Home > Sport

Mesa State a big surprise with upsets over 'Runners, Lopers
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

The second-seeded Metro volleyball team had high hopes of a deep NCAA Tournament run, but their season came to an unexpected end when they were upset by No. 3 seed Mesa State in the second round 30-26, 22-30, 30-19, 36-38 and 12-15.

The Roadrunners had not lost to the Mavericks since the 2001 season, including four wins over Mesa State this season.

“It was very disappointing,” head coach Debbie Hendricks said. “We knew we were capable of beating Mesa State. Coupled with the five match points we didn’t capitalize on, (it) made it difficult to take.”

The NCAA Tournament began for the ’Runners on Nov. 9 in a 3-1 win over Fort Lewis in Canyon, Texas. Metro jumped out to a 2-0 game lead with an impressive .351 kill percentage in the first game and .382 in the second.

Fort Lewis stole game three in a hard fought 34-32 win as Metro committed 13 errors and had a .190 kill percentage. After outside hitter Julie Green tied the game at 31 with her sixth kill of the game, the ’Runners committed three errors that gave Mesa State the win.

Metro was down 9-3 early in the fourth game before reeling off an 8-3 run that tied the game at 11. Fort Lewis had five errors, and defensive specialist Amy Watanabe had two service aces during the run.

With the game tied at 19, the ’Runners went on to finish the game and take the match on an 11-2 run led by outsider hitter Stefanie Allison’s three kills and middle blocker Sheena Bohannon’s two kills.

Allison had a game-high 24 kills and contributed 20 digs. Bohannon had 13 kills while hitting an amazing .478 kill percentage, and Green had 18 kills of her own.

Mesa State upset Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A sigh of relief may have come over the Roadrunners knowing they wouldn’t have to play the Lopers in the second round.

The Lopers have beaten the ’Runners the last nine out of 10 matches. The most recent meeting was in the RMAC Tournament Nov. 3, with Metro upsetting Kearney in the second round.

Metro came out strong in their game against Mesa State by taking the first and third games, giving the ’Runners a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth game.

Four Metro errors led to a 9-4 Mesa State lead to start the fourth game. The ’Runners battled to keep it close with the Mavericks through the early stages of the game but couldn’t gain the lead. They would eventually tie the game at 20 when Mesa State outside hitter Stacey Vogul committed an error on an attempted set.

The rest of the game was an intense battle featuring 16 lead changes, 15 ties and eight match-point opportunities. Metro had five of those match points to end the game and match, but Mesa State held off those chances, including when middle blocker Megan Wittenburg made an attack error on a 36-35 Roadrunners lead.

Once again unforced errors hurt Metro when Allison committed two attack errors to give the Mavericks the game and a game-five opportunity.

Game fives had been Metro’s specialty, having won five straight dating back to Sept. 23 in a 3-2 loss to CU-Colorado Springs.

But the ’Runners did not come out with the same fire they had previously and committed more errors than kills (7-6), handing the Mavericks the match.

“I have to give credit to Mesa, who played well,” Hendricks said. “When you play a team four times a year, it’s hard to get a high-quality match. It was a sloppy match, especially in that fifth game, and we failed to put the ball away.”

The game ends the season for the women’s volleyball team, and they will lose four seniors to graduation, including outside hitter Stefanie Allison, who finished her Metro career as the all-time leader in kills (1,572) and attack attempts (4,016). She also was a three-time all-RMAC selection, the RMAC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player this season, and was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Southwest Region team.

Also moving on are middle blockers Megan Wittenburg, Sheena Bohannon and Kelly Angel.

“Stefanie meant a lot to the program both athletically and academically,” Hendricks said. “You don’t replace those type of athletes. We will miss her as well as the rest of the seniors. Each of them made an impact and should be proud of what they brought to the program.”