DENVER, Colo. – In three tightly contested sets, the fourth-ranked MSU Denver volleyball team held off an upset by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions Friday night in Denver. UCCS was within inches of the Roadrunners but fell on the road, 3-0, as No. 4 MSU Denver accounted for 15 team blocks.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
- Final vs. MSU Denver: 0-3 (18-25, 22-25, 23-25)
- Records: UCCS (5-6, 0-3 RMAC) | MSUD (10-1, 3-0 RMAC)
- Facility | Location: Auraria Event Center | Denver, Colo.
- All-Time Series vs. MSU Denver: The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 45-6, and have won the last nine matches against UCCS.
HOW IT HAPPENED VS. MSU DENVER
- Back-to-back kills from Hannah Ammerman gave UCCS a 2-0 lead right out of the gate in the opening set. Both teams kept within two points of each other before the Roadrunners opened a 17-15 lead and closed the set on an 8-3 run. Ammerman finished the set with six kills and a .288 hitting mark while Raegen Emery added three kills.
- Julia Geiger broke a 6-6 tie in the second set that bolstered a 7-3 run by the Mountain Lions. Ammerman tallied two of UCCS' kills during the run that was capped off by an ace from Jordyn Kinsey to give the Mountain Lions a 13-9 lead. UCCS held a 21-19 lead heading into the final stretch of the second stanza, but the Roadrunners rattled off four kills and blocked two attacks to take the set, 25-22.
- The Mountain Lions continued to battle against MSU Denver in the third set, snagging a 4-0 lead. Mackenzie Ransom set up Ammerman for the first point of the set before Ammerman and Nicole Medlin blocked an attack from the Roadrunners and then forced MSU Denver to come two straight attack errors for the 4-0 advantage. The set featured five lead changes and nine ties as neither team led by more than four points. With the score tied at 20-all, the Roadrunners Rylee Hladky put down a kill before a service error tied the set at 21-21. Ammerman's kill to break the tie was matched by a kill from Hladky to knot the set for the eighth time at 22-22. The Mountain Lions' final point of the night came from a kill by Emery before the Roadrunners forced UCCS to commit three straight errors to end the set, 25-23.
MATCH STATISTICS VS. MSU DENVER
- Ammerman finished the night with a match high 16 kills and a solid .342 hitting percentage. She added four digs and assisted on two blocks.
- Emery tacked on 10 kills on 30 attempts while Geiger finished with six kills and a block assist.
- Reilly Babcock set up a match high 29 assists to go with her eight digs, four kills and match high three aces.
- The Roadrunners were led by Hladky's 12 kills and Riley Anderson's 11 kills and seven block assists.
- UCCS finished the match with 40 kills, 38 assists, 44 digs and three blocks. The Roadrunners registered 45 kills,49 digs and 15 blocks.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Kinsey's 133 digs this season brings her career total to 1,496 digs, ranking her fourth all-time. She is 193 digs away from taking sole possession of third place in the career record books (Laura Meeter, 1,688 digs).
- Babcock leads the league in aces with .51 aces per set (20 total). She is sixth in the RMAC in assists per set (8.97).
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will travel across Denver to Lakewood, Colo. to take on Colorado Christian University tomorrow evening at 5 p.m.
SOCIAL
Twitter - @GoMountainLions
Instagram - @gomountainlions
Facebook – Go Mountain Lions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
