GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. In front of 965 screaming fans, the No. 8 ranked Colorado Mesa volleyball team ran by the UCCS Mountain Lions Tuesday (Nov. 11) in an RMAC Tournament quarter final match by a score of 3-0.
CMU got off to a slow start dropping eight of the first 10 points on the night. In what was a rough first set, the Mavericks would trail by five most of the game. With Colorado Mesa down 20-14, a one timer by
Erin Perez began to swing the momentum in favor of the Mavs. Two kills by
Erin Perez and an error by the Mountain Lions would bring CMU within three. From there, the Mavericks would battle back to tie the score at 22. After both teams split the next six points, and the Mavericks fending off a UCCS game point, the teams would again find themselves knotted at 25-25. A kill by
Audrey Steinkirchner would put the set at game point before a one timer by
Erin Perez would end it, giving CMU the 27-25 game one win.
Melissa Hess would record six kills on seven attempts to hit .857 in the game.
Erin Perez tallied five kills and .444, while
Abby Ney had three kills and hit .500.
Tiffany Petersen had seven digs.
The Mavericks continued the momentum they gained midway through that first set. The two teams each split the first eight points of the game before Colorado Mesa rattled off 12 straight points to put them up 16-4. CMU maintained at least a 10 point lead through the rest of the game. Looking to take a 2-0 and up 13 points in the game,
Erin Perez would again give the Mavericks the final point, taking the set 25-11.Colorado Mesa would have three service aces, two of which went to
Kricket Adleman during the Mavericks 12 point run. CMU was able to limit UCCS to a -.103 hitting percentage.
For the second straight set, CMU would jumped out to an earl 10-4 lead. Errors by the Mavericks would open the door for UCCS and the Mountain Lions would take the 11-10 advantage. Following a Maverick timeout, CMU would respond and take an 18-14 lead. With CMU up 22-17, the Mountain Lions made three straight attack errors to end UCCS's season and give the Mavericks the 25-17.
Melissa Hess led the way with a match-high 13 kills and hit .500 on the night.
Erin Perez tallied nine kills, while
Abby Ney had five and hit .364.
Jordyn Moody had her second straight double-double (38 assists and 11 digs).
Tiffany Petersen had a game-high 22 digs. CMU hit .175 while keeping the Mountain Lions to a -.026 attack percentage. The Mavericks recorded 60 digs to 46 for the Mountain Lions.
With the win, Colorado Mesa will host the RMAC Tournament Final Four beginning Friday (Nov. 14). The Mavericks will take on the Regis Rangers at 7 pm in the second of the two semifinal matches being played at Brownson Arena. The championship game will be held at Colorado Mesa on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7 pm.
Tickets can be bought at
www.tickets.cmumavericks.com
