Metropolitan State University of Denver’s women’s volleyball team took home the national title on Dec. 13 at the NCAA Division 2 Championship game. Pictured from left are assistant coach Kaden Knepper, head coach Jenny Glenn and manager Yuchan Kim. Jenny Glenn/Courtesy photo
The journey to a national title lasted 10 years for Metropolitan State University of Denver women’s volleyball head coach Jenny Glenn.
When it came down to the final game of the 2025 season, she knew the team had already accomplished a feat far more remarkable than its first NCAA Division 2 championship: They knew themselves not only as players but as people.
“We really pressed into our identity of who we were off the court and who each individual was, and that was just a turning point,” Glenn said. “In the last three weeks of our season, our team played in such freedom, and we didn’t feel the pressure. … When we did that, you saw a team that was kind of unstoppable.”
Coming full circle
In August, the team attended a retreat in Grand County and visited the same courts where Glenn, a graduate of Middle Park High School, found her love of volleyball.
“We taught our team about what identity is and who they’re created to be, and we spent most of the season identifying who or what each athlete is, and who they were created to be,” she said.
The women then traveled to Middle Park High School and West Grand High School to host camps for local students — a full-circle moment for Glenn, she said, and an opportunity to give back to the community that shaped her.
A Granby native, Glenn has been coaching the Roadrunners for the past decade leading up to their first national championship win against nine-time winner Concordia University St. Paul.
She was a three-sport athlete in high school and played volleyball for Middle Park, with her father, Jim Glenn, as head coach. Her father and sisters’ love of volleyball fueled her own, but she also received support from her track coach Paul Quere and her high school PE coaches Cal and Tammy Cherrington, she said.
Her mentors instilled a sense of identity within her — something she wanted her players to cultivate for the 2025 season. At the August retreat, she taught her players about self-discovery and finding their unique role on and off the court.
“This season, each person had a role,” she said. “It really was all of us — all 14 players plus our staff — really operating out of who they were created to be. That was really cool.”
Championship season
In addition to a strong identity, the Roadrunners came out of the season with a strong track record: The team finished with 32 wins, the most in program history. Glenn’s overall winning percentage and conference winning percentage are the best in team history.
“Since I’ve gotten here, we’ve set our sights on the national championship,” Glenn said. “We have always said that our goal is to win a national championship, but we also wanted to do it the right way.”
The team had been working its way up the rankings since Glenn came on as head coach. In 2020, it finished fourth in the final division poll and took the No. 3 spot in 2021 and 2022.
After five years of getting beat out at the Sweet 16 stage, this year was the team’s first time making it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Championship and Glenn’s first time since she played volleyball for Truman State University.
MSU Denver won three of four sets at the Dec. 13 championship match. The winning point of the final game, in which the Roadrunners defeated their opponent 25-21, was scored by junior Megan Hagar, an outside hitter who stepped in after the team’s sole senior player Annika Helf was sidelined by a knee injury in the quarterfinal.
At a press conference after the win, players applauded Hagar’s willingness to fill in for her injured teammate, adding that Glenn’s leadership and dedication to the team were crucial to securing the title.
“I am so deeply proud of her that she just stayed in throughout the entire season, and she got the fruit of that,” teammate Skyler Michael said about Hagar, who was also named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Helf, an all-American player, stayed supportive on the sidelines, cheering on Hagar and the team as they moved on to the semifinals and, eventually, the championship game. She credited Glenn’s unique coaching style as a key factor in the team’s success.
“Lots of coaches are focused on performance, and to have a coach that is focused on making us good human beings and knowing who we are, it’s just amazing,” Helf said at the press conference.
Looking back on the season, Glenn credited her players’ inner work for their outward success. The ability to tell the team’s story on a large scale has been a blessing, and now that the championship is over and won, she said she looks forward to recharging and regrouping before planning for next season.
“The trophy is awesome, but I’m just so proud of who these women are,” she said. … “We’ve already won in knowing who we are.”
Metropolitan State University of Denver’s women’s volleyball team took home the national title on Dec. 13 at the NCAA Division 2 Championship game. This is the team’s first national championship win and the university’s first national title since the women’s soccer team won in 2006. Jenny Glenn/Courtesy photo
Women’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Lola Gitlin
Lola Gitlin won the 3,000-meter race by more than 12 seconds at Cornell’s Southern Tier Invitational as she clocked a time of 10:37.55. Gitlin’s time is good for 24th nationally.
Women’s Track & Field – Field Performer of the Week – Lily Seyfert
Lily Seyfert placed third in the shot put at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational with a mark of 12.72 meters, which is just shy of her top mark of 12.78 this season (17th in Division III). Seyfert also finished third in the weight throw at 16.20 meters and ranks eighth in the country after that performance.
Men’s Track & Field Rookie of the Week – Raphael Campanile
Raphael Campanile placed fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50 meters at the Cornell Southern Tier Invitational on Saturday and currently ranks 25th in Division III with that performance.
