DENVER – The Regis University volleyball team (7-4, 2-1 RMAC) won their second-straight match with a three-set sweep of the Western Colorado University Mountaineers (7-5, 2-2 RMAC) on Friday night.
 
How it Happened: Regis won the match is straight sets for the second time in a row. This time, they held control of nearly each set, never letting it get too close for comfort. In set one, the Rangers unleashed their offensive arsenal with 17 kills and only five errors for a .400 hitting percentage. Junior Mara LeGrand was crisp with her passes and her hitters rarely missed an opportunity to score. The first set ended quickly 25-19 in favor of RU. The team also had four blocks in the opening set, which helped keep the Mountaineers offense quiet.
 
The home team followed up with another 25-19 win in set two with more brilliant passing and scoring. In set two, Regis had 19 kills and only four errors, but they also had more attacking opportunities which led to a .319 hitting percentage, despite less errors than set one. Still, the Rangers continued to dominate on both sides of the court. Defensively, the back row continued to dig up the attacks from WCU, which allowed the offense to flow seamlessly. The serve game also picked up as RU collected two service aces in the set.
 
Set three was the biggest challenge for the home team this evening as the Mountaineers were looking to prevent the sweep. WCU scored four-straight points to begin the set before a service error finally gave Regis a point. The Rangers battled back to tie the set at six points apiece and eventually took their first lead of the set 10-9 in the midst of a 6-0 run that put them up 13-9. The Mountaineers reclaimed the lead, 19-18, and then again at 20-19, but a kill from graduate student Caitlyn Burroway tied the score at 20. Senior Rachel Siurek and sophomore Maddy Mallory combined for a huge block on the next play, and the Burroway collected another kill which put RU in front 22-20 as they looked to close out the set.
 
The final three points of the match came by way of a kill, from sophomore Halle Theis, a combined block from Siurek and junior Nadine Burbrink, and a match ending kill from Theis once again. The final set of the night was a 25-21 win for Regis as they improved to 7-4 on the season and 2-1 inside the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
 
Game Notes: Burroway led all players with 15 kills in the match as she posted a .214 hitting percentage and collected her third double-double of the season with the addition of 11 digs tonight. Theis was next with 11 kills and a .286 hitting percentage, four block assists and two digs. Burbrink posted a .500 hitting percentage with nine kills, five blocks and a dig. LeGrand was on fire in this match with 42 assists through three sets of work for a 14.0 assists per set average, her highest of the season. LeGrand (9), freshman Bre Skala (9) and junior Haley Kennedy (8) all had good nights digging the ball, giving their setter great opportunities to set up the hitters. It was an all-around solid performance from the home team as they finished the evening with a .302 hitting percentage as a team, 46 digs, 20 blocks and three service aces.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University volleyball team will be back on the court tomorrow afternoon when they welcome the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks into the Regis Field House for a match at 3 p.m. MST.