GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University senior outside hitter MacKenzie Edwards became just the sixth Maverick in the rally-scoring era (2001-Present) to reach the 1,000 career kill milestone on Friday night in Brownson Arena.
 
Edwards finished with a match-high 11 kills although the Mavericks were downed in four sets by visiting Dixie State University, which swept the season-series while stopping the Mavericks' home-court and overall winning streaks with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16 victory.
 
The Trailblazers and Mavericks are now in a 3-way tie for second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings at 10-2, just a match behind No. 21 Colorado School of Mines, which was stunned at home by Colorado Christian.  The Mavericks' only two conference losses have come to the Trailblazers, who also won a 4-set match on Sept. 15 in St. George, Utah.
 
Regis is also 10-2 in conference play and will be in Golden to face Mines on Saturday evening.
 
CMU, now 15-5 overall, had won each of their previous seven home matches this year and entered Friday's match as winners of six straight and 13 of their last 14.
 
However, DSU (15-4) hit the Mavericks with a stunning punch from the opening serve winning each of the first 10 points of the match en-route to the first set victory.  The Trailblazers, who lead the NCAA Division II in blocking, registered blocks on each of the first three points and five of the first seven.
 
They finished the first set with seven, including a rare triple block, and tallied 14 throughout the night as the Mavericks hit a season-low .072 overall.
 
The Mavericks did come out stronger in the second set and were leading 7-6 before an 8-2 Blazer Spurt gave the visitors control of the second set. 
 
Tinkering with their line-up throughout the night to find the right combination, the Mavericks' coaching staff made several adjustments in the intermission.  They worked as the Mavericks jumped to a 13-5 third-set lead.  The Trailblazers committed five unforced errors before a Kasie Gilfert block highlighted a 7-1 Maverick run that put CMU ahead 13-5.
 
The Mavericks then led by as many as nine points to win the set and stay alive.
 
However, the Trailblazers got out to another fast start in the fourth set taking an 8-1 lead before closing out the match.
 
Edwards entered the night just three kills shy of 1,000 and now has 1,008.  She also finished with nine digs.
 
Meanwhile, Ashton Reese finished with a career-high nine kills while providing a big lift several times.
 
Camille Smith also had nine kills and was involved in three of the Mavericks' seven blocks.
 
Senior libero Taylor Woods finished the match with 18 digs while Samantha Ritter tallied 21 assists.
 
Lauren Gammell, Hannah Doonan and To'a Faleao-Baich had 10 kills each for the Trailblazers.  Doonan also had 17 digs while Gammell, the nation's top blocker, had 11 on Friday to join Doonan with a double-double.
 
The Mavericks will attempt to bounce back on Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Westminster on Senior Night.  Alyssa Chutka, Edwards, Natalee Todd and Woods will be honored before the match, CMU's final regular season home tilt of the season.