Jenny Glenn’s Roadrunners are looking to double down on program history.
Metro State volleyball is in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time, where they take on Wingate on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Glenn believes her team is capable of winning three more matches to achieve their ultimate goal: a national title.
“Every year, our goal has been to win a national championship,” Glenn said. “We’ve never hidden from that. We’ve never been afraid of it. We’ve never been passive. We’ve said it to the news stations; we’ve said it to everyone.
“… We have to keep our eyes fixed on the thing that’s right in front of us. But if we don’t know where we’re headed, we’re not going to put our train on tracks that lead to that destination.”
Glenn’s done nothing but win in her decade as the Roadrunners head coach, amassing a 249-53 record while making the NCAA Tournament every season but the COVID year, when it was cancelled.
And this year, Metro State broke through to its first Elite Eight after losing in the regional final each of the prior four seasons. The No. 4 Roadrunners ride a 20-match win streak into the showdown against No. 5 Wingate, which has won 30 in a row.
Should Metro State get past Wingate, the Roadrunners will face the winner of undefeated, No. 1 Tampa and No. 8 Ferris State in Friday’s semifinal at 6 p.m. The championship match is Saturday at 4 p.m. All matches are broadcast on ESPN+.
Metro State’s won four Division II national titles in school history — men’s basketball in 1999-2000 and 2001-02, and women’s soccer in 2004 and 2006. Glenn’s team is within shouting distance of adding to that tally because the Roadrunners grew from conference setbacks to Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 26 and Oct. 3, respectively.
Since then, Metro State hasn’t lost.
“The first match (against Colorado Mesa) we just lacked discipline,” Glenn said. “And the second match, we didn’t play with passion. I think we got too comfortable, like, ‘Winning’s just what we do at MSU Denver.’ But that was a turning point for this group, with a lot of new players to the court from last season to understand what it takes to win every time out.”
The Roadrunners are headlined by sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Boyte, the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year with 137 blocks, as well as senior outside hitter Annika Helf (400 kills) and the setting tandem of junior GabriElle Brewer (682 assists) and freshman Karyna Werley (656 assists).
Glenn, a 45-year-old Granby native who starred at Middle Park High School, says Metro State has the talent and chemistry to keep their season rolling into the weekend.
“(Wingate) runs a really fast offense,” Glenn said. “They play a little bit of a different style of volleyball, I would say, than what we’re used to seeing in the RMAC and in (our regional). So it’ll just be adjusting to that, and hopefully also bringing Roadrunner volleyball at them.”
