GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.­— After giving up a 2-0 lead only to pull out a 5-set victory over Adams State University on Friday, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team could not do the same on Saturday as visiting Fort Lewis College rallied from a 2-0 deficit to claim a 5-set (19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-12) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference volleyball win over the Mavericks in front of a spirited Brownson Arena crowd of 1,148.
 
The Skyhawk rally overshadowed some impressive statistical nights for the Mavericks, who fell to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in RMAC action.
 
CMU junior outside hitter MacKenzie Edwards recorded 33 kills, just one shy of a school-record (Nikki Green, 2004) and equal to second most in CMU history.  She had recorded a then career-high 28 in Friday's win and finished the weekend with 61 kills.  Edwards also recorded 19 digs in Saturday's defeat, good for her sixth double-double of the campaign.
 
CMU sophomore setter Samantha Ritter also tallied her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 59 assists to go along with 15 digs.  Meanwhile, junior middle blocker Natalee Todd finished with 13 kills, surpassing her career-high of 11 set just a day prior. 
 
Sophomore outside hitter Katie Scherr and senior right side hitter Megan Gianinetti also finished with double-doubles.  Scherr had 12 kills and 12 digs for her second double-double of the weekend while Gianinetti tallied 11 kills and a career-high 13 digs, good for the first of her career.
 
Meanwhile, Taylor Woods tallied a season-high 29 digs and moved to fifth on the CMU career digs chart.  She now has 1,315.
 
Fort Lewis (8-6, 3-3 RMAC) was paced by 14 kills from Emily Dellenbach and an impressive 34 digs from libero Megan Graefe.  Laine Waters also recorded 12 kills and nine blocks as the Skyhawks finished with a big 13-4 edge at the end.
 
The Mavericks won most of the other statistical categories, recording 77 kills, 24 more than the Skyhawks.  CMU also had a 99-90 edge in digs and out-hit the Skyhawks .200 to .170 throughout the match.
 
Edwards was on fire from the start recording eight kills in each of the first two sets as the Mavericks appeared to be cruising.
 
However, the Skyhawks came out of the intermission in solid form and led most of the third set.  Waters and Dellenbach had five kills each in that frame.
 
The fourth set would be the most intriguing and was tied 11 separate times.  It also featured five lead changes.  The Skyhawks used a 6-1 run to open a 19-14 lead before the Mavericks stormed back with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the set.  Scherr, who had three straight kills in the late stages of Friday's victory, was again the catalyst in that spurt recording four kills.
 
After an exchange of points that made it 20-20, Scherr would add yet another kill followed by a service ace to put the Mavericks up 23-20 and within two points of the win.  However, the Skyhawks would go on to win the final five points of the set to steal the set and force a fifth.
 
The visitors then used a 3-0 run in the fifth to go up 7-5 before the Mavericks would battle back to tie the fifth at 10.  It was tied again at 11 after Dellenbach and Edwards exchanged kills before two straight Maverick miscues gave the Skyhawks a 13-11 lead.  Edwards erased half of that deficit before a Maddie LeBlanc kill and Maverick hitting error gave the Skyhawks their first away win in the rivalry since 2007.
 
After playing their last four matches at home, the Mavericks will have to bounce back on the road, where they will play the next four.  That stretch begins next Friday (Oct. 6) at CSU-Pueblo (2-12, 1-5 RMAC).  First serve in Massari Arena is slated for 7 p.m.