CCU Volleyball entered Saturday night's match needing a win. Dangerously close to a post-season miss, the Cougars set out to secure their fate with a victory over the 20^th ranked Roadrunners of Metro State.
 
A little more than two hours after the match started, the home Christian squad had both their win and a number six seed in the 2014 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
"We knew that if we lost, we would be out (of the tournament)," explained CCU Head Coach Verlyn Rosenthal. "I thought the girls played well under pressure."
 
Play well they did. On their way to a timely four-set win, the Cougars played a fast-paced and hard-hitting game. Aggressive on both sides of the ball, the Christian squad jumped on the visiting Roadrunners each time they miscued. As a result, the blue and gold rolled – building a noticeable momentum that would propel them to the upset.
 
Though it wasn't the cleanest of matches, CCU still fared better than a Metro State team that committed 33 errors at the net and eight errors from the service line. The Cougars finished the night with a .171 kill percentage, compared to a .138 from the Roadrunners.
 
Still, the night wasn't without its challenges. By the end of the night, fans had witnessed 35 ties and lead changes. Fighting tooth and nail to gain control of the match, neither squad ever let up on the throttle. Though Christian won the first two, MSU owned the third set – the most lopsided of all the games to that point.
 
Fortunately CCU saved their best play for the fourth and final set. With Taylor Sturms and Jackie Arnold leading the way, the Cougars exploded for a .310 attack clip. Though the Roadrunners would push them to the very end, Christian's firepower eventually proved too much for the MSU squad. When Arnold's final kill found the Metro State floor, the curtains were drawn and the Cougars had the win.
 
Sturms and Arnold combined for ten kills without a single error in the final set.
 
"Metro is a good team and we seem to always play each other tough. I'm so proud of the team effort and the level of play they created."
 
With the number six seed in the RMAC Tournament, CCU drew another date with the Roadrunners. They'll make the short trip to Denver Tuesday for a 7:00 pm first-round contest against Metro State. Follow ccucougars on Twitter for ticket information.