The Colorado State University–Pueblo women’s volleyball team lost to the Metro State University Roadrunners 0-3 in the first round of the RMAC tournament in Denver.
The Pack fought hard, with each set within at least five points. Senior Mariangel Perez led the Pack’s offense with 12 kills. Perez received Second Team All-RMAC honors earlier in the day and recorded four digs, and a .242 hitting percentage.
Perez, in her final season as a Pack volleyball player in the books, will see her name in the record books as she is in the top ten in career digs and kills. Perez won’t be the only one with her name in the record books as senior Katie Burnett is the ThunderWolves all-time career leader in digs. Senior Morgan Wilkening will end the season fourth in career kills and top ten in total attacks per game.
Senior RMAC Defensive Player of the Week Megan Schultz hit a .353 hitting percentage which is the second consecutive match with a hitting percentage of over .300 for Schultz. Schultz knocked down seven kills while gathering three digs and a block.
The ThunderWolves’ setters junior Elena Michalski and freshman Kelsey Bell both contributed by combining 26 assists and 15 digs.
The Pack went on a four-point run to cut the gap to one after being down 9-4. Michalski had two straight service aces during this stretch. Once the Roadrunners broke serve, they scored six of the next seven points to build the lead back to five. CSU-Pueblo would fight back within three throughout the game but never lead as the Roadrunners won the first set 25-20. Perez had five kills in the first set. Broadwell added four kills and a .571 hitting percentage.
The Pack took out to a 3-1 lead in the first. The two teams remained close for the remainder of the set. After MSU Denver built a three-point lead, the Pack responded with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the set at 22. With the set tied at 23, MSU Denver finished on a 2-0 run that gave them a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
In the third set, MSU Denver took a five-point lead at 16-11, but the Pack would erase it and tie things up at 17. Completing a 9-2 run, the ThunderWolves would eventually seize a 20-18 lead and the momentum. However, an attack off the block gave the Roadrunners a side out and some of the momentum back. Though the Pack would tie it at 22, MSU Denver answered with three consecutive kills to win the third set 25-22 and eliminate the ThunderWolves from the RMAC tournament.
This season will be the last for five Pack volleyball players, but all five left an impact on the school and the record books as well as being the first group of seniors to end their careers with three consecutive RMAC Tournament appearances.
Edited by: Theresa Wolf
