PORTLAND, Ore. – MSU Denver completed a four-match sweep of the Concordia-Portland (Ore.) Volleyball Invitational on Saturday with straight-set wins over 20^th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona and previously unbeaten Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
Kayla White had 11 kills and Rylee Hladky had eight in the 25-22, 25-15, 25-21 win over Cal Poly Pomona, then Hladky and Alexis Benda each had eight kills in the 25-21, 25-14, 25-20 win over Cal State Monterey Bay.
 
The win over the Broncos was MSU Denver's first in five tries against ranked opponents dating to late in the 2017 season.
 
"We played a solid day of volleyball today," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "I love how this team responds to adversity. We were able to work through a lot of kinks that are always present this early in the season and we got better with each match."
 
In the opener, MSU Denver hit a blazing .476 in the first set and setting for .269 for the match. The Roadrunners had nine service aces.
 
Jessa Megenhardt set 16 assists, while Joli Sadler added 14.
 
The Roadrunners continued their strong serving in the second match, with 11 more aces against the Otters.
 
White had four service aces and Megenhardt had three.
 
"We were very aggressive from the service line and put a tremendous amount of pressure on our opponents," Glenn said.
 
The Roadrunners started hot once again in their second match, hitting .324 in the first set and .247 overall.
 
Megenhardt set 16 assists.
 
Freshman middle blocker Mikayla McClinton turned in a strong day overall with a combined seven kills and no errors in 12 attacks for a .583 hitting percentage. McClinton hit .410 for the weekend.
 
The Roadrunners featured a balanced attack all weekend, as White had 40 kills, Hladky 38 and Benda 33.
 
MSU Denver is 4-0 for the first time since 2016, and is seeking its first 5-0 start since 2011. That fifth would come in the rugged Colorado Premier next weekend, which MSU Denver co-hosts with Regis.
 
The Roadrunners play 10^th-ranked Tarleton State (Texas) at 2:30 p.m. Friday and then circle back to play ninth-ranked Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. later that night. Both matches are at the Auraria Events Center.
 
"We are looking forward to getting back in our home floor and testing ourselves next weekend at the Premier," Glenn said.