DENVER – A Thursday night showdown turned into a late-summer block party.
 
No. 4 MSU Denver swept past No. 21 Colorado Mesa with relative ease at the Auraria Event Center, turning in 14 total blocks while limiting the Mavericks to -.008 hitting in a 25-20, 25-18, 26-16 victory.
 
Unlike recent matches in this series, this one sent everyone home about an hour earlier than expected.
 
"Mesa goes on runs, so we were always expecting them to come back," outside hitter Kaylee Corsentino said. "So we weren't going to let down. We stayed on the pedal, and that's what helped us get it done in three."
 
Said coach Jenny Glenn: "I didn't expect it to be a three-set sweep, but I didn't not expect it to be a sweep either.  When we're playing well, playing unified and together, and we're ahead of the play, we're pretty hard to beat. When we're on our heels it can go extended sets.
 
"I'm really proud of the team. We talked about it being business and getting the job done, and that's what we did tonight."
 
The Roadrunners' blocks were the most for the program in a three-set match since getting 15 against Black Hills State on Nov. 8, 2019. But while that Black Hills State team finished seventh in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, this Mesa team is expected to be among the challengers for the conference title.
 
How did it happen?
 
"We've been working on it," Glenn said. "Our blockers' hands – where we position our hands over the net, and how strong we were – were really good. If they're going to challenge, the goal is to turn it back. They challenged our hands tonight, and we accomplished the goal of turning it back quite a lot."
 
Said outside hitter Rylee Hladky: "We were low and over, and we were very disciplined. We tracked the ball in and out and had good hands. We weren't getting the high touches."
 
Said Corsentino: "All week we prepared knowing that Mesa was going to go after our hands. As blockers, we were hungry to get our hands over and get those blocks. It's really cool that all that training paid off."
 
While the usual suspects – Kelsey Gordon (five blocks, including two solo), Ember Canty (four blocks) and Mikayla McClinton (three blocks, one solo) – did their thing, Maddy Williams had four blocks while playing only the third set. Meanwhile, Hladky and Corsentino each had four blocks, one away from a career high for each.
 
"They've done a really good job working on lineup and adjusting to inside sets," Glenn said of Hladky and Corsentino. "They are good blockers and the combination of that and seeing what's happening on the court, moving inside and out, and getting good lineup, helps everything."
 
MSU Denver improved to 8-1 by winning the conference opener.
 
Mesa is the first team to record a negative hitting percentage against the Roadrunners since CSU-Pueblo hit -.018 on Feb. 20, 2021. Last weekend, the Mavericks (5-3) lost a five-set match at No. 1 defending national champion Tampa (Fla.).
 
Hladky had 12 kills, while Riley Anderson added eight and Corsentino six. Amela Qershia had a team-high 17 assists, Ashlyn Cianciulli had 14 digs, and Abbie McCrimmon had two of the Roadrunners' four service aces.
 
All in all, it was a short, but sweet, night.
 
"I wasn't expecting that," Hladky said. "Mesa always puts up a good fight. They have such an efficient offense. It was a fun match. We were super aggressive and that played to our advantage."