Box Score DENVER, Colo. – In the semifinal match of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament that played out as if it were the championship match, the Regis University volleyball team battled until the final point. Ultimately, the Rangers fell in five sets to the top-seeded Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners (25-3, 18-0 RMAC).
 
"We played a solid match against a very good team; a big improvement from the last matchup," said head coach Frank Lavrisha. "We created an opportunity to win but it just was not in the cards today."
 
Regis went ahead 1-0 in the match after fighting and clawing their way back from a 17-10 deficit. Back-to-back kills from Diamond Ridley-Pierce kicked off a 7-0 run that locked the score at 17-17. The Rangers closed out the first set with the 25-23 win.
 
Play throughout the second set was a back-and-forth affair. RU rallied off five-straight to take a 16-12 lead but this time the Roadrunners responded to come within one, 17-16. Another late run from MSU Denver gave them the 25-22 second set win to tie the overall match score at 1-1.
 
Similar with that of the first two sets, Regis put down four unanswered points to hold a 16-11 lead. Once again, the Roadrunners surged late in an attempt to go ahead in the match but RU put a stop to it coming out on top of the third set with the 25-22 win.
 
The Rangers jumped out to an early 4-1 lead at the start of the fourth but MSU Denver quickly got back into it. The score tied 10 times with neither side allowing the other to gain any momentum. A Roadrunner timeout with the score tied at 20-20 proved successful as the home team was able to close out the fourth set with the 25-20 win.
 
At the beginning of the fifth set, it was MSU Denver that jumped out to an early 5-2 lead. At the switch, the Rangers were down 8-6. With help from unforced errors by Regis, the Roadrunners were able to pull away and capture the 15-9 fifth set win.
 
Katie Klein led Regis offensively with 19 kills. Klein hit at a clip of .357 committing just four errors in 42 attempts. Her 19 kills on the night brings her within two of breaking the program's all-time kills record.
 
Ridley-Pierce added 11 kills and four blocks at the net while Cedar Bellows chipped in with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Defensively, Yagoda Jedrzejczak recorded four blocks and Kristina Schell shattered her career-match high with 21 digs. Schell also had three of the five Regis service aces.
 
The Rangers will have to wait until Monday afternoon for the NCAA Division II Selection Show to see if their season will be extended. The Selection Show is set for Monday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. To tune into the Selection Show, click here.