DENVER – No. 7 MSU Denver started the RMAC Tournament off right.
 
With its right-side hitters, that is.
 
Skyler Michael and Maddy Williams combined for 20 kills on .400 hitting Tuesday night to lead the Roadrunners to a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-25, 25-12) against Westminster.
 
"To quote (outside hitter) Rylee Hladky, 'They popped off,'" MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said of her right-side hitters. "They had a great night. We had a really nice matchup over there and the setters did a really good job of giving them a shot they could be successful with. They both have grown so much with their confidence.
 
"I told the team that sometimes we have great matchups but aren't able to exploit them, but we did an excellent job of exploiting that matchup tonight."
 
Michael, a redshirt freshman, had a career-best 11 kills, including five in the second set as the Roadrunners overcame a 17-10 deficit.
 
"We watched film and we saw that Westminster leaves a lot of line," Michael said. "So we were going to go for that line, attack it, but not think too much about it and play with our instincts. The setters did a great job pushing us there and giving us that space."
 
Michael is picking up the pace late in the season, averaging 2.0 kills per set over her last seven matches.
 
"Skyler is really positive and she's a good learner," Glenn said. "She learned a lot in the first half of the season as far as which shots work and which shots don't work. She takes feedback really well. She's watching a ton of video and you're seeing the growth on the court as a result of all of that."
 
Riley Anderson added half of her 10 kills in the second set and also had a match-high three service aces.
 
Williams had nine kills on .471 hitting, and Maddie Lindsay got MSU Denver off to a good start with five of her seven kills in the first set.
 
Setters Amela Qershia (23) and Delaney Eckhardt (15) combined for 38 assists, and libero Abbie McCrimmon had a match-high 19 digs.
 
"I thought we played really well," Anderson said. "We came out strong. We had a little lull in the second set, but we figured out how to fight back and get some points."
 
The Roadrunners (22-5) will now play host to fourth-seeded South Dakota Mines (18-9), a five-set winner Tuesday over fifth-seeded CSU Pueblo, in a 5 p.m. semifinal at the Auraria Event Center. The second semifinal, scheduled for 7:30, pits second-seeded and 10^th-ranked Colorado Mesa against third-seeded and 11^th-ranked Regis.
 
"I'm really excited," Anderson said. "We've worked very hard for this moment, and it's gotten us to where we are now."
 
The RMAC championship match, also at the Auraria Event Center, is Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
"Nothing is a given," Glenn said. "Especially in the RMAC and especially this year. So for us to come out and take care of business tonight – Westminster is much improved and feisty and isn't scored upon easily – I was proud of the group for continuing to stay with it and not dropping a set. We're excited to be back here Friday."