DENVER – One thousand.
 
It's a milestone so nice, MSU Denver did it twice.
 
Rylee Hladky became the 16^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills, and Ashlyn Cianciulli became the 24th player in program history with 1,000 career digs as the No. 4 Roadrunners took care of business against UCCS in a 3-0 sweep Friday night at the Auraria Event Center.
 
"It's a cool accomplishment for both of them," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "And they got it in their fourth year – they haven't used their extra year yet and so they did it in the traditional four-year time frame. They're classmates who came in together and have gone through a lot together, so it's fun for them to share the night like that.
 
"Neither one of them really wants the recognition. So it's perfect it happened on the same night."
 
Hladky became the first Roadrunner with 1,000 kills since Santaisha Sturges in 2018, while Cianciulli became the first with 1,000 digs since … well, also Santaisha Sturges in 2018.
 
Both reached 1,000 within minutes of one another early in the third set.
 
"It's really cool," Hladky said. "And I'm so glad Ash and I got it on the same night. That's super fun. I really didn't realize I was even close until the other day."
 
Said Cianciulli: Me and Rylee are BFFs, so to get it on the same night was just a great experience."

Hladky now has 1,004 kills, while Cianciulli has 1,007 digs.
 
As for the match itself, the Roadrunners started slowly in each set before picking up the pace in winning 25-18, 25-22, 25-23 to improve to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"We've had experience where we're tight with a team and Jenny will say, 'This is the time to take off, this is your window of opportunity,'" Cianciulli said. "When we get to that moment, we can feel it, and we kind of run with it."
 
Said Hladky: "We've worked on not letting things break us. They're going to get their kills – everyone we play is legit. So how do we respond to it and how do we push back? And I thought we did a really good job of that."
 
Once again the Roadrunners' impressive block was a major difference-maker. The Roadrunners had 15 total blocks, tying the highest total for the program in a three-set match since MSU Denver had 16 blocks in a 3-0 win against Adams State on Oct. 15, 2011. MSU Denver also had 15 in a 3-0 win over Black Hills State on Nov. 8, 2019.
 
For perspective, MSU Denver's last three-set match was last week, and the Roadrunners had 14 blocks in that one.
 
Riley Anderson doubled her career high with eight blocks (one solo), and Mikayla McClinton also had eight. Ember Canty added six (one solo). The Roadrunners entered the week ranked fifth in Division II with an average of 2.6 blocks per set – they are up to 2.8 per set now.
 
"They challenged our block a lot," Glenn said. "And we gave up some points. It's a high-risk, high-reward situation if a team is going to challenge hands."
 
Hladky had six of her team-high 12 kills in the third set while finishing with a .357 hitting percentage, and Anderson had 11 kills on .348 hitting. Kaylee Corsentino had 10 kills and hit .333. As a team, the Roadrunners hit .327, their second-best performance of the season topped only in their last match, a 3-1 win at Fort Lewis in which they hit .360.
 
Amela Qershia had a team-high 24 assists, Hladky served two aces, and Cianciulli had 21 digs, matching her second-best total of the season.
 
MSU Denver is back in action at home Saturday at 5 p.m. against CSU-Pueblo, which is also 10-1 and 3-0.
 
The Roadrunners won all four meetings with CSU-Pueblo last season, including three times in the final three weeks of the season.
 
"That have a lot of the same pieces, but they also have some new ones, and everyone spends their springs tweaking their systems," Glenn said. "We definitely need a full scouting report against them. They're a new team and we're a new team, and it should be a good matchup."