DENVER – When MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines meet in volleyball, you can usually plan to be there for a while.
That was true again Friday in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, as the top-ranked Roadrunners and No. 22 Mines went back and forth early in the match before, eventually, MSU Denver pulled away for a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22).
"What a great match," MSU Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said. "And that's what you want at this point of the season. You want to be pushed to the limit. I was really proud of our team and how composed we stayed in the fourth set, to be down and kind of claw our way back into it and take the lead at the end.
"Colorado School of Mines is a super-gritty team, and they keep balls off the floor. You think you have a kill and all of a sudden it's coming back over. They did a nice job of getting back in system when they were out of system, which makes it an exhausting match. They were really strategic in how they were attacking us, and we made some really nice adjustments as the match went on."
MSU Denver (27-1) won its 21
st straight match, tying the 2016 team for the third-longest winning streak in program history, and advanced to Saturday's 6 p.m. final against second-seeded and 14
th-ranked Regis (22-6).
It's MSU Denver's seventh straight trip to the RMAC Tournament final.
All-American
Rylee Hladky slammed a season-high 21 kills (one short of her career high) while hitting .349, and she also added five block assists.
"We worked on staying high all week, and I think that was very helpful," Hladky said of her attacking prowess. "We worked on different shots, instead of just hitting routine shots. And Ashlyn (Cianciulli) and Crim (Abbie McCrimmon) were in the back row constantly telling me things, people on the sideline were calling shots … so it's a team effort."
Meanwhile, All-RMAC first team right-side hitter
Kaylee Corsentino continued her late-season dominance with 14 kills on .364 hitting. Over her last seven matches, the senior is hitting .373 while averaging 3.0 kills per set. And she's been at her best in the biggest matches – her top kill totals of the season were 16 against Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 8, 15 against Regis on Oct. 22 and Friday's outburst.
"We have a goal to win a natty," Corsentino said of the quest for a national championship. "Approaching this postseason, it's gotten us all really pumped up. My thought process is that you never know when your last time stepping on the court will be. So it's attacking each game and taking risks."
Said Glenn: "She was aggressive, and I think that was critical for us in the fourth set. I told the team that we can't be passive in those situations, that we have to take big swings. And she was a leader in that, and the rest of the hitters followed."
Riley Anderson added 13 kills, and Kelsey Gordon had 10 kills on .450 hitting. Cianciulli had 17 digs and
Ember Canty chipped in with four blocks (one solo) as the Roadrunners had a 10-2 advantage in total blocks.
"I thought we played a pretty good match overall," Glenn said. "We battled in the passing lanes. We put some pressure on them when the ball was in the court. Our setters did a nice job of picking the right matchup at the right time."
Amela Qershia set 32 assists to help the Roadrunners hit .331, and she also matched a season high with three service aces.
"When she gets into competitor mode … she sees the block well and can put a lot of speed on the ball, which creates a problem for the opposing blockers," Glenn said.
So now it's a rematch with Regis for the Roadrunners. MSU Denver won 3-1 at Regis in the regular-season meeting.
"It's another well-coached team that plays scrappy defense and has good size," Glenn said. "We think we have good size on our side of the net, but they're going to match us in a lot of our positions.
"It's another fun match, a rival school that's 10 miles down the road. Every time we play it's a tactical match. They're going to know our tendencies, so we're going to need to stay one step ahead of them."
