By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams begin their NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship on Friday in the South Central Region bracket. All matches in the regional are hosted by No. 1 seed Angelo State and will be played at the Junell Center-Stephens Arena in San Angelo, Texas.
RMAC Champion and No. 3 seed MSU Denver starts the day's action with a 10 a.m. (MT) contest against No. 6 seed Texas Woman's. The evening action kicks off when No. 5 seed Colorado Mesa faces No. 4 seed Dallas Baptist at 3:30 p.m. The first round concludes at 6 p.m. when No. 8 seed Colorado Christian faces No. 1 seed Angelo State. The winners all advance to the second round to be played on Saturday.
Friday's RMAC Schedule, Links, and Recaps
No. 3 MSU Denver def. No. 6 Texas Woman's, 3-0
SAN ANGELO, Texas – Riley Anderson had 11 kills and five blocks to lead No. 3 seed MSU Denver to a three-set sweep (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) victory against No. 6 seed Texas Woman's University in the first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship's South Central Region on Friday at Stephens Arena. The Roadrunners overcame a slow start in the opening set that saw them trail the Pioneers 14-11. But MSU Denver scored seven of the next nine points to turn the set around and take an 18-16 lead before easing to a 25-20 win. The Roadrunners turned up their front-row defense in Sets 2 and 3, recording an impressive 11 blocks in the two frames as they won each set in nearly wire-to-wire fashion. Alyssa Boyte's nine-block performance led the MSU Denver defense.
No. 4 DBU def. No. 5 Colorado Mesa, 3-0
SAN ANGELO, Texas – In what proved to be a defensive battle in which neither team's offense overpower the other, No. 4 seed Dallas Baptist's cleaner offensive outing helped it down No. 5 seed Colorado Mesa in three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in the first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship's South Central Region on Friday at Stephens Arena. After losing the first set, Colorado Mesa had a golden opportunity to level the match in the second set with it leading 23-19. Instead the momentum swung completely in Dallas Baptist's favor as the Mavericks committed six consecutive errors to lose the set, 25-23. The Patriots carried that momentum into the third set, winning wire-to-wire to clinch the match. DBU's Delaney Fuller scored a 15-kill, 17-dig double-double. Sydney Leffler led CMU with nine kills and a .237 attack percentage.
No. 1 Angelo State def. No. 8 Colorado Christian, 3-0
SAN ANGELO, Texas – No. 8 seed Colorado Christian held its own against No. 1 seed Angelo State but could not overcome the hosts offensive power and fell in three sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-20). The Cougars never allowed the Rams to run away in hide in the three-set affair, facing their largest deficit at eight points in the second set only to close back within two points at 22-20, forcing an Angelo State timeout along the way. The third set was more of the same with the Rams opening up a seven-point lead only to see the Courgars whittle it away to three points at 22-19 before the hosts could secure the match win. ASU's Madi Parrish posted a match best 17 kills. CCU's Renee Phillips and Abigail Newell each had nine kills.
NCAA Division II Volleyball Championship: South Central Regional
December 6-8 | San Angelo, Texas (Angelo State)
Match times MST
Quarterfinals | Friday, December 6
Match 1:
[3] MSU Denver def. [6] Texas Woman's, 3-0
Match 2: [2] West Texas A&M def. [7] UT Tyler, 3-0
Match 3: [4] DBU def. [5] Colorado Mesa, 3-0
Match 4: [1] Angelo State def. [8] Colorado Christian, 3-0
Semifinals | Saturday, December 7
Match 5 (3 p.m.): [3] MSU Denver (28-2) vs. [2] West Texas A&M (26-4)
Match 6 (6 p.m.): [4] DBU (20-9) vs. [1] Angelo State (29-2)
Regional Championship Final | Sunday, December 8
Match 7 (3 p.m.) – Semifinals Winners