Volleyball Travels To Kearney For NCAA Regional Tournament :: Roadrunners face UC-Colorado Springs

Nov. 13, 2007

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THIS WEEK: For the second consecutive weekend, Metro State is headed to Kearney, Neb., this time for the NCAA Tournament. Metro State is the No. 6 seed and faces No. 3-seed UC-Colorado Springs in the first round, Friday (Nov. 16). Nebraska-Kearney, the RMAC regular-season and tournament champion, is the top seed and host. The Lopers face No. 8-seed Mesa State at 7:30 p.m., while No. 4-seed Central Oklahoma takes on No. 5-seed Fort Lewis at 5 p.m. No. 2-seed West Texas A&M plays No. 7-seed Midwestern State at 2:30 p.m. The Metro State-UCCS winner faces the No. 2/7 winner at 5 p.m., Saturday.

SERIES NOTES: Metro State leads the overall series with UC-Colorado Springs, 24-4, but the Mountain Lions have won three of the past six meetings. The two teams have split two meetings this season, with Metro State sweeping UCCS in Denver, Sept. 21, while the Mountain Lions won in five games, Oct. 20, at the Lions Den.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In the CSTV/AVCA volleyball poll released Nov. 12, Metro State is not ranked. Minnesota Duluth is No. 1, followed by Tampa, CS San Bernardino, Truman and Concordia-St. Paul. Nebraska-Kearney is No. 22, while UC-Colorado Springs is not ranked.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: This is Metro State's eighth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament...Head coach Debbie Hendricks has taken the Roadrunners to the tournament in each of her eight seasons...Metro State defeated Fort Lewis in four games in the opening round last season before falling to Mesa State in the second round in five games.

NCAA STATS: In the NCAA statistics through Nov. 4, Metro State ranks 24th in team digs (19.97 d/gm). Individually, Bri Ostler ranks 24th nationally in digs (5.89 d/gm), while Julie Green-McFarland is 17th in kills per game (4.61).

CAREER WATCH: Julie Green-McFarland is Metro State's all-time kills leader with 1625 career kills...Green-McFarland also holds the Metro State career attack attempts record (4467). Stephanie Levi ranks sixth in career assists with 2798. Bri Ostler ranks seventh all-time in career digs with 1204.

RMAC STATS: In this week's RMAC statistics, Metro State ranks second in digs (19.92), fourth in assists (13.71) and kills (14.92), eighth in hitting percentage (.175) and 10th in blocks (1.80). Julie Green-McFarland leads the league in kills (4.67 k/gm), while Bri Ostler leads the RMAC in digs (5.80). Stephanie Levi ranks fourth in assists (11.97 a/gm).

ALL-RMAC: Bri Ostler was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Kelsey Ellis was the Co-Freshman of the Year when the conference announced its awards prior to the RMAC Tournament. Julie Green-McFarland was a unanimous selection to the all-RMAC first team, while Ostler and Ellis earned second-team honors. Stephanie Levi was named honorable mention.

RMAC HONORS: Kelsey Ellis was named the RMAC East Division Player of the Week, Sept. 24.

SCOUTING UC-COLORADO SPRINGS: UC-Colorado Springs is 20-11 and is celebrating its first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain Lions finished second in the RMAC's East Division with a 16-3 record. Jessica Wood is in her fourth season as the head coach. On the court, the Mountain Lions are led by all-RMAC selection Brooke Akers, who ranks third in the RMAC in hitting percentage (.331) and kills (3.92), while she has 451 kills and 106 blocks on the season. Diane Sheldon also has 313 kills. As a team, UCCS ranks second in the RMAC in kills (15.30). UCCS has won four of its past five matches and seven of nine overall.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BRACKET: The winner of the Metro State-UC-Colorado Springs match faces the winner of the No. 2-seed West Texas A&M vs. No. 7-seed Midwestern State. WTAMU is 32-7 overall and won the Lone Star Conference championship over the weekend. The Lady Buffs swept Midwestern State in the two teams' only previous meeting this season. Midwestern State is 27-5 overall and enjoying its finest season in school history with its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs lost in the first round of the Lone Star Tournament last weekend.

SEASON BRIEFING: Metro State started out slow, going 2-7 in the early going as it faced a tough early season schedule at the Florida Southern Classic and Colorado Premier Challenge. However, once the conference schedule started, the Roadrunners hit their stride, winning five of their first six RMAC matches. After losing two straight to Fort Lewis and Mesa State, Metro State won five more in a row and eight of 12 to advance to its eighth straight NCAA Tournament.

FRESHMAN FACES: Although senior Julie Green-McFarland has led Metro State on the floor this season, the Roadrunners would not be where they are without the play of five freshmen, including four true freshmen. Kelsey Ellis was the RMAC's Co-Freshman of the Year and a second-team all-RMAC selection, while Lisa Jones leads the team in hitting percentage and blocks. Redshirt freshman Danielle St. Pierre is fourth on the team in kills, while Megan Murray ranks second on the team in blocks. Sarah Vallejos has been a valuable defensive specialist. All five have played in all 108 games this season.

HENDRICKS HIT: Head coach Debbie Hendricks has 178 victories at Metro State, which ranks second all-time behind Pat Johnson (1968-87), with 390 career wins. Hendricks has led Metro State to eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament in her eight seasons. Hendricks is 178-74 in her eight seasons at Metro State and 374-155 in her 16th career season.

LAST WEEK: Metro State lost its first-round RMAC Tournament match to Western New Mexico, 32-30, 25-30, 30-24, 26-30, 15-9. Nebraska-Kearney won the RMAC Tournament with a 3-1 win over UC-Colorado Springs in the championship. Adams State knocked off No. 2-seed Fort Lewis in the first round, but lost to UCCS in the second round. Nebraska-Kearney knocked off WNMU in the second round on its way to the championship.