Regis (CO) Regis 22-7,16-2 RMAC

MSU Denver MSUD 28-1,18-0 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

22-7,16-2 RMAC

Final

Nov. 12, 2022

MSU Denver MSUD

28-1,18-0 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Regis (CO) Regis	16	25	16	21	(1)
MSU Denver MSUD	25	23	25	25	(3)

Summary
Box Score

Edward Jacobs

Game Recap: Volleyball | Nov 12 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 2 seeded Rangers edged by top-seed Roadrunners in RMAC Tournament Championship

DENVER, Colo. — Squaring off against the No. 1 ranked team in the country, and top seeded Metropolitan State University of Denver, the No. 14 ranked Rangers fell just shy of claiming their first RMAC Tournament title since 2017 as they fell in four sets — 16-25, 25-23, 16-25 and 21-25 — to the Roadrunners in Saturday's championship game held inside the Auraria Event Center.

Regis (22-7 overall), ranked third in the latest NCAA South Central Regional rankings, will find out which team and where it will play Thursday in the first round of the regional tournament, which is expected to be hosted by MSU Denver (28-1 overall) at the Auraria Event Center after entering this week as the top-seeded team in the region.

"MSU Denver is a very good team and I felt we played better against them (Saturday) than we did the first time. We showed growth and that's always what you want to see as a coach," said Regis head volleyball coach, Joel List. "We did a lot of things well. But against good teams, it's the unforced errors that really hurt and we made a couple too many of those. It's just 3-4 of them a set, but when you're playing an opponent who doesn't give you any points, you have to manufacture your own and make sure you're not giving them any. I thought that was the big thing tonight."

HOW IT HAPPENED: After getting off to a slow start to begin the evening, dropping the first set 25-16, the Rangers rebounded with a tight 25-23 win in Set Two.

Regis posted its best hitting percentage of the night in the second set (.300) and getting nine of their 17 kills in the set from their pins in junior outside hitter Halle Theis and graduate student right-side hitter Klaudia Sowizral, who led all Rangers with 16 kills and 13 kills, respectively.

"In Set Two, we did a lot better job at the service line making it tough on them, which made our job easier in transition. We had some better matchups on the pins with Klaudia and Halle. Mara got clicking with them and that opened some other things for us," List said. "MSU Denver also had a few more uncharacteristic errors in that second set, so that helped us because those points are so valuable."

Defensively, Regis limited MSU Denver to a .238 hitting percentage in Set Two and neutralized the Roadrunners' All-American outside hitter Rylee Hladky as she had four kills and four errors through two sets and finished the evening with just 10 kills on 45 attempts.

"We really tried to key in on Hladky, defensively, for the first couple of sets. We were trying to match up Bre Skala (defensive specialist) with her in the back row and I thought she did a great job in the middle back defending her," List said.

Skala finished with eight kills off the bench, aiding a Regis defense that won the dig battle 68-67 and had three players in double-figures in senior libero Haley Kennedy (19 digs), freshman defensive specialist Kylie Stremmel (12 digs) and senior setter Mara LeGrand (10 digs).

Unfortunately for the Rangers, they were unable to maintain the momentum in the third set as, with MSU Denver nursing an 18-16 lead, the Roadrunners finished the set on a 7-0 blitz to win the set, 25-16, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The tough end to Set Three spilled over into the beginning of Set Four as MSU Denver jumped head 7-3 and led by as many as six points.

"I thought that was the shift in the match. We were on our heels to start the fourth. We battled well, but we were a little deflated because of how the third set ended," List said.

The Rangers stormed back to the set at 15-15 with a 6-0 run of their own, and were tied as late as 21-21, but were unable to sustain the runs as MSU Denver won the set, 25-21, to clinch the championship.

GAME NOTES

MSU Denver finished with a .291 hitting percentage (59-13-158) while the Rangers posted a mark of .176 (57-29-159)
The two RMAC rivals played each other nearly even in most major categories, with the Roadrunners narrowly edging the Rangers in aces (3-2), blocks (6-4) and kills (59-57
Senior setter Mara LeGrand capped her sensational tournament with a match-high 47 assists to go with her 10 digs

UP NEXT: Regis will find out who, when and where it will play next Thursday when the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament gets underway. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) Sunday evening at NCAA.com.

With MSU Denver winning the RMAC title and being the No. 1 team in the region, the tournament is expected to stay in the Mile High City. But regardless of where and who the Rangers play, List said he anticipates his team will be prepared and motivated to play again next week.

"Playing against these other good teams have shown us what we need to get better at the fortunate thing is the season is not over. We can recover, mentally and physically, the next two days and see what our draw is in the regional tournament," List said. "We're all healthy right now and I like our chances. Making the RMAC Tournament final shows a lot because I think the top teams in our conference are very good. I feel like we have a good shot of proving the strength of our conference and hopefully making it to the finals again."

NOTES
The Rangers had two players named to the RMAC Tournament All-Tournament Team in senior setter Mara LeGrand and junior outside hitter Halle Theis.

"Those two definitely deserved the recognition. Halle had a great tournament hitting from the outside, at the service line and in the back row. And Mara ran a good offense for us," List said. "She's a very athletic setter who causes problems for other teams with her offensive ability, which opens up a lot for our hitters."

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