DENVER  Mountaineer volleyball rose up and pushed host and 12th-ranked Regis University into extra points in the second set Saturday afternoon, but the nationally-ranked Rangers would fight off that challenge in what would become a 3-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball win over Western.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Regis def. Western, 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-10)
Records: Western 4-16 overall (2-8 RMAC), Regis 15-4 (8-1)
Location: Regis Univ. Fieldhouse, Denver, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western would fall behind in the match after an opening-set win by Regis, but something clicked for Western between the first and second sets.
• The Mountaineers never allowed the Rangers to break free as they'd done in the first set, the difference between the team extending to more than two points only once in the entire second set (15-12).
• Western would come back from that deficit to take the lead, 19-18, with a tying kill from Kennedy Kelly followed by a service ace by Kelly.
• Regis would inch back in front at 20-19 but consecutive points by Seyun Park with a pair of kills and a kill from Maggie Olson would push Western back ahead, 22-20.
• Minutes later another Kelly kill would push Western to set point at 26-25 but the Rangers would steal the set with three straight points to move ahead in the match, 2-0.
• The energy from that second set was tough to replicate in the third as Regis bounded out to an 8-1 lead at the start and never looked back in winning the set to clinch the match.

NET NOTES

• The lengthy second set included 20 tie scores and 8 lead changes.
• Kelly's 12 kills tied for match-high honors and were a season-high for the junior. Kelly also completed the match without an attacking error, collecting her dozen kills on 20 attempts for a .600 attacking percentage.
• The Rangers' defense played a major factor in their win as it forged a 48-27 advantage in digs while racking up 9.0 blocks to just one solo block by Park for Western.

UP NEXT

• The Mountaineers will travel to Spearfish, S.D., to participate in the second of the RMAC's 'pod-play' weekends. Their two matches, against Westminster University and host Black Hills State University, do not count toward league standings despite the three teams all being part of the RMAC.
• Western opens with the host Yellow Jackets on Oct. 26, then finishes off the trip against the Griffins the next night.