DENVER – Apparently, Alyssa Kelling has a really good sticky note on the mirror in her bathroom.
 
And it's not just a good sticky note because it has stayed attached since August.
 
No, it's a good sticky note because of the motivation it provides.
 
"It says, 'Last shot, give it your all,'" Kelling said. "So each game, each practice, whether something good or bad happened, I try to reflect on it. This is my last go at it. What I give to my teammates and how I approach each match, how I respond to situations, I try to use that. It's a big motivator."
 
The MSU Denver volleyball program's lone senior is set to play her final regular-season home weekend with matches Friday at 7 p.m. against South Dakota Mines on Parents Night and Saturday at 5 p.m. – on Senior Night – against Black Hills State.
 
The Roadrunners (17-6 overall, 12-2 and second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) still have much to play for, with a road trip next week for two matches against Chadron State to conclude the regular season, then the RMAC Tournament, and then a potential trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
So this doesn't seem like the end of an era. But it's a time to recognize a senior who isn't ready to stop any time soon.
 
"This whole season has been weird, because I know I'm a senior, but I don't think about being a senior and this being the end of it," Kelling said. "Everyone says to me, 'Senior Night is coming up, that's so exciting,' and my entire family is coming out, but at the same time it doesn't feel like it's coming to an end. It just seems like it's another game."
 
Kelling, a fifth-year senior middle blocker, has career totals of 305 block assists (fifth in program history) and 342 total blocks (10^th) while averaging 0.98 blocks per set (10^th).
 
This season she is averaging 1.11 blocks per set while averaging a career-best 1.9 blocks per set and has compiled a career-high .341 hitting percentage.
 
But it takes more than numbers to explain Kelling's contributions.
 
"She's been a joy to coach," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "She's one of the most responsible, determined, reliable, trustworthy athletes I've ever coached. I can't say enough about her character and who she is as a person.
 
"And, from the on-court perspective, her experience, and her ability to be analytical and see the game almost through a coach's eyes – she has a high volleyball IQ and can identify the hitters in a rotation and remember it from rotation to rotation – in a lot of ways I look to her experience throughout the course of a match, to help the other middle along, and to make good decisions within a rally. It's awesome to have that kind of personality and experience in that role for us."
 
Evidence of Kelling's character comes in the classroom, where she carries a 3.91 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in human performance and sport. Last week, she (along with teammate Jessa Megenhardt) was named the RMAC's Co-Academic Player of the Year.
 
"Whatever she does, she does with excellence," Glenn said. "If she's in the classroom, being a teammate or being a friend, she's going to do it to the best of her ability."
 
Said Kelling: "This program values academics. And obviously, with me working towards getting into graduate school, it's pushed my academics that much further. I know that I need to succeed and do well, and I want to do that for myself. Being recognized for the work that I've put in – and Jessa, too – over the years and getting that award is really cool."
 
Not only is Kelling the team's only senior, she is a fifth-year senior, thus she is two years older than her next-oldest teammates.
 
"Everyone calls me the mom of the team, and some of them call me the grandma of the team," Kelling said. "But it does allow me to have a lot of perspective, whether it's about the teams that we play or what the coaches are asking for from us."
 
Right now, the coaches are asking the Roadrunners to fine-tune their game after letting back-to-back matches slip away against quality opponents from Colorado School of Mines and Regis.
 
"We're actually playing pretty good volleyball right now, but we're just not taking care of the little things," Glenn said. "When you play good teams, those little things get you. We've just got to get back to our roots."
 
South Dakota Mines is 10-14 overall and 6-9 in the RMAC, but the Hardrockers have pulled a couple of major surprises this season, winning against Colorado School of Mines and well as defeating MSU Denver back on Oct. 12.
 
Black Hills State is only 11-12 overall but is 9-6 for sixth place in the RMAC.
 
"Our next four matches are against teams who are in the mix for postseason," Glenn said. "I'm sure everyone wants to play South Dakota Mines again and hopefully have a better performance against them. And Black Hills is playing aggressive, and well, and is a dangerous team that does a lot of different things offensively. Then we head back on the road to play Chadron State back-to-back at their place."
 
Looking back on her career, Kelling recalls coming in nervous as a freshman, playing against college players for the first time while coming off an injury. While redshirting that year, she watched Stephanie Laraway and Vasati Fiatoa play the position.
 
"Even though I wasn't the one playing, I think you learn just as much on the side as you do playing," she said. "I learned so much from Steph and Vasati, and I learned what it meant to be a good teammate. I learned that we all have roles on the team, and no role is more important than any other.
 
"Being able to accept your role, taking pride in it, and working as hard as you can to improve and give to your team is a lesson that I learned."