LAKEWOOD, Colo. – MSU Denver cruised a 3-0 sweep of Colorado Christian on Saturday and improved to 4-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2016.
 
Alyssa Kelling had six kills and nine blocks (one solo) while hitting .357, and Kayla White added six kills, four service aces and 14 digs for the Roadrunners in the 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 victory.
 
The win, combined with Colorado Mesa's win over Dixie State, put the Roadrunners alone in first place in the RMAC.
 
"It's still really early in the season, so we'll stick to our one match at a time mantra and look to the next match," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "All eyes are on Colorado Mesa, and that's going to be a good one to play at home. It's a good opportunity to see how we match up with them."
 
Coming off a victory Friday at 12^th-ranked Regis, MSU Denver (9-3 overall) had no letdown on Saturday against the Cougars (5-8, 1-4).
 
"It wasn't a super clean match, but we battled and found a way to win in three, which is a good thing," Glenn said of Saturday's match. "They'll frustrate you by digging a lot of balls. But we found a way to win after coming off an emotional match Friday, and getting it done in three shows some maturity."
 
After hitting .241 with advantages of 3-1 in aces and 5-1 in blocks in the first set, the Roadrunners fell behind 15-10 in the second set. But they closed the frame with a 15-6 burst. MSU Denver then hit .310 in the final set to pick up a fifth straight victory.
 
MSU Denver held the Cougars to .054 hitting for the match and built a 12-7 margin in blocks.
 
"It was kind off an off-kilter match as a whole, but I continue to be proud of our group for maintaining composure," Glenn said. "We have continually shown that we can be five points behind and it doesn't rattle us. Usually we come up with a couple of aces to close the gap for us. There's just no panic when this group is down."
 
Avaline Lai had seven kills, Rylee Hladky had six kills and a team-best 16 digs, and Mikayla McClinton added six kills while hitting .308 for the Roadrunners, who play host to Colorado Mesa at 7 p.m. Friday in a rematch of last year's RMAC Tournament final, and then to Western Colorado at 4 p.m. Saturday.