Regis (CO) Regis 22-6,12-2 RMAC

Colorado Mesa CMU 24-4,12-2 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

22-6,12-2 RMAC

Final

Nov. 17, 2023

Colorado Mesa CMU

24-4,12-2 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	F
Regis (CO) Regis	25	25	25	(3)
Colorado Mesa CMU	16	17	20	(0)

Summary
Box Score

Caty Llamas, Regis Athletics

Regis graduate student libero Haley Kennedy (#12) led all players with 19 digs in Friday's RMAC Tournament semi-final.

Game Recap: Volleyball | Nov 17 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 11 Rangers sweep No. 10 Mavericks to advance to Saturday's RMAC Tournament championship

DENVER, Colo. — Squaring off against a No. 10 ranked Colorado Mesa University squad that had the upper hand during the regular season, the No. 11 ranked Regis University volleyball team put together one of its most dominant performances of 2023 as the Rangers swept the Mavericks in Friday's RMAC Tournament semi-final.

With their 25-16, 25-17 and 25-20 thumping of the No. 2 seeded Mavericks (24-4 overall), the third-seeded Rangers (22-6 overall) punched their ticket to Saturday's RMAC Tournament championship game for a second straight season where they will again take on crosstown rivals and top-seeded No. 7 ranked MSU Denver (23-5 overall) at 4 p.m. Saturday inside the Auraria Event Center.

"I told the team in the locker room, and on Tuesday (after quarterfinal win), that I like 'Postseason Regis.' We're playing intentful, clean and moving on from mistakes when they happen because we know every play, every match matters," said Regis head volleyball coach, Joel List. "We took it very seriously tonight and it was great to see the outcome."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rangers, who fell by 3-1 and 3-0 finals during the regular season to the Mavericks, came out aggressive and got off to a much-needed fast start, using a 7-2 run midway through the first set to build a 14-10 cushion.

They'd string together another 4-0 burst to balloon the lead out to 19-12 en route to cruising to a 25-16 win in Set One, propelled by another sensational blocking performance from the Division II's blocks per set (2.90) leaders.

Regis produced seven of its 13 blocks in the first set — led by seven total blocks by junior middle blocker Amelia Davis and six blocks by graduate student middle Nadine Burbrink — sending a message to a Mavericks squad that would hit a season-low .071 on Friday.

"I think that was exactly what we were wanting to do. Make a statement," List said of the first set. "To be able to do that in the first set does set a tone. We were prepared for them to come back and to make any adjustments that we needed to, but I thought the team did a great job of being very consistent through that whole match."

The Rangers continued to keep the pedal down in the second set as they never trailed, and used a 9-2 blitz early to build a comfortable 15-7 lead, to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-17 win.

Defensively, it was the Regis back row's turn to shine in the second set as Colorado Mesa posted a negative hitting percentage (-.180), committing 10 errors versus nine kills. Graduate student libero Haley Kennedy paced all players with a match-high 19 digs and was joined in double-figures by sophomore outside hitter Isabella Smith (12 digs) and freshman defensive specialist/setter Elie King (10 digs).

"It started with how well we blocked at the net, but (Friday) I really was proud of how our back row defense played," List said. "Haley did a great job of helping us slow that offense down. Colorado Mesa is a good team, we knew what we were up against, but I thought Haley did a great job stepping up to the plate and digging balls if they got past the block, which was something we were focusing on since the last time we played them."

Offensively, the Rangers were just as consistent as they hit .254 as a team and had six different players record four or more kills, led by Burbrink with 11 kills, graduate student right-side hitter Klaudia Sowizral (9 kills) and senior outside hitter Halle Theis (8 kills).

Graduate student setter Mara LeGrand added five kills of her own on a team-best .417 hitting percentage to go with 29 assists and seven digs.

UP NEXT
Regis will look to win its first RMAC Tournament championship since sweeping the regular season and tournament crowns in 2019 when the team squares of against tournament hosts, No. 7 ranked MSU Denver. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. inside the Auraria Event Center.

The Rangers and Roadrunners have split the regular season matchups thus far, with Regis defeating MSU Denver in straight sets on Oct. 26 and the Roadrunners earning a 3-1 win on Nov. 4.

"MSU Denver is going to play hard and they are always a good serve and pass type of team. I think we match up well in different positions, but for both of us it's going to come down to the nerves, who wants it more and how can we make small adjustments on the fly," List said.

HOW TO WATCH
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) announced earlier this fall the addition of a subscription model to all 2023-24 RMAC championship broadcasts on the RMAC Network. The announcement comes after support from league leadership in the summer to implement the pay-per-view concept as a manner to offset the league's broadcasting initiatives and operations associated with championship events.

Fans will be able to purchase day passes for each day of tournament play, priced at $9.95 per day. To purchase the day pass, fans will navigate to www.rmacnetwork.com and will be directed to select the institution that they are supporting through their viewership. Once the payment submission is complete, fans will have access to any RMAC championship contest available for that specific sport. Day passes will expire within 24 hours of the purchase.

TICKETS
Those interested in buying tickets for Saturday's championship match may do so online at: https://rmacsports.org/tournaments/?id=232

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