South Dakota Mines.
 
Last week's breakout performer?
 
That was Alexis Benda, who had 22 kills, including a match-high 13 while hitting .440 with a match-high 14.5 points in a sweep of Colorado Mesa, as the Roadrunners improved to 6-0 in league play with two wins. Colorado Mesa was picked to finish second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"Everyone is going to do their job," Benda said. "We're not relying on just a couple of people. There's a lot of trust among everyone. Everyone is able to keep their cool, isn't on an island because they aren't performing the way they want. We're super hard to defend because anybody can have a big night on any given night."
 
Through 14 matches for MSU Denver (11-3 overall), Benda is second on the team with an average of 2.6 kills per set. She also ranks third with an average of 0.69 blocks per set.
 
Last weekend Benda also had three block assists against Mesa, and had a solo block and two assists to share a match-high with three blocks in a win over Western Colorado, when she added nine more kills.
 
For the weekend Benda hit .362 while averaging 3.7 kills per set.
 
"She's been pretty consistent all year for us," Glenn said. "I think the most impressive thing is that she's a left-side who has been playing on the right for two years, who trained back on the left this spring, and then went straight back to the right this year. Her versatility is something special. She doesn't miss a beat on either side.
 
"One of her greatest strengths is her blocking. She's excellent at lining up as a blocker. And her ability to mix up her shots keeps growing."
 
Benda, now a junior, said she focused on being more consistent this season by being more confident.
 
"My freshman and sophomore years, consistency was a big topic – I'd hit .400 one game and hit negative the next," she said. "A lot of it was mental, and not thinking I could perform all the time.
 
"This season I came in with a mentality that I was going to 'Ball out' and play as hard as I could all the time. A lot of it comes with being older. As a junior and senior, volleyball is starting to come to a close, so I want to leave it all out there. A lot of it had to do with confidence, just believing in myself and knowing that I can compete with everyone."
 
Despite starring at Onate High School in Las Cruces, N.M., where she would rank second in Class 6-A with 4.6 kills per set as a senior, Benda had been overlooked as a potential recruit heading into her senior season in the summer of 2016.
 
"I had just gone to my club coach in a panic, telling him my senior year was coming and I didn't have anywhere to go," Benda said.
 
The timing was good, because at the same time her club coach was sending out a mass email to his college coaching connections, Glenn – the new MSU Denver coach – was reaching out to her club coaching connections.
 
"I told them that it was kind of late and I wanted to know if any of them knew of anyone," Glenn said. "He got back to me about her."
 
Soon Benda was on campus for a camp, and she had an offer from Glenn when the camp ended. Then, before getting out of the Denver area – she remembers she was near the IKEA on Interstate 25 – she called Glenn back to accept.
 
"I absolutely loved it," Benda said. "I loved the location, the program and what it stood for. I could tell Jenny was making a huge impact on the program even though she was new."
 
Benda averaged 1.8 kills per set as a freshman and 1.4 last year. In addition to bumping her production up this season, she's also hitting a career-best .225.
 
"I think I've done a good job of being able to provide for my team, despite how I might be playing," Benda said. "Even if I'm not on my best game, I think I've been able to find a way to help out."
 
She's been able to do all that despite bouncing back-and-forth between right-side and left-side hitter throughout her career.
 
"She has one of our best serves, too, but we aren't able to use her serve because we're in a 6-2," Glenn said.
 
Though the Roadrunners have, essentially – because they beat 6-1 Regis – a 1 1/2-match lead on their nearest RMAC competitors, they aren't taking this weekend lightly.
 
Black Hills State is only 6-8 overall, but is part of a four-way tie for third place in the league at 5-2. South Dakota Mines is only 7-9 and 3-4 but also won at Colorado School of Mines – which is still nationally ranked – last weekend.
 
"We know that if you don't take care of your business, any team in the RMAC can beat you," Benda said. "So these are no bigger or smaller than any other match. We don't think we've got it all figured out. We know we can't walk in there and just expect to come out with a win."