GUNNISON – MSU-Denver showed why it is the 2016 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season champions Saturday evening, as Western State Colorado University tested the champs in every set but came up short in all three. The Mountaineers fell victim to the sweep (23-25, 18-25, 19-25) for the first time this season in conference.
 
Western played a consistent game, pressuring Metro in every possible way. The difference in the score came from a nearly flawless match by Metro, who committed more serving errors than they did attack errors (nine to five), and did not get blocked once. There were 21 ties and five lead changes throughout the match.
 
For the Mountaineers, Jordan Eatwell led the attack with 10 kills. She was joined by Tori Gaherty and Molly Hothan with seven kills apiece. Allison Walker dished out 32 assists.
 
Amanda Maestas continued to charge towards another historic season, putting up 18 digs in just three sets. She was joined by Logan Franek with a dozen.
 
For the Roadrunners, Michaela Smith added to her conference leading kills per set with 14 kills in three sets and 14 digs. Setter Brandi Torr had 39 assists.
 
With the loss, Western moves into a three-way tie with CSU-Pueblo and Adams State for seventh in the conference. Western has two games remaining, and could reach as high as the fourth seed or be out of the tournament.