DENVER – The No. 4-ranked and top-seeded volleyball team held eight-seeded Western Colorado to a .020 hitting percentage to win 3-0 and to advance to the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament. 
 
The Roadrunners took the match 25-15, 27-25 and 25-17. It was just four days ago that these two teams faced off in Gunnison. Head coach Jenny Glenn knew it was going to be a battle, with Western Colorado facing the end of their season.
 
"We obviously know what they did to us last Friday," Coach Glenn said on the tough battle with the Mountaineers on the road. "They had a match with the Colorado School of Mines in between our two matchups and we saw they were doing some different things, and we wanted to be prepared for that. And we're just trying to find our best volleyball at this time of the year." 
 
"I definitely knew they were going to come on strong and come out wanting to beat us because they didn't want this to be their last game," Senior Riley Anderson said.
 
MSU Denver came out swinging against the Mountaineers in the first set with Riley Anderson tallying six kills in the first frame. But it was a much tougher set for the home team in the second, as Western Colorado raced out to an 8-2 lead thanks to a couple of service aces and a couple of kills from Seyun Park. 
 
WCU had set point at 24-22 in that second set, but a couple of miscues and a kill by Skyler Michael put MSU Denver up 25-24. Kills by Anderson and Megan Hagar finished off the set to allow the Roadrunners to steal away the set. 
 
"I don't know if it's our best matchup," Coach Glenn said on Western Colorado. "I think they do a couple things specifically that creates problems for us. And they play a different style of volleyball too. So, we have to challenge ourselves to play our style of play no matter what is happening on the other side. 
 
While the Mountaineers hung tough with top seed in the final frame and trailing by just one at 16-15, the RMAC's regular season champions would finish out the set strong outscoring WCU 9-2 to move on to the next round of the RMAC playoffs. 
 
Riley Anderson had big points throughout the match and finished with a game-high 16 kills, hitting .423, adding four block assists and nine digs. 
 
"I think Jenny has been a huge part in that," Anderson said on her raising the level of her game heading down the stretch of the season. "She has been harping on us to swing high and to go off the blockers' hands. We've been pulling into the block recently in the last few games, so in practice we're only allowed to hit our high shots." 
 
"She's just been really stable, especially in that six-rotation role," Coach Glenn said on Anderson. "Sometimes we're just giving her a break because she's getting served a ton of balls. And she's handling that, and I think that's one of the biggest growths in her game is her serve-receive." 
 
With the victory, MSU Denver will host the semifinals and the championship rounds of the RMAC Tournament. The Roadrunners have only lost twice in 15 games at the Auraria Event Center this year. Up next will be a date with four-seeded Regis University, who defeated CSU-Pueblo in the quarterfinals. 
 
"It's super exciting, I love playing at home," Anderson said on once again playing at home for the RMAC Tournament. "Having a student section is fun, having all of our parents here, it's definitely nice to be at home where it's comfortable."