DENVER – The No. 7 ranked MSU Denver volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday on the opening day of the Colorado Premier Challenge at the Auraria Event Center, sweeping Bentley 3-0 in the afternoon before falling to No. 14 Angelo State 3-0 in Friday night's finale.
The Roadrunners opened the day with a convincing 25-23, 25-19, 25-15 victory over Bentley, using a strong offensive performance to take control after a tightly contested opening set.
Brooke Gennerman led the way offensively, recording a match-high 14 kills on 26 attacks while hitting an impressive .423. Hayden Liebsack added 11 kills on 25 attacks (.320) and collected nine digs, while Lulu Pavan posted 12 kills on 20 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage.
MSU Denver's offense continued to improve throughout the match. After hitting .296 in the opening set and .290 in the second, the Roadrunners closed out the sweep by hitting .387 in the third. Overall, MSU Denver hit .318 compared to .256 for Bentley.
The Roadrunners also received a strong performance from the service line, recording 10 aces. GabriElle Brewer led the team with four aces while also directing the offense with 30 assists. Mayah Pridgett added six kills on just seven attacks, finishing with a team-best .714 hitting percentage.
After taking the first two sets, MSU Denver jumped out to an early advantage in the third and never looked back, closing out the 10-point victory to begin the tournament with a sweep.
The Roadrunners then faced No. 14 Angelo State in the nightcap, falling 25-16, 25-22, 25-22.
Gennerman again paced MSU Denver, finishing with 11 kills on 37 attacks while also leading the team with nine digs. Brewer recorded a match-high 27 assists, while Kami Scott and Liebsack each contributed seven kills. Scott led the Roadrunners with a .235 hitting percentage and added a team-best four blocks, including one solo block and three block assists.
Liebsack added eight digs and one block assist as the Roadrunners battled throughout the final two sets. MSU Denver hit .074 as a team, while Angelo State hit .202 and held an 18-10 advantage in block assists.
With Friday's results, the Roadrunners move into the silver bracket for the final day of the Colorado Premier Challenge. MSU Denver will return to the Auraria Event Center Saturday morning at 9 a.m. for a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championship match against No. 3 ranked Concordia-St. Paul.
