The Metro State volleyball team came back from trailing two sets to one and beat No. 13 Southwest Minnesota State 3-2 (25-20, 16-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13) on Thursday in an NCAA Division II Central Region quarterfinal at St. Paul, Minn.
Bri Morley had 11 kills for the Roadrunners, the No. 7 seed ranked No. 20 nationally, and Anna Mapes had 10 kills with a stellar .625 hitting percentage.
Four Metro players reached double figures in digs, led by Amy Watanabe with 22. The Roadrunners will play No. 6 seed (No. 15 national ranking) Minnesota-Duluth, which ousted regular-season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions Nebraska-Kearney 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) in a quarterfinal.
Colorado Mines, the No. 8 seed, was swept by No. 1 seed and region host Concordia-St. Paul 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-20). Anna Padget-Shields had seven kills, and setter Emily Collett added 26 assists for the Orediggers.
• Alexis Ninos had 12 kills, and all-Sun Belt Conference first-team selection Emmy Davidsmeyer added 10, but it was not enough for the University of Denver, seeded No. 6, to advance past No. 3 seed and host Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SBC Tournament. The Lady Toppers won 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-18).
• Colorado College’s bid for a national title came to an end at the hands of Washington University as the Bears, ranked No. 4 in Division III, beat the Tigers 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14) in the quarterfinals of the D-III Tournament. CC finished at 35-5, which ties the 1983 team for the most victories in a single season. Emily Perkins had 17 kills and 14 digs for CC.
