GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After recording three straight 3-set sweeps over the last week, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will play their penultimate home match of the regular season, hosting the Westminster College Griffins on Saturday night at 7 o'clock in Brownson Arena.
 
The Mavericks are currently 15-6 overall and 9-4 in RMAC play and have moved into fifth place in the RMAC standings, a half-match ahead of UCCS, which is at Black Hills State on Friday.
 
Three straight sweeps
 
The Mavericks have recorded three consecutive straight-set sweeps defeating Black Hills State (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) on Friday, South Dakota Mines (25-17, 25-18, 25-10) on Saturday and Western State Colorado (25-17, 25-13, 25-18) on Tuesday night.  The Mavericks had previously not won three consecutive matches by 3-0 margins since Oct. 24-Nov. 1, 2014 when they won four consecutive matches in straight sets during a 19-match overall winning streak that pushed the Mavericks to RMAC regular season and tournament tiles and into the NCAA South Central Regional final.
 
Reaching 15
 
Tuesday night's win over Western State Colorado was the Mavericks' 15^th of the season.  CMU has now reached that mark in six straight years and all but one of Head Coach Dave Fleming's 13-season career with the Mavericks.
 
Saturday night clinch?
 
The Mavericks could clinch a spot in the RMAC Tournament with two full weeks to spare if they win on Saturday and Chadron State, currently 5-7 in RMAC play, were to lose to both RMAC-leading Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian this weekend.  Eight RMAC teams will qualify for the tournament, which begins with Nov. 14 on the campuses of the highest four seeds.  The top remaining team will then host the semifinals and championship match on Nov. 17 and 18, respectively.
 
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.  Saturday's match is the Mavericks' last of October.
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Scouting the Griffins
 
The Westminster College Griffins are currently 7-15 after a 4-set win on Thursday night over Western State Colorado.  They are 4-10 in conference play after winning their last two matches.  They had lost the previous six and eight of the previous nine.
 
Freshman outside hitter Audrey Green paces the team with 306 kills and is third in the RMAC with her 3.78 per set average.  Meanwhile, senior libero Megan Gallegos is ninth in the RMAC for digs per set (4.09) and leads the team with 303.  Green is in that category with 184 and had an impressive 21-kill, 17-dig effort in Thursday night's win in Gunnison.  Amara Spere had 23 kills and hit .450 in that win.
 
Series History
 
The Mavericks are 4-1 against the Griffins since Westminster joined the RMAC in 2015.  Westminster won in Salt Lake City on Sept. 22, 2015.  The Mavericks have since recorded four straight victories, all by 3-0 margins. Included in that group was a 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 victory on Sept. 15 of this season in Salt Lake City.  Katie Scherr had 11 kills and a career-high five service aces in that win. 
 
Up Next
 
After Saturday's match, the Mavericks will play their final four matches of the regular season against three Front Range opponents that will be critical for final positioning in the RMAC standings.  They begin that stretch on Friday, Nov. 3 at UCCS before facing MSU Denver a night later.