DENVER, Colo. – MSU Denver tried to turn the NCAA Division II South Central Regional volleyball tournament upset down, and the Roadrunners nearly did and went down swinging until the end.
 
MSU Denver (23-8), seeded only eighth in the region despite finishing second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in both the regular season and the post-season tournament, showed no fear in battling top-seeded tournament host and national No. 11 Regis (26-4) to the end in a thrilling five-set battle before a raucous crowd that included a strong contingent of Roadurnnners fans Thursday night at the Regis Field House.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of my team tonight," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We battled hard and we emptied our tanks, which is something we wanted to do. We fought in a lot of different areas. We were a little inefficient at times, but that was a really good Regis team that I thought played some of its best volleyball of the year against us."
 
Regis' 3-2 win (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 15-10) came only after the Roadrunners came to life and controlled the third and fourth sets, hitting .271 during those two periods after compiling a hitting percentage of just .108 for the first two frames.
 
"At that point, our team brought it in and we talked about just playing for each other, and there was really nothing left to be fearful of," said senior middle blocker Alyssa Kelling, who closed her career fourth on the school's all-time block assists list with 332 and ranks eighth with 371 total blocks. "It was do or die at that point, so we just came out with a really aggressive mindset and played for each other. We had a lot of fun in those last three sets."
 
Led by some scintillating swings by freshman Rylee Hladky, the Roadrunners hit .556 in taking a 9-4 lead third-set lead. Once Alexis Benda made a kick save during a rally that gave MSU Denver a 12-7 lead, it was clear that the momentum had changed.
 
"It was a serving game at the beginning, and they served us really aggressively," Glenn said. "It comes down to that a lot of times between our teams, serve and pass. We started serving more aggressively coming out of the break, which opened up the match a little more. Instead of being on our heels constantly, we were able to get them out of system a little more and we were in system a little more. We weren't running our offense to its full potential at the beginning of the match."
 
In the fourth set, MSU Denver reeled off an 8-1 run to take a 17-9 lead and it became even more clear that this match – supposedly the biggest mismatch in the opening round – would be going five sets. MSU Denver had plenty of confidence after beating the Rangers in the same building earlier this season.
 
"It was a great environment tonight between two cross-town rivals," Glenn said. "It would have been nice to have faced them a little later in the tournament. This is what it's all about. To have the gym full with our fans there, both teams playing well and playing hard. You can't ask for more from an experience standpoint for these programs."
 
MSU Denver led 5-4 in the fifth, but Regis scored the next five points for a 9-5 advantage. Back came the Roadrunners, with a kill from Kelling and then back-to-back putaways by Kayla White, who was tremendous with a match-high 17 kills.
 
"There's a lot of love and passion on this team, and everyone can see it when we're on the floor," White said. "We're playing for each together and trusting each other. For us to come back, it says a lot about this team. We had our backs against the wall and we put our teammates on our backs and we went running with it."
 
Regis, though, had just enough to hold off the Roadrunners and advance to the second round. Both Regis and No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines are now two wins away from playing for the national championship in their hometown – MSU Denver will host the Elite Eight at the Auraria Event Center from Dec. 12 through 14.
 
White, who also had 12 digs, joined Hladky (13 kills, 20 digs) with double-doubles for the Roadrunners. Avaline Lai had 14 kills on .333 hitting to go along with four blocks, while Joli Sadler had 27 assists and two service aces.
 
Everyone is back next season for the Roadrunners, with the exception of Kelling.
 
"I talked about it in the locker room (after the match) with the team," Kelling said. "I am so excited for what the team is going to bring next year, because it's such a young team. Their potential is unmatchable. We had a handful of freshmen on the court playing tonight, and you couldn't tell they were freshmen. They handled themselves with such composure, with so much energy and an aggressive mindset."
 
Glenn said MSU Denver's 20^th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament was the culmination of a young team growing into its potential.
 
"I didn't know what to expect with this group," she said. "But I knew what MSU Denver volleyball does. I knew the culture and the legacy that we have, and I know the kids we had in the gym and their character. So I knew we could do things.
 
"You never know when you're switching positions and you have six new players out of 13. Our upperclassmen did an amazing job of on-boarding our new people and that was critical in our success this year. If they hadn't, we wouldn't have had the success we did. To get back here for the 20^th straight season, to go toe-to-toe with this team in the joust match (MSU Denver won the first match, Regis the second) with this team, says a lot for this group and for our potential for the future."
 
Said White: "We gained experience, because we are a young team. And we'll use the feeling we have now to fuel us for next year."