HONOR ROLL
Matthew Zenker totaled 44 points on 18-of-31 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and three steals in a 1-1 week for Ithaca. Zenker netted 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a 101-72 win over RIT and followed up with 24 points and eight rebounds as he shot 10-of-15 from the floor in a loss to Union.
Junior forward McNamara delivered a pair of strong performances despite setbacks against RIT and Union. Against the Tigers, she was flawless from the floor, going 3-for-3 while adding seven rebounds and two blocks. She carried that momentum into the Union matchup, coming just shy of her first career double-double with nine points and eight boards.
Shenandoah University men’s volleyball freshman Simon Bellenbaum was named the ODAC’s Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
The York, Pennsylvania, native accumulated six solo blocks and eight digs in SU’s two matches against Randolph and Regent, with three blocks in each game and five digs versus the Royals.
Boys’ basketball: Sherando 48, Strasburg 44
STEPHENS CITY — Sherando defeated Strasburg for its fourth straight win on Monday. The Warriors are 9-4.
Girls’ basketball: Strasburg 39, Sherando 29
STRASBURG — Strasburg completed a season sweep with a win over Sherando on Monday.
The Warriors (3-11) trailed 18-7 after one quarter, 23-10 at the half and 29-22 after three quarters.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Two Keene State College student-athletes honored by the Little East Conference for their achievements accomplished for the week of January 5-11.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Freshman diver Keegan Johnson (Durham, N.H.) was named the LEC Diver of the Week and the Rookie Diver of the Week from his dives across the Owls’ final two home meets this season over the past weekend. Against Eastern Connecticut State University, Johnson placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 129.75 on Friday afternoon, and on Saturday morning against Norwich University, he placed first in the 1M diving with a score of 141.38 and first in the 3M diving with a score of 170.31.
Johnson and the Owls return to action for a double-dual meet against Brandeis University and Bridgewater State University on Saturday, January 17 at 12:00 PM.
Men’s Indoor Track and Field
Senior Eden Damis (Nashua, N.H.) was named the LEC Field Athlete of the Week from his performance at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational on Saturday for the Owls. In the long jump, Damis posted a mark of 14.00 in the triple just for a new personal record in his final attempt of the day. His mark became the 21st best mark in NCAA Division III on the season, just one position for qualifying for nationals later this season.
Damis and the Owls return to action at the Panther Invitational I at Plymouth State University on Saturday, January 17, at 10:00 AM.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its women’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LUCIA GARCIA-BELTRAN • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Hopewell, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central
Garcia-Beltran earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 60 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior sprinter and Rutgers transfer clocked a time of 7.63 seconds, which ranks fifth in NCAA Division III.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
SARAH SCEPKOWSKI • The College of New Jersey
Senior • Garwood, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson
Scepkowski claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after clearing 1.60 meters in the high jump at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The senior’s mark ranks 20th in NCAA Division III and stands as one of the top performances in the conference this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
AMELIA VITALE • Farmingdale State College
Freshman • Hauppauge, NY/Hauppauge
Vitale was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after posting a time of 2:30.87 in the 800 meters at the Spartan Invitational. The freshman’s performance represents the top mark in the event thus far in the NJAC this season and establishes her as the conference’s early leader in the middle-distance event.
PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference announced its men’s indoor track & field weekly honors for the week ending Jan. 11.
TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MAXIM RYCHKOV • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Robbinsville, NJ/Robbinsville
Rychkov earned NJAC Track Athlete of the Week honors after setting a new program record in the 400 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore clocked a time of 47.95 seconds, which ranks sixth in Division III. Rychkov’s record-breaking performance also leads both the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region in the event.
FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
BRADEN PAULMENN • The College of New Jersey
Sophomore • Monmouth Junction, NJ/South Brunswick
Paulmenn claimed NJAC Field Athlete of the Week recognition after a strong showing in two throwing events at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The sophomore recorded a mark of 15.38 meters in the shot put (third place) and 13.98 meters in the weight throw (fourth place). His weight throw mark ranks third in the NJAC and 10th in the Metro Region. Paulmenn also owns the second-best shot put mark in the NJAC and NCAA Metro Region and is 26th in Division III.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
VICTOR AKINBOBOYE • The College of New Jersey
Freshman • Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty
Akinboboye was named NJAC Rookie of the Week after clocking a time of 35.54 seconds in the 300 meters at the Lions Indoor Invitational. The freshman’s performance ranks 18th in Division III and establishes him as one of the top first-year sprinters in the conference.
Oldani had a match-high and career-high 10 digs in BYU’s season opener Friday night in Provo. He added another three digs on Saturday. Oldani also had five blocks over the two matches, as the Cougars started the season 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Oldani is one of three transfers from Grand Canyon on this season’s BYU squad. He was a key contributor as a freshman last season for the Antelopes and has picked up where he left off with the Cougars.
Oldani and the No. 8 Cougars won in back-to-back sweeps last weekend over Saint Francis and have two more home matches this Friday and Saturday, as No. 10 UC San Diego visits the Smith Fieldhouse.
