Metro spikes UCCS

Volleyball team rips through foes, No. 4 Regis
lurking 3 games ahead

By Chris A. Petersen
The Metropolitan

The No. 13-ranked Metro womenâs volleyball team knocked off Colorado College Sept. 30 in three games to tally its fourth-straight sweep and boost its record to 13-4, (6-1 conference).

The Roadrunners are back on track after stumbling against Hawaii-Hilo and Southern Colorado and seem to be skating toward an Oct. 10 showdown at Auraria Events Center against No. 4 ranked Regis, which leads the Eastern Division of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 15-1, 7-0.

ãOur confidence is really building,ä coach Joan McDermott said.

Metro dominated throughout the Colorado College match even though it was missing one of its best players.

Freshman Michelle Edwards was sidelined with a possible stress fracture in her leg.

ãWe decided to rest Edwards instead of taking a chance of making the problem worse before the Regis match,ä McDermott said.

It might as well have been a scrimmage for the Roadrunners, who made easy work of the Tigers, allowing only six points before running up the score to take the first game 15-6.

McDermott took advantage of the easy time the Roadrunners were having to give her entire lineup playing time.

ãWe were trying to give everyone some time,ä she said. äThey handled it very well.ä

Game 2 followed form, and the Roadrunnersâ hitters pancaked the Tigers with powerful blasts off sharp assists from senior Laurie Anderson.

Colorado College offered little resistance as the Roadrunners won the first eight points of the game.

The nearly flawless attack kept Metro from slipping into the second-game woes that have plagued the team this season. The Roadrunners took the second game  15-2.

The right arm of Audra Littou is a lethal weapon on the volleyball court. Littou stepped up her game in the absence of Edwards to lead the Roadrunners with 17 kills out of 29 attack attempts.

Littou looked as if she were at target practice, picking apart the Tigersâ defense at will. Colorado College managed a few feeble digs against Littou, only to have her slam the ball back for a kill.

The Tigers, it seemed, would have been no worse off if they had spotted the Roadrunners the lead as quickly as the points were piling up in game 3. The Roadrunners mercifully sent them on their way 15-5.

Metroâs biggest challenge before the showdown with Regis might be its match with rival Nebraska-Kearney in Nebraska.

Kearney holds the fifth spot in the Eastern Division, but despite its slow start, McDermott stills sees the Lopers as a legitimate threat.

ãKearney on the road is always a tough match,ä she said. ã There is always a big  crowd, which makes it tough to play. (Kearney) lost early in the season but have really improved since then.ä

After Kearney, Metro faces two bottom-of-the-barrel teams in Fort Hays State Oct. 4 and Chadron State Oct. 9, who occupy the last two places in the division. Metro could go into the Regis match riding an eight-game winning streak.

Although itâs still three matches away, McDermott and the team canât help but look ahead to Regis, which might prove to be the defining match of a season already equal to the last.

Metroâs victory over Colorado College gives the team 13 wins, matching last seasonâs total. McDermott is confident but expects a tough road ahead.

ãRegis is solid,ä she said.ä It should be a good match.ä