SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Fourth-ranked MSU Denver bounced back from a second-set hiccup and rolled to a 3-1, season-opening victory Thursday night over host Cal State San Marcos to open its stay at the Cougar Classic.
 
"It took us a little while to get into the flow of the match," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We came in a bit more passive than I would've liked, but we did turn it around after the second set and played Roadrunner volleyball. I'm pleased that we were able to turn around our offensive rhythm and made an adjustment to defend them better. Our middles did an excellent job of turning back balls and our pins took away power shots from their hitters that were kills in the first two sets."
 
In the 25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 25-14 victory, the Roadrunners hit .314 and had advantages of 11-4 in both service aces and total blocks.
 
All-American Rylee Hladky had 16 kills, two service aces and 10 digs, while Kaylee Corsentino and Riley Anderson each had nine kills, hitting .351, .467 and .304, respectively. Corsentino's hitting percentage was a career best.
 
"Kaylee is making excellent decisions with the ball," Glenn said. "She kept balls in play when she needed to and when she had the opportunity for kills she got them."
 
Newcomer Kelsey Gordon had seven kills and five blocks, while Ember Canty added five kills and six blocks (one solo). Mikayla McClinton had three kills, three blocks (one solo) and two aces.
 
Setters Amela Qershia (24 assists, one ace) and Delaney Eckhardt (19 assists, three aces) also starred, and libero Ashlyn Cianciulli had a team-high 11 digs along with three aces. Abbie McCrimmon chipped in five digs.
 
"San Marcos did a really good job of playing defense," Glenn said. "They were digging balls that we weren't used to having dug. They were scrappy and forced our hitters to do something different."
 
MSU Denver plays twice Friday, facing Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) at 11 a.m. MDT and Biola (Calif.) at 4 p.m. MDT. Biola received votes in the AVCA Division II national preseason poll.