DENVER – These MSU Denver seniors. They've never liked to share.
They've taught their teammates to be the same way.
On Saturday's Senior Day, No. 8 MSU Denver clinched a third straight outright Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season championship.
The Roadrunners' 3-0 sweep of Fort Lewis assured that they wouldn't have to share of piece of the title with anyone.
"It's a really good accomplishment," MSU Denver coach
Jenny Glenn said. "Over the last three seasons, we've only lost one regular-season conference match, which is a testament to our consistency and work ethic, and honestly, the mental toughness of this group. I'm really proud of them.
"It's not an easy conference to win. It's a grind, from a travel perspective sometimes as well as just good volleyball, and I thought the conference as a whole was a little up this year."
The run of three straight regular-season titles is the program's first since the 2001 through 2003 seasons. MSU Denver now has won eight RMAC regular-season crowns and 13 overall regular-season conference championships when including its past affiliations.
"It's really exciting," senior
Rylee Hladky said. "It's hard work over a long period of time. It's not just one good weekend, it's months of grinding and putting in the work. And it pays off."
MSU Denver (21-5 overall, 13-1 RMAC) had already clinched the top seed for the conference tournament with a win on Friday.
But Saturday's pre-match celebration was to focus on its four seniors.
MSU Denver's five-plus season seniors – Hladky,
Ember Canty and
Mikayla McClinton – have been there as the Roadrunners compiled a 49-1 regular-season RMAC record in the past three years, and a 76-4 record in RMAC play over the past five.
"We've been through so many highs and lows and for so many years together," Canty said. "You see not only their growth from freshman year to now, but also how bonded we are. Even after volleyball is over, I know that we'll still be really close."
Lindsay joined the program last season as the team continued its RMAC-record run of 48 consecutive wins in regular-season league play.
MSU Denver has held the No. 1 ranking in Division II for a total of nine weeks during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and has been in the national top 10 for 36 straight polls, as well as for 48 of the last 50.
"It's been crazy how fast time has passed," McClinton said. "It's been super special. All the people in Athletics, our team, and we have an amazing coaching staff. It's made the experience special. Not a lot of teams can truly say that they love their coaches, but I can."
Senior Night includes the large gatherings of family, friends and former teammates.
"It's always great to have the family here," Lindsay said. "And seeing not just my family, but the whole Roadrunner crew … they're the reason we do it. There's moments on the court where I hear them, and feel them, and there's my teammates of course and I love them, but to feel that bigger radius of support is just fantastic."
Of course it wasn't a final farewell to the most successful senior class in RMAC volleyball history.
The team will play host to the RMAC Tournament for as long as it continues winning, starting with Tuesday's quarterfinal match against eighth-seeded Westminster. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final set for 4 p.m.
"There's still a lot of time left, so it doesn't really feel any different than any other match, but we're closing the door on the regular season and we get to start postseason," McClinton said. "It's super exciting and I'm ready to continue the journey. We still have a lot of time left."
Said Canty: "It's exciting to wrap up our season, but at the end of the day, we're not done. It was fun to get recognized, but it's not the end. There's nothing to be sad about. It's more exciting, and we're ready for the post-season. That's what we've been looking forward to all year."
And, maybe, though the chances are relatively slim, the Roadrunners could find themselves hosting the NCAA Tournament's South Central Regional for a third consecutive season.
West Texas A&M, ranked No. 1 in the region, took a loss Saturday and will be the No. 2 seed for the Lone Star Conference Tournament. However, West Texas A&M's head-to-head, five-set win at MSU Denver in September will likely carry a lot of weight when it comes time to seed the regional field.
As for the actual match on Saturday, MSU Denver cruised 25-18, 25-14, 25-21, hitting .322 over the final two sets and .292 for the match.
As usual, the block led by Canty and McClinton was intimidating and overwhelming – the Roadrunners had 14 total blocks, including eight block assists by Canty, a solo block and five assists by McClinton, and six block assists by
Maddy Williams.
Fort Lewis (13-13, 6-8) hit minus-.070 through two sets and finished at .019.
"Maybe it's because I'm biased, but I like blocks more than kills," Canty said. "It's super fun to turn around and cheer with your team, because everybody has your back. And whether you're on the court or on the bench, everyone is hyped over a block. It's fun to see us show out at our last regular-season match."
Said McClinton: "We know that's our strength. And that's just the process of being able to shut other teams down. It's always good to have those big blocking nights."
McClinton had an outstanding all-around night, with seven kills on eight swings for .875 hitting to complement her blocking efforts.
Riley Anderson led the offense with nine kills, while Lindsay joined McClinton with seven.
Hladky, the two-time first-team All-American and two-time RMAC Player of the Year, had the night off.
Significant indeed, is that the Roadrunners are where they are despite Hladky playing in just nine of 14 league matches (including 25 of 51 sets) and in 18 of 26 matches (57 of 93 sets) overall.
"(Senior Day) was great," Hladky said. "A little different than I expected – I'm not going to lie. But it was still fun to watch and to be with these people. I've been with Mikayla and Ember for so long, and Reg (Lindsay) and I have gotten close this season, so it was great to see them thrive tonight. That's good enough for me."
