DENVER – No. 2 MSU Denver gave up 17 points in the first set Friday night. And then gave up 17 points the rest of the way.
 
On a night when the Roadrunners stayed focused on the task at hand – rather than peeking ahead to Saturday's matchup with No. 6 Colorado School of Mines – and on a night when national No. 1 Washburn (Kan.) was knocked off, MSU Denver showed that it was ready for the Saturday showdown and whatever might come after it by sweeping Chadron State 25-17, 25-4, 25-13.
 
"We always talk about attitude, effort and focus – the things you can control," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "And this group is doing a really good job with that. They respect their opponent every time we step on the court."
 
Alexis Benda had 12 kills on .556 hitting and Ember Canty had eight kills on .800 hitting as the Roadrunners – or, Correcaminos, since it was Hispanic Heritage Night – hit a season-best .422 for the program's most efficient offensive night since hitting .427 against Adams State in 2013.
 
Benda was more prominent in the Correcaminos' offense and had just two errors in 18 attacks.
 
"I feel confident on both pins," Benda said. "And it's nice to try different lineups based on what we have and what we need."
 
Canty had kills on her first seven attacks while posting season-best hitting for an MSU Denver player with at least five kills. She also added five blocks.
 
"It was nice to try some new things, and it's nice to have this one under our belt going into tomorrow," Canty said.
 
Saturday's 5 p.m. match is a "Get The Red Out Night," with all Roadrunners fans encouraged to wear red. In accordance with MSU Denver campus policy, all fans are required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.
 
MSU Denver is 15-2 overall and 9-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and has won 13 straight matches, 14 straight home matches (dating to 2019) and 14 straight regular-season RMAC matches dating to the spring season.
 
Colorado School of Mines is 16-1 and 9-0 and the Orediggers were the only team – prior to No. 9 Northwest Missouri State on Friday – to defeat Washburn.
 
"We'll do our scout in the morning and get ready for Colorado School of Mines," Glenn said. "We've played a lot of ranked opponents and Colorado School of Mines does some things differently that we'll have to prepare for. But it's a great opportunity on our home floor to play a fun match."
 
Said Canty: "Our focus is always on the first opponent, what is the battle ahead of us. Now that this battle (against Chadron State) is won, it's on to the next one."
 
MSU Denver stayed locked in against Chadron State (4-12, 2-7), particularly in the 25-4 second set.
 
The 21-point margin is the biggest in a set during the 25-point rally scoring era for MSU Denver, easily surpassing a 25-7 set win over Millersville (Pa.) on Aug. 28, 2009.
 
"It was all about serving," Glenn said. "We went on really long runs from the service line, and that's how you win sets by that margin."
 
Said Benda: "I've never been a part of anything like that."
 
Jessa Megenhardt had all three of her aces during the set and eventually finished with a team-best 11 digs. Ashlyn Cianciulli also had three of the Roadrunners' nine aces.
 
Avaline Lai had nine kills on .333 hitting and Rylee Hladky had eight kills and hit .300.
 
Amela Qershia had 21 assists and Megenhardt added 16.
 
"We need a good job tonight, especially at the service line," Glenn said. "We served bullets at them and got them rattled and out of system. It made the match short (64 minutes), and that was nice."