DENVER – Rylee Hladky came to MSU Denver as a high school basketball standout who found herself much more interested in tapping into her barely-revealed potential as a volleyball player.
 
Now, just 3 1/3 seasons into what could be a five-year career, the outside hitter is on the verge of joining the Roadrunners' pantheon of greats (but, to be truthful, as an All-American and regional player of the year, she already was).
 
Hladky needs just eight more kills to become the 16^th player in program history to record 1,000 career for a career.
 
Her first chance is Friday's 7 p.m. home matchup with UCCS at the Auraria Event Center. Hladky is averaging 3.4 kills per set this season, so it figures she would reach the plateau Friday. But if not, the Roadrunners also play host to CSU-Pueblo at 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
"I just think it's a testament to her progress at MSU Denver," Roadrunners coach Jenny Glenn said. "She started as a freshman who had a fast arm and had some shots. And as her career has progressed, she's developed a whole toolbox of offensive threats. It doesn't surprise me that she could reach the milestone at this point of her career. She works hard to find solutions to different situations, and she has a multitude of shots.
 
"She's not just a one-trick pony. She's hard to defend. And she's developed parts of her game that she didn't have as a freshman."
 
Hladky is on course to become the Roadrunners' first 1,000-kill player since Santaisha Sturges got there in 2018, and she would be the ninth who played her entire career in the rally-scoring era to reach that level.
 
Here's where it gets really fun.
 
Let's say MSU Denver – like last year – plays 32 matches both this season and next season, and Hladky – as expected – takes advantage of her COVID-19 exemption to play next year. If that's the case, she would need to average 12.5 kills per match to break Bri Morley's program record of 1,666 kills. Hladky's career average is 11.0 kills per match, though she's averaging 11.9 per match this year and averaged 13.4 per match last season.
 
So it's conceivable she could get there. And even if the Roadrunners were to play 32 matches each season and Hladky plays the equivalent of 4 ½ seasons (due to the shortened COVID season of 2020), she would still play fewer career matches than Crissy Canada, who is fourth in program history with 1,493 kills.
 
But to play 32 matches in a season, you have to be on an outstanding team, and that's what the fourth-ranked Roadrunners (9-1 overall, 2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) are.
 
They expect to be pushed this week by an improved UCCS (5-5, 0-2) and continually-climbing CSU-Pueblo (9-1, 2-0), which is receiving votes in the AVCA national top 25 poll.
 
Last year, MSU Denver squared off the CSU-Pueblo four times, winning all four matches, including an uncomfortable three times in 21 days capped by a first-round meeting in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"They've got a transfer who is providing some firepower, and they are always really scrappy defensively," Gelnn said. "They lost both of their right-sides, but overall they have a lot of similar pieces to last year's team."
 
UCCS has a new head coach and also has added strong players.
 
"It's going to be a very tough weekend," Glenn said. "Both teams are disciplined and play really solid in all areas. We'll have to play well against both teams and try to put pressure on them throughout the course of the match. Neither team will give in, and they have offensive weapons and are disciplined defensively. We'll have to attack in different ways and be ready to make adjustments throughout the course of the match."