GOLDEN, Colo. – No. 2 MSU Denver went into an electric environment Saturday and emerged with a 3-2 victory over No. 21 Colorado School of Mines in an epic Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball match.
 
Kaylee Corsentino knocked down a career-best 16 kills, Rylee Hladky added 13 and Kelsey Gordon and Riley Anderson each had 10 for the Roadrunners, who improved to 17-1 overall and 10-0 in the RMAC.
 
Playing at Mines' old venue – the intimate Volk Gymnasium – MSU Denver started strong in winning the first set while hitting .355. But Mines rallied and pushed the Roadrunners to the limit. Ultimately the set scores were 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 16-14.
 
"It was really loud, and it was hostile territory in a lot of a ways," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "Players were asking me questions, and I couldn't hear what they were saying. We also had a great group of fans, including some of our student-athletes, so when we switched sides in the fifth set they were cheering us on and it felt like we were coming home. It was nice to have a little bit of the crowd in a small section of the gym.
 
"When you put together the combination of a very tough environment against a team playing incredibly feisty defense and with a style of play that is unique – we had a lot of things coming at us. You can't recreate the experience we got from this match in practice. We needed that, and to come out victorious was even better."
 
Mines (13-5, 8-2) led 7-5 in the fifth set before the Roadrunners surged back into control with an 8-1 run for a 13-8 advantage. But the Orediggers responded and tied the set 13-13, and survived a match point at 14-13 on a service error.
 
Hladky's kill made it 15-14, and then Gordon and Mikayla McClinton combined for the block that ended the match.
 
"Our right-sides (Corsentino and Gordon) had a great night," Glenn said. "The scored well, they diversified their shots and moved the ball around really well."
 
The Roadrunners now have 32 straight regular-season RMAC victories – should they win out this season they would set the league record of 40 on the final match of the season.
 
MSU Denver has won 11 straight matches overall.
 
The Roadrunners had a 13-7 advantage in total blocks, led by McClinton's six block assists. Ashlyn Cianciulli had a team-best 22 digs, while Amela Qershia set 29 assists. Hladky led the team with three service aces.
 
"It was a really good match, and both sides played well," Glenn said. "Both teams played great defense, and great offense, and it came down to the serve-and-pass battle. There were multiple runs throughout the course of the match, and a lot of times it was based on who was serving tougher at that moment that allowed their team to create some separation."