DENVER – The No. 6 MSU Denver volleyball team got back on track Saturday, taking matches against Western Washington and Central Missouri to win the Bronze Bracket at the Colorado Premier Challenge.
 
"It was a really tough day (Friday), and it's all about how you respond to those moments," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We did a good job, for the most part, of attacking throughout the day and cleaning up some of the things that we're still doing but aren't quite there yet. That's going to take some practice time. It's always tough at the Premier, even in the Bronze Bracket."
 
MSU Denver (5-3) dropped into the Bronze Bracket after Friday losses to No. 1 West Texas A&M and unranked Lewis (Ill.). The Roadrunners led 13-9 in the fifth set against West Texas A&M, but lost six of the last seven points and the match, then appeared a little flat against Lewis following the disappointing defeat.
 
Combined with a five-set loss at current No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino last weekend, the Roadrunners had lost three straight matches for the first time since 2019 when they took the floor Saturday.
 
"We're not really used to losing," Glenn said. "It's an interesting feeling right now. So what do we do with it, and how do we respond? It's not making it more than it is, but also not letting it go unnoticed. Losing three is fine as long as we grow and learn and work better because of it. It's not fun to lose three in a row – even if they were against really, really tough teams. Our intent was to play the toughest schedule that we could."
 
On Saturday, MSU Denver swept No. 22 Western Washington for the second time in a week – this time it was 25-20, 25-14, 25-13 – and came back later in the day to defeat Central Missouri 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-18).
 
"It didn't shake our confidence," middle blocker Ember Canty said of Friday's losses. "It was, 'All right, we're ready to grind.' We want these challenges now. We didn't want it easy. We want to be battle-tested at the end of the year. As much as we don't love the outcomes, after yesterday we were all determined to come in and change the trajectory."
 
Rising to the top for MSU Denver this season has been Riley Anderson, an All-America third team performer last year who has elevated her game.
 
Though it's tough to make the Premier's All-Tournament Team, especially out of the Bronze Bracket – and she didn't – Anderson made a strong argument for it after bumping her four-match kills total to 60.
 
She was third among all players in the 12-team tournament with an average of 3.8 kills per set, and was fourth with 4.1 points per set.
 
"She took a lot of swings for us this weekend and played six rotations most of the time in four really tough matches," Glenn said.
 
Anderson had 10 kills on .350 hitting against Western Washington, then followed that up with 19 kills on .400 hitting (five errors, 35 attacks).
 
"We're really excited," Anderson said. "We figured out a switch that clicked inside all of us. It was exciting to push through and finish it in four (against Central Missouri). (Friday) was really difficult on us, and it was super disappointing. We wanted to kick it in gear today."
 
The Roadrunners had a season-best 11 service aces against Western Washington, and Canty had eight kills, with no errors, in 11 swings for a .727 hitting percentage. Against Central Missouri, Maddy Williams had 11 kills on .421 hitting.
 
"After yesterday, we knew that wasn't us and that we weren't going to go out playing that style of volleyball," Canty said. "It was us coming together and not focusing as much on our opponent but on ourselves and what we were bringing to the plate. We brought us today, and the outcome was way different."
 
After going 5-3 against one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Roadrunners are ready to settle into Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. MSU Denver has won a league-record 40 straight regular-season conference matches.
 
"I'm glad to be 5-3 as long as we're better for it," Glenn said. "This early in the season, we don't need to be peaking right now, but it's only OK if we grow, learn and get better every single time it happens."