MSU Denver MSUD 18-5,10-1 RMAC

Regis (CO) Regis 18-6,10-2 RMAC

MSU Denver MSUD

18-5,10-1 RMAC

Final

Nov. 04, 2023

Regis (CO) Regis

18-6,10-2 RMAC

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
MSU Denver MSUD	25	19	25	27	(3)
Regis (CO) Regis	15	25	16	25	(1)

Summary
Box Score

Billy Saunders, Regis Athletics

Regis tied a program record with 20 total blocks on Saturday against MSU Denver.

Game Recap: Volleyball | Nov 04 | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

No. 12 Rangers tie program record with 20 blocks, fall in tight 3-1 loss to No. 8 MSU Denver

DENVER, Colo. — Inside a packed and frenzied Regis Fieldhouse, the No. 12 ranked Regis University volleyball team and crosstown rival No. 8 MSU Denver put on a show Saturday afternoon in a match that was as highly anticipated as it was crucial to deciding the 2023 RMAC regular season championship.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, despite a valiant effort to force a deciding fifth set, it was the visiting Roadrunners who would take the 3-1 victory and control of the top spot in the RMAC standings heading into the final week of the regular season.

"We came up just a little bit short. Valiant effort on both sides of the net. I thought MSU Denver did a great job being more efficient than the last time we played them and made good adjustments," said Regis head volleyball coach, Joel List, referencing the team's 3-0 sweep of MSU Denver just nine days ago in power pod action. "We did a good job slowing down the parts of the game that we needed to and hats off to our team for the fight that they showed. There were times we needed that and it showed. And I also want to give a shutout to the crowd. We had a great crowd come in to support us and when that many people show up to support you, you know that it is important to them. That many family and friends here on Senior Night; you couldn't ask for anything more out of a great match."

HOW IT HAPPENED
MSU Denver (18-5 overall, 10-1 RMAC) would throw the first punch in Saturday's RMAC heavyweight bout, taking the first set 25-15 and limiting the Rangers (18-6 overall, 10-2 RMAC) to seven kills and eight attack errors through the opening set.

Regis would counter in the second set as the team hit a match-best .276, producing 12 kills versus just four errors on 29 swings offensively, while holding MSU Denver to its lowest efficiency of the match (0.53 hitting percentage) in a 25-19 victory.

The Rangers produced six of their 20 blocks in the Set Two win — winning the block battle 20-8 against the Roadrunners on the night — en route to tying a school record for most blocks in a match. Regis had previously accomplished the 20-block feat twice during the 2003 season against CSU Pueblo and most recently against MSU Denver on Oct. 24, 2003.

Graduate student middle blocker Nadine Burbrink led the charge with a career-high 11 total blocks (1 solo, 10 block assists), while fellow graduate student Mara LeGrand posted nine block assists from the setter position and junior middle blocker Amelia Davis added two solos and six block assists.

"At the end of the season, there's not a lot of times that teams make big improvements. So to have 14 blocks on Friday in the win over Mines and then 20 blocks tonight, and knowing that was something we've worked on, shows this team is still improving," List said. "We know we have some things we still need to improve on from tonight and that's going to be our mantra — be able to improve and make changes — because there is still a lot of volleyball left."

MSU Denver was able to make adjustments of its own in the third set against the potent Regis block as the Roadrunners hit their match-high of .333, producing 17 kills versus just five errors, to nab the third set, 25-16, and go up 2-1 in the match.

Facing a 22-18 deficit in the fourth set, the Rangers continued to show their fight as they staved off four match points for MSU Denver, but were unable to force a fifth set as MSU Denver escaped with the 27-25 win.

GAME NOTES

Burbrink and senior outside hitter Halle Theis paced the Regis offense with eight kills apiece.
Graduate student libero Haley Kennedy and LeGrand were the two Regis players in double-figures in digs with 16 and 13, respectively.
With her 29 assists and 13 digs, LeGrand recorded her ninth double-double of the season.
MSU Denver finished with a 57-37 advantage in kills and a 61-53 edge in total digs.
Each team posted four service aces.

GRADUATING CLASS
Following the conclusion of Saturday's match, Regis Athletics and the Regis University volleyball team honored its four graduating players in LeGrand, Kennedy, Burbrink and right-side hitter Klaudia Sowizral.

LeGrand and Kennedy each crossed career milestones this week, with LeGrand becoming the seventh player in program history to eclipse 4,000 career assists and Kennedy moving into third all-time in career digs.

Burbrink, in her third season with the Rangers, is enjoying a career year defensive as she leads all Rangers with 104 blocks and an average of 1.27 blocks per set.

As for Sowizral, now in her second year with the Rangers, she too has had her best season here in 2023 as she leads the team in kills (238) and with a .344 hitting percentage.

"For Mara and Haley to be reaching career milestones and breaking records, and this is a great program with tough records to beat, I'm incredibly proud of those two," List said. "Nadine and Klaudia have both done a great job in adding the ability for us to score more points, make defense easier because of their offense. We're so happy to have everything that we have on the team. All these pieces are very important to our success, to be where we're at now. And I'm looking forward to where we're going to be."

UP NEXT
The Rangers will wrap up the RMAC regular season on the road next weekend with matchups against Adams State (7 p.m. Friday) and CSU Pueblo (6 p.m. Saturday) before jumping into RMAC Tournament quarterfinal action on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

One more win next week would guarantee the Rangers a home quarterfinal game as they continue their battle over the top-three seeds with MSU Denver and No. 11 ranked Colorado Mesa.

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