DENVER, Colo. – The Regis University volleyball team (26-4) conquered their cross-town rival Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners (23-8) in an epic five-set match in the quarterfinal round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) South Central Region Tournament.
How it Happened: The first set featured a series of anxiety-ridden rallies between the two local teams looking to advance their way into the second round of the NCAA South Central Championship Tournament. Regis came away victorious as they settled down behind their home crowd, leading to a 25-17 first-set win. As a team, the Rangers hit over .300 (.308 ATK %) while holding MSU Denver to a .122 attack percentage, behind three blocks from RU.
As the teams took the floor for the second set, Regis rode the momentum of the opening set, allowing them to jump out to a big lead. After the Rangers took a 15-8 lead, head coach Jenny Glenn was forced to call a timeout to regroup her team. This worked for the next couple points as the Roadrunners closed to within four-points, 18-14. RU responded with a run of their own to extend their lead to 23-16. The home team took the second set 25-18, heading into set three with a 2-0 set lead.
MSU Denver felt the pressure of the 0-2 deficit and they came out in the third set looking to mount their comeback. They opened up a 7-3 lead to open the third, but that did not stifle a Regis team determined to only play three sets. The Rangers caught up and cut the deficit to one point, 15-16 on a kill from senior Nikki Kennedy. RU tied the game at 17-all following a huge kill from junior Caitlyn Burroway and a Roadrunner attack error. The two teams continued to go at it until MSU Denver held a 23-22 advantage and closed out the match with back-to-back kills to force a fourth set.
The fourth set is one that the home side will want back after leading 6-5 early in the frame. After that, a 12-3 run from the visitors put the Roadrunners in front 17-9, which turned out to be too big of a hole for Regis to climb out of and the match moved into a critical fifth-set following a 25-18 set three win from MSU Denver.
All of it boiled down to the fifth and final set to decide who survives and moved on to the next round of the South Central Region Championship Tournament. With the momentum stacked against them, having lost the last two sets, the Rangers dug deep. Trading points through the first 10 points of the set, RU was finally able to get a little cushion with a two-point lead 7-5. A kill from senior Izzy Gosar extended the lead to three, and a block from senior Kelsey Green put Regis ahead 9-5 forcing a MSU Denver timeout.
The Roadrunners scored three-straight to bring the score within a point and head coach Joel List called a timeout of his own. After the timeout, Gosar went off for the Rangers as she was a part of five of the last six points for RU, leading them to victory 15-10.
Game Notes: Though it was Gosar who put the nail in the coffin at the end of the match, five Regis players had double-digit kills in the win. Green led the team with 15, adding three digs and a block. Kennedy chipped in with 14 kills, four blocks, three digs and an assist. Gosar and redshirt-senior Kristen Hornung had 12 kills and three blocks apiece. Burroway tallied 11 kills 20 digs and three blocks as well. Senior setter Silvia Basso finished the match with 58 assists, three kills, and 12 digs. Freshman libero Haley Kennedy had a team-high 25 digs and added two assists.
Up Next for the Rangers: With the win, the Regis University volleyball team advances to the semifinal round of the South Central Region Tournament tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. against the No. 4 seeded University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Lady Lions.
