CHADRON, Neb. – Colorado Mesa raced out to a 2-0 lead in the match but had to comeback in a thrilling fifth set to defeat Chadron State 3-2 (25-20, 25-13, 23-25, 18-25, 15-9) on Saturday evening at the Chicoine Center in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball showdown.
 
In the opening set of the match, Mackenzie Edwards recorded eight kills to pace the Mavericks to a 25-20 win. Hattie Gianinetti had four kills while Ali Svorinic handed out 13 assists.
 
In set two, Colorado Mesa benefitted from five service aces in the set in a 25-14 win. Kricket Adleman had three of the five aces while Edwards had the other two. The Mavericks never trailed in the set.
 
Chadron State took the third set 25-23 behind a .219 hitting percentage while the Mavericks committed 11 attack errors. Gabriela Dias and Camille Smith each had four kills in the set. Colorado Mesa trailed by as many as seven at the 18-11 mark of the set and tied it at 21-21.
 
The Eagles seized control of the set early on and cruised to a 25-18 win. Colorado Mesa hit just .053 to Chadron's .162 and committed 10 attack errors in the set.
 
Colorado Mesa trailed in the fifth set 6-3 before rattling off four straight points to take control and win the deciding fifth set 15-9.
 
Edwards finished the match with 16 kills which tied the match-high. She also had nine digs and three service aces.
 
Camille Smith came off the bench and provided a spark in the fourth and fifth sets. She finished with 13 kills, hitting .579 and added two blocks.
 
Gabi Dias was the only other Maverick in double-digit kills with 11 kills.
 
Senior Kricket Adleman finished the match with four service aces.
 
Chadron State was led by Rudy Leseau who tied the match-high with 16 kills.
 
The Mavericks will head back out on the road next weekend and will take on Adams State and Fort Lewis