DENVER – It has all come down to this.
After three months of volleyball, a 24-match winning streak, five weeks as the No. 1 team in the country and an 18-0 run through conference play, MSU Denver's biggest step comes this weekend at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.
The Roadrunners, now No. 3 in the country after losing to Colorado School of Mines in five sets in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament championship match, are the regional's top seed and will host the three-day, seven match extravaganza at the Auraria Event Center.
MSU Denver's first-round match is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against CSU-Pueblo and will be the last of four matches on the day.
"I'm really proud of what this team has done up to this point," MSU Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said. "This is the time where we get to enjoy it – take it a day at a time and enjoy the moment, enjoy the journey. There have been so many obstacles this year, and regardless of any outcome, this team has been special in 100 ways."
The tournament starts at noon Thursday, with third seed Colorado Mesa facing sixth seed Texas-Tyler. At 2:30, second seed Mines faces seventh seed West Texas A&M in a matchup of conference tournament champions (RMAC and Lone Star, respectively). Before MSU Denver takes the floor, there is also a 5 p.m. match with fourth seed Angelo State (Texas) facing fifth seed Regis.
Behind MSU Denver (26-3) in the national rankings, Mines is No. 8, Angelo State is No. 11 and Texas-Tyler is 22
nd. Among teams receiving votes, Mesa is 26
th, West Texas A&M is 27
th and Colorado Mesa is 28
th. CSU-Pueblo also received votes.
The ThunderWolves represent an intriguing first-round opponent for MSU Denver. They held two match points against the Roadrunners before falling in five sets in Pueblo, Colo., in September. CSU-Pueblo has since lost two 3-1 decisions in Denver, on Nov. 11 and Nov. 19.
Now the teams will square off for the third time in 22 days.
"There's only so much you can do to prepare to play against CSU-Pueblo when you're playing them for the third time in three weeks," Glenn said. "So it's been about us focusing on us and making sure we step into the tournament strong and unified and well-prepared."
Often times, the postseason is an opportunity to see a new opponent. But in the regional-centric world of Division II, first-round postseason rematches are common.
"There are pros and cons to both," Glenn said. "And we'll take whomever we have across the net from us. We know a lot about them, and they know a lot about us. It's always nice to see a new face at this point in the year, to see a team from the Lone Star, but we're also happy to be playing at home and whoever is on the other side of the bracket, we'll play."
