DENVER – Three key pieces of the top-ranked MSU Denver volleyball team will play their final regular-season home matches this weekend.
 
Right-side hitters Kaylee Corsentino and Kelsey Gordon, as well as libero Ashlyn Cianciulli, will go through Senior Day ceremonies prior to Saturday's 4 p.m. match against Fort Lewis. Prior to that is a 7 p.m. matchup Friday against Western Colorado.
 
Since joining the program for the 2019 season, Corsentino and Cianciulli have been part of teams that have gone a combined 87-15 overall and 59-3 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season play.
 
Gordon, who joined the program this season as a graduate transfer, received All-America honorable mention accolades last season while leading Washburn (Kan.) to the Division II championship match.
 
"It's hard to talk about them as a group, because Ashlyn and Kaylee have been with us for four years and Kelsey is new," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "It's been an honor to walk alongside Ashlyn and Kaylee and see their growth over their careers here, to see their maturity and to see them battle through in different roles to get where they are now. And it's incredible to see them finishing their careers at the top of their games.
 
"And I'm even more proud of their growth off the court. To see where they were as freshman to now in terms of maturity and leadership, how they interact with their teammates, and to see the women they've become … I'm really proud of that.
 
"Kelsey has obviously been a great addition who has fit into our program really well in the short amount of time she's been here. She came in and did a great job of assimilating into Roadrunner volleyball, and she obviously had a wealth of experience and talent. To see how she has connected with her teammates and share her competitive joy and love for the game – that has seeped into our players. It's a bummer because it feels like she just got started."
 
Corsentino and Gordon have shared the front-row rotation at the right-side hitter position this season. Corsentino is fourth on the team with 2.2 kills per set while hitting .265, while Gordon is fifth with 2.1 kills per set and second among regular hitters with a .335 hitting percentage. Gordon is third on the team with 0.77 blocks per set, with Corsentino is sixth among regulars at 0.42.
 
Meanwhile Cianciulli is 15^th in program history in digs (1,158) and ninth in digs per set (3.7). She's sixth in the RMAC this season with 4.2 digs per set.
 
"One of the biggest areas of Ashlyn's growth has been her composure," Glenn said. "She has a really fun, goofy, lively personality and she's always a joy to be around, on and off the court. And to see her be able to reign that in and turn serious and how she controls the court and to have presence, to shut down hitters – she can take half the court sometimes from defensive range perspective."
 
Corsentino, originally recruited as a left-side hitter, where she still played on occasion last season, now has 379 career kills, including 160 this year.
 
"What originally struck us about her is her arm speed," Glenn said. "She hits that ball so hard – there's a different sound to it. At her tryout, we put a huge block in front of her, and she never backed down. To see that perseverance and that grittiness, and to see where she's gone and the way she's playing now, has been very special."
 
Gordon, meanwhile, had 777 kills at Washburn and is up to 925 after slamming another 148 as a Roadrunner.
 
"We're fortunate she chose to finish her career at MSU Denver, and she's obviously a force to be reckoned with on the court," Glenn said. "We ask all our athletes to continue to grow as players until their last day in the program, and she's doing that. Even in the last couple of weeks we've seen her settle into the way we give feedback and continue to grow."
 
Meanwhile, the Roadrunners are growing somewhat used to being ranked No. 1 in the country.
 
They were there for five weeks during the regular season last year before making the one-rung promotion to No. 1 again this past week. Certainly the buzz outside the program turned up significantly over the past week, but for most of the last three regular seasons, the Roadrunners have been ranked in the top five in the country, so in that sense not much has changed.
 
"It's an honor to get the respect we are getting from coaches around in the country," Glenn said. "But ultimately our mission isn't to be ranked No. 1 in the middle of the year, it's to be ranked there at the end. It's great to get that recognition, but we won't accomplish our mission unless we continue to work hard to stay on the track that we're on, to take the steps we need to be taking for a shot at end of the season."