DENVER – Every win counts.
 
And so, coming off four straight wins over nationally-ranked teams, No. 6 MSU Denver hit the court again Saturday and did what it needed to do to sweep Fort Lewis 3-0 at the Auraria Event Center.
 
"It's been a grueling three or four weeks with the competition we've played," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We're at the end of that stretch and we probably weren't our sharpest today, but we got the win in three and that's a good thing."
 
MSU Denver (8-2 overall, 2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) hit a blistering .365 and had six service aces, but was generally blasé about its performance in the 25-20, 25-12, 25-23 victory that dropped Fort Lewis to 1-5 and 1-1.
 
"It was definitely a slower-paced game, so we were trying to speed it up on our side," right-side hitter Alexis Benda said. "It never really worked out, so we just had to finish and get the win. That's something we know we have to work on."
 
The pace of play was noticeably different than last week at the Colorado Premier Challenge, where the Roadrunners in succession swept past then-No. 10 Central Missouri and then-No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) before beating then-No. 17 Wayne State (Neb.) in a five-set final. Similar speed was in evidence in a Thursday win at No. 24 Colorado Mesa. The Roadrunners played two other teams currently ranked in the top 25 the week before, and scrimmaged No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney the week before that.
 
"It was kind of hard to adjust, just because of the teams we've played in the last week," setter Amela Qershia said. "Fort Lewis plays a little slower, but we found it a little bit. But it was a good win for us, and that's what matters."
 
National Player of the Week Avaline Lai bounced back from a bit of an off night Thursday and had 12 kills on .421 hitting while adding three blocks. Rylee Hladky had 12 kills on .455 hitting and picked up 10 digs while serving three aces.
 
Benda continued her senior surge with eight kills on .429 hitting, and Qershia set 21 assists while adding three service aces.
 
After working her way back from injury through the course of the spring season, Benda is now third on the team with both 2.6 kills per set and a .293 hitting percentage.
 
"I'm definitely playing the best I ever have in my career here," Benda said. "I worked really hard with personal trainers over the summer, because I wanted to make my last year my best year. I'm really proud of how I've been performing, and of the leadership aspect of being able to help my team even if I'm not performing."
 
Said Glenn: "She's having an awesome year, not just on the court but from a leadership perspective and in all aspects. People don't really see what she does for our program. Being a fifth-year, she's been part of our leadership for a few years and has a lot of experience, has seen a lot of different situations. She's really motivated this year with her crew of leaders to do something special."
 
Qershia played sparingly as a true freshman in the spring for a Roadrunners team that carries four talented setters. Opportunity came as part of MSU Denver's 6-2 rotation this fall, and she has made the most of it with co-starter Jessa Megenhardt.
 
"I feel great, and my teammates and coaches are very supportive," Qershia said. "It's been awesome."
 
Qershia leads the team with 6.0 assists per set (Megenhardt is at 5.7) and shares the team lead in aces with Hladky (18 total, 0.46 per set).
 
"She's doing a great job," Glenn said. "She understands how to give her hitters good opportunities. She understands how to run a fast offense and how to slow it down. She's doing a really nice job after getting thrown into the deep end and she hasn't missed a beat."
 
Said Benda: "We have four really good setters who can always play, and Amela has definitely jumped in and risen up. We really needed her, and she met the challenge. She's been playing awesome. She's so feisty. Her energy is really noticeable."
 
MSU Denver will be looking to keep its energy next week in road matches against UCCS on Friday and CSU-Pueblo on Saturday.
 
"We're going to keep grinding and putting a lot of work in," Qershia said. "It's going to be a long season and were looking forward to making a lot of good improvements. We're going to work hard and grind."
 
With an exciting stretch of high-level victories in the past, MSU Denver is also looking to continue to make progress.
 
"Rest and recovery for us is incredibly important," Glenn said. "We've played a lot of high-level sets of volleyball over the last few weeks. But at the same time, we want to train hard enough to stay sharp, stay engaged, and stay in rhythm with our offensive and defensive systems."
 
Said Benda: "It's a really good feeling. We all have kind of a different vibe about us now. We have all the confidence in the world that we can take down anyone, and we're ready for the challenge. We're still trying to keep the mentality of 'we haven't arrived yet, we have things to work on.' But it's been a really good feeling for sure."