Regis (CO) Regis 16-4,8-1 RMAC

MSU Denver MSUD 15-5,8-1 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

16-4,8-1 RMAC

Final

Oct. 26, 2023

MSU Denver MSUD

15-5,8-1 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Regis (CO) Regis	25	25	25	(3)
MSU Denver MSUD	22	19	23	(0)

Summary
Box Score

Edward Jacobs Jr

Regis senior Halle Theis (#8) led all Rangers with 12 kills Thursday.

Game Recap: Volleyball | Oct 26 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 12 Rangers sweep rivals MSU Denver to open regional power pod

DENVER, Colo. — Squaring off against its crosstown rival, the No. 12 ranked Regis University volleyball team open this week's regional power pod with an emphatic 25-22, 25-19 and 25-23 road sweep of No. 7 Metropolitan State University of Denver inside the Auraria Event Center.

For the Rangers (16-4 overall, 8-1 RMAC), the win snapped a five-match skid against the Roadrunners (15-5 overall, 8-1 RMAC) dating back to 2019 and is a victory that could only grow in importance as the calendar inches closer to December at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.

"I thought our team did a great job all night of just looking forward to the next point. We knew MSU Denver is a great team and was going to have their runs, do some great things, but we kept plugging along," said Regis head coach, Joel List. "We try to compartmentalize, so we definitely celebrated (Thursday), and will now turn our focus to tomorrow's match against Colorado Mesa. But I do know tonight's match will obviously boost our confidence or erase any self-doubt we may have had that we're a great team. I think the team knows that now and I think it'll help in the future too. We're a great team that is capable of beating other great teams."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers came out as the aggressors to begin the night, opening the first set on a 12-4 blitz that was aided by seven attack errors by MSU Denver, which was held to a meager .094 hitting percentage by the Regis defense.

Regis entered the week the top-ranked defensive team in the RMAC in terms of lowest opponent hitting percentage (.140) and retook the top spot in blocking (2.62 blocks per set) after racking up 10 more blocks on Thursday.

MSU Denver was held to a negative hitting percentage in Set One —a 25-22 win by the Rangers —committing 12 errors versus 11 kills on 40 attempts (-.025). The Roadrunners would commit a total of 26 attack errors on the evening.

"Our block certainly played a little bit of a part in those attack errors. Any hitter, after getting blocked, you're sometimes forced to try something else that you're not comfortable with and I think that happened some tonight," List said. "Then you add that it's a big game on the line and that can add a little more pressure. I also thought our defense behind our block did a great job tonight in helping us keep MSU Denver to that low hitting percentage."

Complimenting the strong defensive performance, the Regis offense would take over in Set Two as the team hit a match-best .324 in the 25-19 win, producing 13 kills and committing just two attack errors en route to taking a commanding 2-0 advantage.

Senior outside hitter Halle Theis produced six of her team-high 12 kills in the set to help pace the offense, while fellow outside hitter Hannah Kepler added six kills and right-side hitter Klaudia Sowizral chipped in five kills on the night.

As for the third set, the Roadrunners threatened to extend the match as they led by as many as five points and held a 14-10 advantage midway through the set. The Rangers would counter with a 7-1 burst, though, to retake the lead at 17-15 and never trailed again en route to the 25-23 close out win.

"I called a timeout when we were down by five. And when I did, the team looked calm and confident. They knew we weren't playing well at that moment. But they knew the set wasn't over yet," List said. "Haley and Nadine both had some really good serving runs for us and our serve brought us back in the third set."

GAME NOTES

Regis hit .188 as a team on Thursday and currently leads the RMAC with a team hitting percentage of .277.
Graduate student middle blocker Nadine Burbrink led all players with three aces and five total blocks, including a pair of solo blocks.
Regis setter Mara LeGrand finished with evening with 24 assists and seven digs.
The Rangers' back row was paced by graduate student libero Haley Kennedy (12 digs) and junior defensive specialist Bre Skala (8 digs).

UP NEXT
The Rangers will continue regional pod action at 6 p.m. Friday when they take on No. 11 ranked Colorado Mesa, hosted by MSU Denver inside Auraria Event Center. Friday's match will mark the second meeting between the two teams this fall, with CMU taking a 3-1 win out in Grand Junction back on Oct. 14.

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