DENVER – No one in the MSU Denver camp was overly excited about Tuesday's 3-0 sweep of Colorado Christian, even though it came against a team that appears to clearly be among the top half of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"It definitely wasn't perfect volleyball, but it doesn't always feel good," libero Abbie McCrimmon said.
 
Said coach Jenny Glenn: "I was proud of how we stuck in the battle, even though it wasn't always pretty, and wasn't the most rhythmic performance. We found a way to finish, and we were tough in end-game situations, which allowed us to get it done in three – and that's hard to do sometimes."
 
Yeah, it's good to be the No. 2 team in the country.
 
Annika Helf had seven of her 12 kills in the opening set, Alivia Huxoll had four blocks (two solo), Delaney Eckhardt had team highs of 23 assists and two service aces, outside hitter Riley Anderson had a season-high 16 digs and McCrimmon had 13 digs as MSU Denver improved to 12-1 overall with the 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 victory.
 
Maddy Williams had nine kills on .412 hitting and Kryssa Moerman had seven kills as MSU Denver won its sixth straight.
 
The match was played as a non-conference contest.
 
MSU Denver hit just .171 in a slow-starting first set that actually turned into – by score – the easiest set of the match. The Roadrunners hit .483 in the second set before regressing to .208 in the third to finish at .263. Only twice this season have they hit lower than .263, in a loss to nationally-ranked Chaminade and a win over nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.).
 
Colorado Christian's attack caused some difficulty, which affected the Roadrunners offensively.
 
"When people are off-speeding to us a bunch, (we have to figure out) how can we lift it, control the chaos, and get back in system?" McCrimmon said.
 
"We just couldn't find our rhythm. Usually it will eventually come. It didn't happen tonight, which is OK. We just need to learn from it."
 
McCrimmon was usually there to do her part.
 
"She's doing a great job from the leadership perspective especially," Glenn said. "She makes big plays at big moments, which is what you like to see. They take a big rip and she's on it, keeping the ball alive. … She's like our bulldog on the court, driving us."
 
MSU Denver plays again Friday at Colorado School of Mines in another non-conference match against a conference opponent.