DENVER – MSU Denver exorcised its demons in a Sept. 16 match at Colorado Mesa, avenging a loss it suffered in Grand Junction, Colo., and winning on the floor where it was also upset by Colorado School of Mines in last year's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
But you can never relax for long it seems.
Colorado Mesa comes to the Auraria Event Center for a 7 p.m. match Friday hoping to return the favor against an MSU Denver team that has risen to No. 2 in the NCAA Division II rankings.
"Typically you would say that the team that lost has the advantage in making adjustments," MSU Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said. "But I think it was a close enough battle (MSU Denver won 3-1) that both teams have a lot of good data to take into that next match. They're a well-coached team, so they're going to make good adjustments, and we need to do that as well."
The match with Mesa is the focal point of Homecoming Week at MSU Denver and includes a pre-match tailgate on the quad between the Auraria Event Center and the Tivoli beginning and 5 p.m., and post-match fireworks at the same location.
Also on tap this weekend is a 3 p.m. match Saturday against Westminster and Saturday night's MSU Denver Athletics Hall of Fame induction of former volleyball coach Debbie Hendricks and former athletic director (and volleyball coach) Joan McDermott.
"It's a big weekend for volleyball," Glenn said. "We have two important matches, and with Debbie and Joan being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those are two coaches who have paved the way for what this team is currently doing. It's a really cool opportunity for us to celebrate with them and thank them for everything they've done for MSU Denver volleyball over the years."
Where the MSU Denver volleyball team is now is tied for the highest ranking in program history (Hendricks' 2003 team was also No. 2) and on an eight-match winning streak that has put the Roadrunners at 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Mesa was No. 24 nationally in the first meeting and, though currently unranked, is still very dangerous at 8-3 and 3-1. Westminster is 3-9 and 1-3.
In accordance with MSU Denver campus protocols, all fans in attendance at the indoor venue will be required to wear masks regardless of their vaccination status.
Avaline Lai leads the Roadrunners with a .341 hitting percentage,
Rylee Hladky averages team bests of 4.1 points and 3.5 kills per set,
Amela Qershia leads the team in assists per set (6.1) and shares the team lead with Hladky in aces per set (0.45),
Ashlyn Cianciulli averages a team-best 4.4 digs per set and
Ember Canty leads the team with 0.98 blocks per set.
Though MSU Denver is flying high and took care of business against Mesa in a four-set first matchup, Glenn isn't concerned about any sort of letdown this weekend.
"We understand that everyone across the net from us right now is going to be a good opponent and is going to challenge us in different ways," she said. "I really like where our heads are. We're not getting caught up in the wrong things. Our heads are on straight and we're focused on things we need to focus on. We're doing that really well right now."
The Roadrunners' only losses have come in matches in which they have held two match points. But they overcame two match points against them to survive at CSU-Pueblo in their most recent match. That experience of playing the clutch (MSU Denver is 3-2 in five-set matches this season) could be a factor against Mesa.
"Since we've played them, we've gone through some situations that have really helped us grow," Glenn said. "We're a different team stepping on the court than we were two weeks ago."
After the post-match fireworks Friday, the Roadrunners are hoping the show will carry over into Saturday's match.
"Westminster is a solid team with a lot of players back from their roster last year," Glenn said. "They'll be a team that does things a little bit differently from an offensive standpoint, and they tend to be very scrappy on defense. We need to attack in the right areas, but they will definitely be hard to score against if we don't execute well."
