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Weekend split déja vu for 'Runners
Friday night cold spell spills into Saturday night fever for Metro
By Pablo Cruz and Eric Lansing
pcruz1@mscd.edu • lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Simona Kroupova • skroupov@mscd.edu Jennifer Snowbarger (left) and Danica Tarkington (right) attempt to block a Julie Green (center) spike Friday, Sept. 8 at Auraria Event Center. Though the ‘Runners were beaten by the Mustangs in three sets, Metro bounced back the next night by sweeping CSU-Pueblo and Mesa State at home. Green had a career-high 33 kills in Saturday’s closing game against the Thunderwolves.

Playing their first set of “real” Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matches this season on Sept. 8 and 9 at the Auraria Event Center, the Roadrunners volleyball team repeated the pattern of the previous weekend’s preliminary tournament by bouncing back after an initial two losses to win two of their first four regional matches.

Starting off their first match against Western New Mexico University, Metro lost in a quick three-set frenzy. Though the scores were close in each game – 30-23, 37-35 and 30-27 – the ’Runners were not able to pull through in a single one. Starting the first game in a funk, the women stayed six and 10 points behind throughout, leaving little room for victory.

“Missing Sheena Bohannon, our starting middle hitter, we had to have our right side play middle,” outside hitter Stefanie Allison said. “So we were just trying to get used to our lineup and just trying to make it work.”

Outside hitter Julie Green and middle blocker Megan Wittenburg added 21 and 12 kills respectively, while defensive specialist Bri Ostler tried to keep the ball in play with a match-high 26 digs.

“I think you can tell the amount of energy you’re going to bring to the match by how you warmed up, and that’s exactly how we warmed up,” head coach Debbie Hendricks said of the team’s slow start. “One of the things that we’ve been identifying is that how we warm up generally carries over into how we start a match.”

Feeling a bit warmer, the team went into the second set hoping to slow things down against the Mustangs. Metro kept the game neck-and-neck right to the end, until that hope faded into another loss.

At one point toward the game’s end, the ’Runners pulled ahead of the Mustangs, nearly scoring the game-winning point. But after a close call was overruled by the official, the game ended in another win for the Mustangs.

“I clearly saw that ball out … so I overruled that one,” the official said after the match. “It was a very crucial point … a tough call.”

With a bruised morale, the Roadrunners went on to the next set, where they were able to keep the margin small, but were ultimately unable to pull ahead for the win.

Feeling better about their makeshift lineup, the ’Runners moved on to their next challengers, Fort Lewis.

Winning their first game of the match 30-18 with plenty of room to spare, and then barely losing their second game 29-31 the ’Runners proved that the match would be a long one, with fierce competition through all five sets.

Though Metro stuck with the Skyhawks in an edge-of-the-seat match, they ultimately fell 11-15 in the final set, killing their spirits on the first day of matches.

“It’s just our mentality,” Allison explained that night after the two heartbreaking losses. “We need to come out and have the confidence to win, to know we’re going to win.”

Saturday’s games showed greater ’Runners potential as Metro swept two RMAC opponents in Mesa State (3-0) and Colorado State-Pueblo (3-1).

“We just had a lot of communication,” Wittenburg said on how the team improved from Friday’s games. “We talked on the back line and front line so it was easier to block. We had to change our mentality because we were playing to not lose, then playing to win.”

Metro swept Mesa State 30-26, 30-26 and 30-21 to defeat the Mavericks in straight sets. After Mesa State tied the first set at 22, the ’Runners railed off seven of the next 11 points, including a single-serve game point, for the win.

Outside hitters Allison and Green led the team with 15 and 16 kills respectively, while Ostler posted another 17 digs.

“It was all up to us,” Allison said. “We know we are a really good team, it is just how we want to come out and play. Are we going to play timid or are we just going to put it out on the line?”

Saturday’s second game against CSU-Pueblo had the makings of an early season Metro game with a display of freshman mistakes and late-game leads that were not being closed out. Instead of letting those mistakes turn into a loss, Metro overcame them and defeated the Thunderwolves 30-24, 30-32, 30-28 and 30-20 in four sets.

“Sometimes we come out and play consistent and we get leads and we pull leads,” Hendricks said. “Sometimes we play to win and we seem to have a confident mentality.”

“And other times we seem to lack a little confidence for the situation, so that’s what we’ll continue to work on.”

Green recorded a career-high of 33 kills, while Allison had 25 to go along with her two blocks and 16 digs.

“For me, it is a lot of mental preparation,” Allison said about her all-around effort. “It’s about being determined on every play and knowing that no matter what happens, I will have to make a better play out of it.”

The Roadrunners return to single-game format with a home match-up against Chadron State on Sept. 15. Metro then faces RMAC foe Nebraska-Kearney Sept. 16, also at the Auraria Event Center.