DURANGO, Colo. — Colorado Mesa won a five-set, two-plus hour thriller over Fort Lewis tonight in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball action in Whalen Gymnasium. The Mavs (9-2 overall, 3-0 RMAC) eventually emerged with a 25-19, 25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 12-15 victory over the Skyhawks (5-6, 1-2).

 “A lot of credit to Mesa,” said ninth-year FLC head coach Shelly Aaland. “They're going to be a tough competitor in the West Division this year and they played well.”

 Fort Lewis dropped the first set in unspectacular fashion, falling down 6-1 in the opening frame, clawing its way back into the set, then giving away six points on service errors.

 Set two saw the Skyhawks hit a -.103, committing eight errors while registering just five kills. Then Fort Lewis rebounded, largely due to a connection between setter Ciara Krening and middle blockers Kristin Stephan and Ashley Ellis.

 “I was very proud of our resolve to fight back in sets three and four,” said Aaland. “I was very pleased with how we turned around our game plan and got back to what our priorities were in the match. Our middles did a great job. Once Ciara started distributing the ball to them, I thought they elevated their play.”

 During those third and fourth sets, Ellis notched five kills and eight blocks, while Stephan added four kills and three blocks and forced the Mavs into poor attacking execution (CMU hit just .083 in the third set and -.032 in the fourth after smacking a .280 and .207, respectively, in the two opening salvos).

Then came the winner-take-all fifth: a back-and-forth affair that saw the teams trade points until CMU built a 9-6 lead that forced Aaland to burn a timeout. Fort Lewis responded by taking the next four points and grabbing a 10-9 lead. Mesa then reeled off five points of its own to take a commanding 14-10 advantage — the last coming on a ball handling error that drew the ire of the home crowd. FLC right side hitter Stephani Sonka staved off a pair of game points with a solo block and a kill, but CMU's Kelly Regimbal sealed the victory with a decisive cross-court kill.

 Aaland's frustration with the official's interpretation of setting rules was evident. “I believe the match was not entirely in our hands,” she said. “Unfortunately, we had to compete against two forces tonight — especially Ciara. She's doing a great job of managing her position and while we don't ask for perfection in her technique, I feel like certain officials do.”

 Krening, who notched 39 assists during the match, was whistled for five ball handling errors. The same official whistled her for nine in FLC's season-ending, four-set loss to Adams State in 2011. In just two games, those 14 BHEs represent more than a third of what the sophomore setter has accumulated during her 34 collegiate appearances.

Still, Aaland said she was excited about her team's efforts against a top-flight RMAC program. “I think we're building,” she said. “We grew tonight, and overall that's what my focus is — to get better as a team.”

Colorado Mesa's depth and power proved formidable. Running a 6-2 offense that always leaves three hitters in the front row, CMU setters Jordyn Moody (29 assists) and Krista Ubersox (17) distributed balls across the court to a veritable swinging door of talent. Christian Otzen led the way with 14 kills and a .379 attack percentage; Regimbal added 11 kills and three blocks and Rachael Beaty notched 10 kills.

Fort Lewis countered with its usual offensive suspects: outside hitter Ashley Wells (14 kills, 14 digs, three blocks), right side hitter Sonka (11 kills, five blocks), and Stephan (nine kills, three blocks).

Putting the ball in play from the serving line played heavily in CMU's favor, though. The Skyhawks committed an uncharacteristically-high 13 service errors offset by six aces (two each to Krening and Stephan). The Mavericks committed just one service error, which came early in the fifth set.

After failing to register a block in the first set, the Skyhawks wound up leading the match in blocks 13-9. CMU outdug FLC 66-50 as libero Megan Rush recorded a whopping 23 digs.

By match's end, attacking efficiency had nearly evened out, with CMU hitting .136 (59 kills, 38 errors) to .080 for FLC (46 kills, 31 errors).

Nearly 500 fans — most of whom were FLC students — witnessed the excitement.

Fort Lewis tries to rebound and salvage a .500 homestand when it hosts Western New Mexico (4-8, 1-1) at 7 p.m. Friday in Whalen Gymnasium.

CMU will host Western New Mexico Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Brownson Arena.