Ranger Volleyball Wins Fifth Straight with Upset Win Over 16th Ranked Metro St.

Denver, Colo.: The Regis Ranger volleyball team won their fifth straight match with a upset victory over 16th-ranked Metro State tonight in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.  In front of a rowdy and raucous crowd, the Ranger women defeated the Roadrunners by scores of 25-20, 25-21, 25-22.

Regis (7-6, 5-0 RMAC) and Metro State (10-3, 3-2 RMAC) were tied at 13 in the first set when Regis went on a 4-0 run and never looked back as Metro State was only able to get within three on two separate occassions.  Regis only had 10 kills compared to 14 for Metro State, but the Ranger defense forced the Roadrunners nine errors, four of which came off of Ranger blocks. 

The .132 attack percentage that Metro State hit in the first set was their highest of the match, as they hit .108 and .095 in the final two sets.

The two teams were within one or two points most of the second set.  After a Metro State kill that increased the lead to 17-15, coach Frank Lavrisha called a timeout to settle down the troops.  His tactic worked as the Rangers scored four straight points to take a two-point lead, but 16th ranked Metro State responded to tie the game at 20.

However, Regis, with the help of the season-high crowd of almost 350, scored five of the next six points.  Metro State head coach Debbie Hendricks called two timeouts during this run, but the Rangers did not cave and went into the third set ahead 2-0.

Junior Sarah Keiter had six of her match-high 11 kills in the second set.

The third set was a cliff hanger for both teams as the lead changed hands six times and was tied 10 different times.  Regis held an 18-16 lead, but jump-server Bri Morley had two aces and Metro State scored four straight to take a two-point lead.

Again, with the help of the Regis crowd, the Rangers responded and tied the game at 20 and the final tie came at 22.  With senior Maggie Workman serving, Keiter had a kill to make it 22-22 and the next serve resulted in an ace by Workman.  Lisa Jones of Metro State then had an attack error to make the score 24-22 Regis.

The final point came off the hand of Keiter which came after each team had six chances to put the ball away, but good defense from each team made it the longest rally of the evening.

Junior Jessica Howe had 10 kills for Regis, while Bri Morley also had 10 for Metro State. 

Regis hit .222 for the match compared to .111 for Metro State.  Junior Devin Eckhardt had a double-double with 31 assists and 13 digs.  Sophomore Cassidee Young had 11 digs, while junior Erin Anderson had her second consecutive five block match.

Each team had three service aces and each team had six services errors.  Also, just to show how close each set was, each team had 47 digs, while Regis had 39 kills to 38 for Metro.

Regis will host another ranked team in #8 ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Regis Fieldhouse.

Click here for boxscore.