DENVER, Colo. (Dec. 2, 2021) – The Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball teams' historic run came to an end in a 3-0 loss to No. 3 MSU Denver in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Regional Tournament on Thursday evening.
 
Both teams brought the intensity to open the game in a back-and-forth affair until MSU Denver (27-3, 18-0 RMAC) went on a 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead in the first set. A kill a few points later in the set, a kill from Maddy Wisniewski (Sr., Highlands Ranch, Colo.) sparked a 4-0 run for the ThunderWolves (20-9, 15-3 RMAC) that gave them a 14-13 lead before the Roadrunners scored 6-unanswered points to take a 21-16 advantage. The Roadrunners took set one 25-21.
 
Jazzy Espinoza (Jr., Cheyenne, Wyo.) gave the Pack an early 7-2 lead in the second set with a serving ace, but the Roadrunners responded with 7-unanswered points to quickly tie the set and take a 9-7 lead. The Pack seemed to struggle on serve receive and never put the Roadrunners on their heels defensively or gained any momentum offensively.
 
A late run by the ThunderWolves sparked by a kill from Espinoza off an over-pass from the MSU Denver defense cut the deficit down to 21-16 before the Roadrunners pushed to 25-17 win. MSU Denver held the ThunderWolves to 6 kills, 8 errors, and a -0.063 hitting percentage in the set.
 
Again, the ThunderWolves jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and extended it to as much as 7-3 before the Roadrunners scored 3-unanswered points and forced head coach Austin Albers to call a timeout at 7-6. The Roadrunners came out of the timeout with an 8-2 run to take their biggest lead at 14-9 before pushing to an 18-12 advantage.
 
The ThunderWolves showed life and inched their way back into the game, cutting the lead down to as little as 24-23, but came up short as MSU Denver advanced to the next round with a 25-23 win.
 
Wisniewski led the ThunderWolves with 8 kills and added a block and a dig while Hannah Delor (Jr., Marysville, Mich.) tallied 6 kills, 7 digs, and 3 assisted blocks. Espinoza also tallied 6 kills and 3 blocks for the Pack while Elaine Thibadeau (Jr., Monument, Colo.) registered 10 digs on the night.