Regis (CO) Regis 23-6,12-2 RMAC

MSU Denver MSUD 23-6,14-1 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis

23-6,12-2 RMAC

Final

Nov. 18, 2023

MSU Denver MSUD

23-6,14-1 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	5	F
Regis (CO) Regis	21	25	19	25	15	(3)
MSU Denver MSUD	25	20	25	20	11	(2)

Summary
Box Score

Edward Jacobs Jr

Game Recap: Volleyball | Nov 18 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 11 Regis captures RMAC Tournament championship, completes five-set comeback in win over No. 7 MSU Denver

DENVER, Colo. — For the second time in as many evenings, the No. 11 ranked Regis University volleyball team knocked off a rival top-10 foe; punctuating the program's first RMAC Tournament championship since 2019 with a thrilling five-set win over No. 7 Metropolitan State University of Denver on Saturday inside the Auraria Event Center.

Regis (23-6 overall) earned its place in Saturday's championship after dispatching of No. 10 Colorado Mesa University in straight sets during Friday's semi-final, setting up the rematch of the 2022 RMAC title game with the 2023 RMAC regular season champion Roadrunners (23-6 overall).

The Rangers overcame match deficits of 1-0 and 2-1, surging back to earn wins of 25-20 and 15-11 in the fourth and fifth sets, respectively, en route to capturing the program's seventh RMAC Tournament championship and third under head coach, Joel List.

"MSU Denver is a very good team and I thought it was a battle the whole night with each team making strategic changes. And it came down to emotions and who could withstand their nerves the best," List said. "I'm happy for our team and hats off again to MSU Denver because they are a very good team."

HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 1-0 with a 25-19 loss in Set One, and trailing 2-1 after the Roadrunners took the third set, 25-19, a veteran Rangers squad was able to flip the script for good in a pivotal 25-20 win in Set Four.

Regis built its cushion with a 5-0 burst early in the set, turning an 7-6 deficit into an 11-7 lead. And after MSU Denver had crawled back to within one at 16-15, the Rangers were again about to string together a quick 4-0 run to expand the lead to 20-15 en route to the 25-20 final.

The Rangers hit an even .300 for the set, posting 16 kills versus just four hitting errors on 40 swings, and were led by their middle blocking tandem of junior Amelia Davis and graduate student Nadine Burbrink.

Davis and Burbrink account for nine of the 16 kills in the fourth set win and combined for a total of 35 kills on the night as the Rangers made a concerted effort to get the ball to their middles as the match progressed.

The match-high 20 kills for Davis on a blistering .410 hitting percentage were her most in the 2023 season to date, while the 15 kills by Burbrink to go with her team-high six block assists were also a season high.

"I thought one of the big turning points in the game was, I didn't think our middles were being as productive early as they were towards the end, and that's Mara (LeGrand) forcing it. And I say that perfectly because she needed to force the middle," List said. "We were having a hard time slowing MSU Denver down at the pins so in order for us to battle back we needed to attack the middle."

Davis would tally four more of her 20 kills in the fifth and deciding set, the last giving Regis a 13-11 lead, while sophomore outside hitter Isabella Smith helped salt the match away with a service ace and another tough serve that led to an out of system attack error by MSU Denver that sealed the 15-11 win.

MVP, MVP, MVP!!
Graduate student setter Mara LeGrand was named the RMAC Tournament Most Valuable Player following the match. She finished the evening with four kills and 53 assists (10.6 APS), offensively, while adding four block assists and 11 digs — her 13^th double-double of the season — on the defensive side of the net.

LeGrand was one of four Regis players to be named to the RMAC All-Tournament team, joined by Davis, Burbrink and right-side hitter Klaudia Sowizral.

GAME NOTES

MSU Denver won the blocking battle, 9-6.
Regis limited the Roadrunners to a .176 hitting percentage and won the dig category, 82-76.
Graduate student libero Haley Kennedy led Regis with 20 digs, while junior Bre Skala popped up 18 digs.
The Rangers are now 2-1 against MSU Denver this season, with both wins coming on the road inside the Auraria Event Center.

UP NEXT
The Rangers will find out Monday what seed they will receive for the 2023 NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament, which gets underway on Thursday, November 30th with quarterfinal rounds, when the NCAA holds its Division II selection show at 5:30 p.m. (Mountain).

Regis came in at No. 4 in the latest South Central Regional, released Nov. 12. The top-ranked team in the region, the defending national champions West Texas A&M (28-3 overall), also won its conference tournament this weekend in the Lone Star Conference.

"I think we're right in the mix of being able to win our region and make it on to the Elite Eight, which we were able to do in 2019," List said. "We're taking things game by game. I don't like looking too far forward. We'll find out on Monday where we're going and what seed we are. We're going to enjoy tonight and then figure out who we play Monday and take care of that."

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