DENVER – Anything can happen in postseason play, so despite some uneven moments, MSU Denver is happy to advance after sweeping Black Hills State 3-0 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
"We have some things to iron out, and it wasn't our cleanest match by any stretch, but we got it done in three, which is what I'm proudest of from this group," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said. "We could have easily dropped a set tonight, but we didn't."
The RMAC's other three first-round matchups went at least four sets, including a five-set match in which No. 4 seed Colorado School of Mines outlasted fifth-seeded Colorado Mesa.
Even Regis, ranked No. 5 in the country in NCAA Division II, dropped a set to eighth-seeded UCCS, a team which entered the tournament at 10-16 overall.
The second-seeded Roadrunners, 22-6 overall, advance to a 5 p.m. semifinal Friday against third-seeded Dixie State (20-7). That match, which will be played at Regis, will hold RMAC and South Central Regional implications – MSU Denver is ranked only eighth in the region, while Dixie State is No. 9. Eight teams, including tournament champions from the RMAC and Lone Star Conference, advance to the regional.
To get to the RMAC semifinals, MSU Denver posted a fifth straight sweep, with two of them coming against Black Hills State.
"We've played some teams that we match up well against," Glenn said. "We keep battling through little adversities here and there and we keep bouncing back from them."
Tuesday's 25-19, 25-22, 25-21 victory wasn't as dominant as the 25-14, 25-18, 25-16 win back on Nov. 9, which was on MSU Denver's Senior Night. Black Hills State, which was 10-8 in league play, saw its season come to an end at 12-15 overall.
"I thought they played a great match," Glenn said. "They came at us significantly more than the first two times we played them. (MSU Denver also swept the Yellow Jackets on the road on Oct. 11.)
"They got us out of system all night, and we were having trouble getting them out of system. They run a really fast offense, specifically outside, that is hard to defend."
Avaline Lai, the reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, hit .500 or better for a third straight match, with 11 kills and two errors in 18 attacks. She also added three block assists.
But she also saw a more determined foe on Tuesday.
"They definitely came out more feisty," said Lai, named All-RMAC first team earlier Tuesday. "They had nothing to lose and they were just playing as hard as they could. So props to them, because they are a good team and playing like that just makes us better. It definitely made us have to work more to get our kills."
Freshman
Kaylee Corsentino added a career-best eight kills in her most significant playing time of the season.
"She did a good job stepping in," Glenn said. "She had a really good stretch at the beginning. She's a competitor, and when she steps on the floor, she can rise up in those scenarios."
Said Corsentino: "I just knew I needed to step up, to go out and take big swings, and that was my mindset."
Alexis Benda added seven kills and All-RMAC first-team selection
Alyssa Kelling hit .500 with five kills.
Jessa Megenhardt and
Joli Sadler each had 17 assists and a service ace, while
Ember Canty continued her strong late-season play at the net with five block assists.
Caiden Rexius had a team-high 15 digs.
Black Hills State had hit -.083 in its last meeting with the Roadrunners in MSU Denver's best defensive effort since 2011, but despite playing better Tuesday still managed to hit only .008. The Roadrunners have held five straight opponents below .100 hitting.
"We're just playing together and we're focused on our mission right now," Lai said. "We're realizing it's one team at a time, one match at a time, and not looking ahead. That's helping us play as a unit."
