DENVER – The No. 24 ranked Regis University volleyball team (16-4, 11-1 RMAC) took on cross-town rival, the No. 1 ranked Metropolitan State University of Denver Roadrunners (19-2, 13-0 RMAC) on Friday evening. The match was another match of the year candidate, but the Rangers were outlasted by the top-ranked team in the nation in five sets 21-25, 25-19, 25-13, 21-25 and 20-22.
 
How It Happened: Regis scored the first point of the match with graduate student Caitlyn Burroway picking up a kill. The lead reached 3-1 on a kill from senior Rachel Siurek but that spurned a 7-0 run from the home team as the Rangers found themselves trailing 8-3 after the run that featured three service aces from the Roadrunners. RU climbed their way back into the set at 13-13 and again at 21-21 after trailing 19-14 but the home team scored on four-straight rallies to close out the set 25-21, downing Regis in the opening set.
 
The Rangers responded to the opening set loss with a bounce back second set as the defense and offense came alive. Tied 4-4 early in the second set, a block at the net from juniors Nadine Burbrink and Mara LeGrand jumpstarted RU as they opened a 7-4 lead. The lead was extended to four-points, 18-14, with a block from LeGrand and sophomore Maddy Mallory. The Regis defense continued to shine in set two as Mallory combined with sophomore Halle Theis on a block to score the Rangers 24^th point, setting up set point at 24-18. Siurek closed out the second set win for RU with a kill, tying the set score at one apiece. In total, Regis tallied six blocks in the second set, holding the nation's number one ranked team to a hitting percentage of -.050.
 
After tying the set score at one, the Rangers dismantled MSU Denver 25-13 in the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. RU hit .292 offensively, and for the second-straight set, held the Roadrunners to a negative hitting percentage (-.081). Regis tallied two service aces, three blocks and 11 kills in the third set alone. The 12-point third set loss to the Rangers was the largest set loss for MSU Denver all season.
 
With a chance to close out the match in the fourth set, RU continued to play well defensively, but by sheer volume of attempts, the home team was able to swing their way to a 25-21 victory to force an all-important fifth set. The Roadrunners took set four behind 17 kills, despite three service errors and three blocks from Regis.
 
The fifth and final set of the night started with a 3-1 run from the visiting Rangers as they scored three-straight points on kills from Burbrink and Burroway followed by a service ace from junior Anna Allsberry. After the score was tied at four, RU reclaimed the lead after head coach, Joel List, challenged a touch at the net on an attack from Burroway. After originally awarding MSU Denver the point, the video replay confirmed that Burroway's shot hit a Roadrunner blocker and the point was reversed. Three points later, RU held a 7-5 lead which forced the home team to call a timeout.
 
After the timeout, Siurek put down her 14^th kill of the night and then she combined with Burbrink to block the next swing from MSU Denver, extending the lead to 9-5, forcing the Roadrunners to call their final timeout. The lead moved to five points, 11-6, for RU as Theis connected on a pass from LeGrand. After Theis' kill, the home team scored five-straight points to tie the set at 11 points. Theis stopped the run with another kill to reclaim the lead, 12-11. Another point from the Roadrunners tied the set once again. Burroway responded with her 15^th kill of the match, but that was met with another kill from MSU Denver. As the intensity of the match brought everyone to their feet, the Roadrunners took their first lead since the first point of the fifth set. A service error from the home team tied the match back up at 14 points in the back-and-forth battle between the cross-town rivals. The score carried all the way to 20-20 before No. 1 ranked MSU Denver collected back-to-back kills to claim the fifth set (22-20) and the match victory.
 
Game Notes: This match had it all. Offense, defense, ups and downs. It was a remarkable battle between the top-two teams in the conference. Burroway (.306 H%) and Siurek (.190 H%) led Regis with 16 kills each. Theis also reached double-digit kills with 10. Both Burroway (25) and junior libero Haley Kennedy (20) posted 20 or more digs in the lengthy battle. LeGrand finished the match with 42 assists, seven digs, six blocks and one kill. Two players set new career-highs in blocks at the end of the match. Leading the way was Burbrink who posted a career-high 12 total blocks in the match. Siurek followed with her new career-high of eight blocks. Both Mallory and LeGrand matched their career-bests with six blocks apiece.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University volleyball team has five matches remaining in the regular season. Tomorrow night, the Rangers will take on the Colorado Christian University Cougars on their home court in Lakewood, Colorado at 5 p.m. The final home series of the regular season will come next weekend when the Adams State University Grizzlies and the New Mexico Highlands University Cowgirls visit the Regis Field House on Friday, November 5^th (7 p.m.) and Saturday, November 6^th (3 p.m.), respectively.