The Mavericks got a glance into the future Saturday night when future conference foe Black Hills State came into Brownson Arena. As the Mavs welcomed the Yellow Jackets, they also looked to end a five game skid. After tweaking her knee in Friday night's loss to Adams State, Antoinette McCormick sat this one out as the Mavs handled business and won 3-1.
“This one feels especially good,” Rebecca Sellers said. “A five game losing streak puts a damper on the season, but I am glad we came in together and finally won a game.”
After the Mavs jumped out to a 6-2 start in the first game, Black Hills stormed back and took a 19-13 lead. The Mavs also rallied and tied it at 21, but the Yellow Jackets were able to hold on and win it 26-24. Kelly Regimbal led the attack with six kills in the first set loss. Rachael Beaty added three kills as Sellers, Jordyn Moody and Megan Rush each added three digs. Moody had all the team's assists with 11 and Sellers added two kills.
The Mavs came out sluggish in the second game as Black Hills jumped out big early, 11-5. The Mavs were able to rally, however, and after taking a 17-14 lead, they were able to hold on and win 25-22. Regimbal added five more kills and three digs in the win as Sellers had three more kills in the game. Melissa Hess had five digs as Rush was able to add four more to her total. Moody doubled her assists as she had 22 in the first two games.
“That first game lit a fire under our butt,” Sellers said. “We were tired of losing, so we just stuck it to them.”
The third game played out a lot like the second. Black Hills took a big lead early, but the Mavs stormed back. After tying it at 18 apiece, they jumped out to a 23-19 lead and closed it out with an error from the Yellow Jackets. Mavs won the third game 25-21 and took a 2-1 overall lead. Sellers took charge in the game with seven kills as the team had 16 kills in the third game win. Rush added nine digs in the game as Moody had 12 assists and three digs. Sellers also added three digs.
The Mavericks were able to put away the Yellow Jackets for good in the fourth set with a 25-17 win and 3-1 match win. Regimbal and Sellers stepped up big for the Mavs as they added 17 and 12 kills, respectively. Sellers also added 12 digs and Rush finished with 21 digs. Moody finished with 44 assists and 11 digs.
“Even without McCormick, our bench is big and we all stepped up,” Sellers said. “This game just shows how deep we are and that we can step up when we need to. We look to bring this kind of effort to Black Hills every time we face them now.”
With the win, the Mavs improved to 4-9 on the season. They will close out the weekend Sunday night in Brownson against Fort Lewis before traveling to Las Vegas, N.M. next Friday.
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