GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Coming off a weekend sweep of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's two South Dakota members at home, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick volleyball team will take a quick trip to Gunnison to visit arch-rival Western State Colorado on Tuesday.  First serve in the Mountaineers' Paul W. Wright Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Mavericks currently hold a 14-6 overall record and are 8-4 in RMAC play, good for a tie for fifth place in the RMAC standings with UCCS.    
 
October home dominance 

The Mavericks were at home for the first time in the month of October last weekend, sweeping 3-set matches against Black Hills State (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) and South Dakota Mines (25-17, 25-18, 25-10) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.  Those victories were their 17^th and 18^th straight at home in the month of October, a streak that dates back to 2013.  In this sub-category, CMU is 22-1 (.957) in the last five years at home and play one more October home match on Saturday against Westminster.
 
Moving on up and on pace for a record
 
Maverick junior libero Taylor Woods moved up another spot on CMU's career digs chart on Saturday and now stands in the No. 4 spot (matching her uniform #) with 1,418 career ­digs.  She passed Megan Rush (1,409) on Saturday after beginning her junior season ranked 15^th.  Woods, who has been in double-figures for 32 straight matches dating back to 2016, currently ranks second in the RMAC with her 4.89 dig per set average.  She is averaging 4.96 digs per set throughout her career, on pace to break the CMU record of 4.86, currently held by Lauren Freeman (4.84). 
 
"Zie" goes for 23
 
Maverick junior outside hitter MacKenzie Edwards put down 23 kills in Friday's 3-set victory over Black Hills State.  That total was equal to the third best 3-set kill total in CMU history and was her fifth 20+ kill night of the season and the ninth such effort of her career.  She ranks second in the RMAC for both total kills (298) and kills per set (4.03) and is 27^th nationally for her average.­
 
Double-figure double-doubles
 
Maverick sophomore setter Samantha Ritter recorded 28 assists and 10 digs in Saturday's win over South Dakota Mines and now has a team-high 10 double-doubles to her credit this season.  Seven of those have come in the last nine matches.
 
Elsewhere in the rankings
 
The Mavericks also have two other players ranked amongst the RMAC's top 10 in their respective categories.  Senior Megan Gianinetti is fourth in the conference for service aces per set (0.34) while Samantha Ritter remained sixth in the RMAC for assists per set (10.28).  As a team, the Mavericks rank amongst the top six in all but one of the seven primary team statistical categories.  They are second in both opponent hitting percentage (.160) and digs (16.12/set), third in service aces (1.46/set) and sixth in hitting percentage (.193), assists (12.28/set) and kills (13.15/set).
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Scouting the Mountaineers
 
The Western State Colorado Mountaineers will enter Tuesday's match with 2-19 overall and 1-11 RMAC records after picking up their first conference win of the season in four sets over South Dakota Mines on Friday.  They then dropped a 5-setter to Black Hills State on Saturday.  The Mountaineers had lost each of their first 10 conference matches, the first of which was against the Mavericks on Sept. 12 in Brownson Arena.
 
Senior outside hitter Jordan Eatwell leads the Mountaineers with 183 total kills while redshirt freshman middle hitter Taylor Ferrel has a team-high 47 blocks while standing second behind Eatwell with 121 kills.  Redshirt freshman defensive specialist Logan Franek leads the RMAC with 36 service aces.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks will be looking for their 10^th straight win in the series with the Mountaineers after sweeping the season-set in each year since 2013.  The Mountaineers last win over CMU came in five sets on Oct. 26, 2012 in Grand Junction.  The Mavericks have also won 22 of the last 23 matches against the Mountaineers and have not lost to them in Gunnison since Sept. 6, 2006, a span of nine straight victories.
 
Up Next
 
After Tuesday's short trip, the Mavericks will return home to face Westminster College on Saturday at 7 p.m.  The Griffins are currently 6-15 overall and 3-10 in RMAC play. They play at Western State Colorado on Thursday.