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Metro splits pair of RMAC matches
By Pablo Cruz
cruz1@mscd.edu

The Metro women’s volleyball team delivered a familiar win-one-lose-one weekend as the Roadrunners began their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road trip. Metro defeated Regis on Sept. 22 in northwest Denver and lost to UC-Colorado Springs in Colorado Springs the next day.

Metro faced a tough Regis team that was undefeated in RMAC play, but the ’Runners beat them in four games, 38-36, 16-30, 30-22, and 30-22.

“We came in today knowing that we had nothing to lose,” outside hitter Julie Green said. “They were 5-0 and we were 3-3, so we came in figuring we had a great week of practice and we just said, ‘Go all out.’”

In the first game, the ’Runners quickly fell seven points back and looked to be playing tentatively. Metro battled back, however, and tied the game at 30. For the last 14 points, the teams fought neck and neck past the 34-point mark.

Metro then took advantage of a seemingly tired Ranger team and scored the final two points to come out on top, 38-36.

In the next game, Regis looked more like an undefeated team as they handled Metro with ease in a 30-16 win.

The ’Runners bounced back and won the third game. They took games four and five with contributions from outside hitter Stephanie Allison, who finished the match with a game-high 21 kills, and middle blocker Megan Wittenburg, who had seven kills, 11 digs and 11 set assists.

“I think the biggest effort we made tonight was in our blocking,” said Metro head coach Debbie Hendricks. “The last two games we blocked really well and I think maybe we got in their heads a little bit.”

By going all-out against Regis, there may have been nothing left for the ’Runners. They lost in five games the following night to UC-Colorado Springs, who went in with a 6-9 record, 3-4 in the RMAC. With the game knotted at two apiece, the Mountain Lions took game five 15-11.

In the deciding game, Metro had a 10-8 lead before Colorado Springs took a timeout to stop the ’Runners’ momentum. It worked, and the Mountain Lions reeled off four straight points that led to the eventual win.

Metro (7-8, 4-4 RMAC) faces off against Colorado Christian on Sept. 26 in Lakewood and then heads back home on Sept. 30 for a match against Colorado School of Mines.