DENVER – When Julie Green joined the MSU Denver volleyball program in 2004, she represented a new prototype for the Roadrunners.
 
"Prior to that, our outside hitters were always smaller, ball-control, shot-maker type players," former MSU Denver coach Debbie Hendricks said. "Julie was the first one we looked at who was a very athletic, terminal-type outside hitter.
 
"We knew she could elevate, and we knew she was a banger."
 
Green (now Davis) dominated her way through four outstanding seasons at MSU Denver, helping the team extend its streak of consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament (which now stands at 23) while leaving the program as its all-time leader in kills with 1,654.
 
She'll take her rightful place in the Roadrunners Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 28, when she is inducted along with former women's basketball All-American Vanessa Edwards, men's soccer All-American Scott Grode, men's soccer star and longtime women's soccer assistant coach Dave Morgan, and former women's soccer All-American Rachel Zollner Tabbal. The 7 p.m. ceremony at the Spring Hill Suites at MSU Denver follows a 6 p.m. social hour. Tickets are available here.
 
Hendricks said that, at the time, it was still difficult to get local talent to come play for the Roadrunners, but Green helped break that trend, too.
 
It helped that Green's sister, Nikki, played at league rival Colorado Mesa.
 
"We always dreamed of having a chance to play against each other in college," Green said. "So I was able to do that, and stay close to home – and I really liked the coaching staff and its reputation and I met some of the ladies who were going to be my teammates and I knew it would be a great fit."
 
When Green arrived, it was a bit of a rebuilding season for Hendricks and the Roadrunners. But it didn't take long for the 6-foot outside hitter to take over a starring role.
 
Green said that, of course, she came in with confidence.
 
"You always go after the position you want," she said. "I wanted to have a friendly competition with my teammates, and we had our ups and downs, but we competed in a good way and we always had each other's back. I came in knowing I had to prove myself – I might have been one of the best players on my high school team, but now it was time to put my money where my mouth was."
 
Said Hendricks: "She's very confident She believes in herself. She was always making herself better."
 
Green helped the Roadrunners finish 13-6 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while earning Freshman of the Year honors for the region.
 
After just squeaking into the NCAA Tournament at 17-15 that year, the Roadrunners were much more dominant during Green's sophomore and junior campaigns, going a combined 43-19 overall and 29-9 in the RMAC. They won the RMAC Tournament in 2006.
 
"Those sophomore and junior years, we persevered," Green said. "We knew what we needed to do, and we held each other accountable. You didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize our team and our goals. I definitely got called out a lot – I was young and cocky – and I deserved it. But we all had the same vision of where we wanted to be."
 
The program came full circle for Green's senior season – still competitive in the RMAC (13-6), and still good enough to get into the NCAA Tournament (barely), but it didn't come easily.
 
That's when Green's leadership qualities where tested and developed.
 
"She didn't look at it as – this is my senior year, why are we rebuilding?" Hendricks said. "We played poorly our opening weekend of the season, and I called the team in and I really challenged Julie and Bri Ostler. I said, 'You are our only two seniors, but there's no excuse for the way we're playing right now.' And I don't know if I've ever seen two women take more of a lead and help us get a team turned around.
 
"We were barely above .500 that year, but it was a team that really enjoyed each other. We sneaked into the playoffs and actually got a first-round win over West Texas A&M. I give a lot of credit for the way that season went to Julie and Bri and their leadership. It was a special way to cap her career. Rebuilding didn't keep her from giving her very best."
 
Green said those memories have helped in her post-volleyball life.
 
"Bri and I collaborated on how we were going to get the team molded together," Green said. "I very much had to think and try to figure out how to be better leader. And I couldn't have asked for better counterpart to help push that team.
 
"And Debbie, for sure, has been very instrumental in my life. I still remember sitting in her damn office having some tough conversations. … That season put a forever stamp on my life and how I do things today. And I can still hear Debbie Hendricks yelling, 'Julie Elizabeth Green' every time I'm about to make a mistake."
 
Married now to Jeff Davis, she lives in Santa Rosa, Calif., and is a sales engineer in the energy sector. She isn't playing volleyball in men's leagues as much, but has started to focus in on golf.
 
During her career, she was a two-time all-region first team and two-time All-RMAC first team choice, and she was All-America honorable mention in 2006.
 
Despite the passage of time and MSU Denver's place as one of the top volleyball programs in Division II, Green is still near the top in most categories – she's still second in career kills, third in kills per set (3.90) and sixth in points (1760.0) as well as being the program's all-time leader in attacks (4,565). In the rally-scoring era (since 2001), she's first in kills per set and second in points per set (4.15).
 
Her 4.63 kills per set in 2007 is the program record for the rally-scoring era, and her kill totals of 533 and 2007 and 515 in 2006 rank third and fifth, respectively, at MSU Denver. And her 33 kills – in just four sets – in a 2006 match against CSU Pueblo is still the program record for the rally-scoring era.
 
"I never actually thought about those records when I was playing," she said. "I wish I would have, but I still would've played the same way.
 
"It feels great that I'm still up there now. The competition today just getting so good. They are so many incredible players now around the country. I'll always cheer for them to break my records."
 
But, even at a place like MSU Denver, that won't be easy.
 
"You see where she's at with the numbers," Hendricks said. "We had a lot of different types of outside hitters. … She was one of the most terminal outside hitters we've ever had at MSU Denver. For that specific type of outside hitter, she's right at the top."