Volleyball wins nine straight in RMAC
by Nate Timmons
The Metropolitan
What a difference a month makes. The Regis Rangers hosted Metro volleyball back on Sept. 25 and swept the 'Runners 3-0. The match dropped Metro to 2-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and left the fans wondering what happened to their team.
Matt Jonas / The Metropolitan
Roadrunner sophomore libero Heather Stapleton dives to save the ball in the 3-2 win over Colorado School of Mines, Friday, Oct. 22. With two wins over the weekend, the Metro volleyball team secured its third place in the RMAC East Conference.
Since that loss, the Roadrunners (14-11, 11-4 RMAC) have reeled off nine straight RMAC victories and essentially turned their season around.
Saturday, Oct. 23, Metro dished out some much-deserved payback as they played host to the Rangers (11-12, 9-6 RMAC).
"It felt good giving them a taste of their own medicine," said junior middle blocker Renee Hazlewood.
Hazlewood, who contributed a team high eight block assists, helped lead her team to their own sweep of Regis. As a team, Metro was able to score 12 points rejecting Rangers' shots. "(Our) blocking was strong," Hazlewood said.
Metro's intensity was on display throughout the evening. "We came out very confident," Hazlewood said.
In the first game, the 'Runners jumped out to a 3-0 lead and let Regis know they were in for a long night. The Rangers tried not to be intimidated and grabbed a 4-3 lead. However, this would be the Rangers only lead of the night in any game. The 'Runners quickly got back in front 5-4 and never looked back, winning the game 30-23.
Just like any good rivalry game, the fans played a role in the victory. "We were quiet during warm-ups," said sophomore libero Heather Stapleton. "The crowd definitely helped (during the match)."
Auraria Events Center welcomed the third largest crowd of the season to the match (217), but they were arguably the loudest.
Regis fans attempted to pump energy into their team during the second game with chants of: "Let's go Regis," but were thwarted by crazed Roadrunner fans who used their trademark bleacher-banging to drown out the opposition.
Regis looked re-energized and ready for the second game. Metro squashed the Rangers' effort and continued to block shots and score at will. Everything Regis tried the 'Runners had an answer for. The Roadrunners rolled in game two and won 30-23.
Metro again built an early lead (6-1) in the third game and Regis was forced to play catch-up. The Rangers were a bit more successful in their role then they had been and closed the lead to two (26-24). Metro called a timeout to regroup.
After the timeout, Stapleton was serving with the game on the line. "Heather stepped up," Hazlewood said. She was able to record three big points, including an ace to give Metro the sweep 30-25.
"This (win) was huge," Stapleton said.
The Roadrunners offense was led by outside hitters Sheena McLaughlin and Stefanie Allison who contributed 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Setter Sarah Lively took advantage of a Regis defense bent on stopping Metro's outside hitters. Lively snuck in five kills on a .833 percentage as she sensed the vacated Regis defense.
Stapleton cited good team communication that allowed for such opportunities.
Stapleton has been filling in for injured libero Taryn Drescher (stress fracture in her foot) the past two matches.
Although the sophomore has played different positions for the 'Runners, Stapleton is right at home at the position as defensive specialist. "It's a big job ... but I played (libero) last season," Stapleton said.
In addition to the Regis victory, Metro picked up another RMAC win Friday, Oct. 22 against Colorado School of Mines (10-14, 5-10 RMAC). It would take five games for Metro to get the win over the Orediggers (32-30, 27-30, 34-32, 28-30 15-8). Freshman outside hitter Julie Green led Metro with 22 kills.
The 'Runners will face undefeated and No. 1 ranked rival Nebraska-Kearney Friday, Oct. 29 at the Health and Sports Center in Nebraska. Metro travels to Fort Hays State Sat., Oct. 30 to face the Tigers. |
