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MSU Denver volleyball sweeps top seed Tampa, advances to NCAA final

The MSU Denver volleyball team is one step closer to winning the program’s first national championship.

On Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Roadrunners swept No. 1 Tampa (25-21, 25-19, 25-21) in the Final Four to advance to the NCAA Division II national championship.

The Roadrunners, who have won 22 straight matches, will face Concordia-St. Paul at 4 p.m. Saturday for the title. In the three-set win, MSU Denver beat a Tampa team that hadn’t lost a match all season.

“I am just so impressed and feel so blessed with this group and what they are doing on the court,” MSU Denver head coach Jenny Glenn said after the win. “I think you saw a team that was fearless tonight and stepped up.

“Our mission is to win a national championship.”

Megan Hagar once again was in the lineup for the injured senior All-American Annika Helf. Hagar delivered for the second straight game with a team-leading 11 kills.

“I always turn it back to my team. These girls make it super easy for me to go out and play with freedom,” Hagar, who also contributed seven digs, two blocks and an ace, said. “It’s really hard for me not to go out there and play my best with this group.”

GabriElle Brewer also had a strong match with four aces and 21 assists. RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Alyssa Boyte had four blocks in the win.

The Roadrunners, who have not lost since Oct. 3 against Colorado School of Mines, are familiar with the team they will play in the final. Concordia-St. Paul comes to Colorado to play in the Colorado Premier Challenge hosted by MSU Denver each year. The two teams didn’t play this season but have in past years.

“I am very familiar with the program,” Glenn said. “They come to Colorado every year. It is going to be a really fun match. We have played them before. We have won some, and they have won some.”


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