RAPID CITY, S.D.— Reining Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Week Kasie Gilfert recorded 19 kills and hit .600 while chipping in six blocks, all-match highs, to lead the Colorado Mesa University Volleyball team to a 3-set sweep of the South Dakota School of Mines in the Hardrockers' King Center on Friday evening.
 
The Mavericks hit .309 as a team in the 25-21, 25-19, 25-12 victory, their fifth straight and 12^th in the last 13 matches, while improving to 14-4 overall and to 9-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The Hardrockers fell to 4-15 overall and to 1-9 in the conference.
 
The Mavericks had a 45-32 advantage in total kills and out-blocked the hosts 11-3 while holding them to a .104 hitting percentage.  The Mavericks also had a 55-42 edge in total digs as senior libero Taylor Woods recorded 22.
 
Several other Mavericks also had solid matches as Camille Smith put down eight kills and five blocks while hitting .500.  Katie Scherr (7) and Ashton Reese (5) also combined for a dozen more kills.  Meanwhile, Ara Norwood finished with 29 assists and eight digs while Allison Smith and Natalee Todd each finished with three blocks apiece.
 
The Mavericks hit just .143 in the opening set but were able to thwart a strong challenge from the Hardrockers with a 3-0 run that extended a 2-point lead to five at 20-15, which eventually proved to be enough of a cushion.
 
Gilfert had eight kills on 11 swings in that set.
 
The Mavericks then broke open the second set in similar fashion with a 4-0 run with Woods at the service line to build a 20-15 lead before winning the set on another Gilfert kill.
 
The Mavericks hit .424 in the second frame and then .400 in the third as they pulled away with a 15-6 extended run preceeding another 5-1 spurt to close out the match.
 
CMU will remain in South Dakota on Saturday facing Black Hills State (7-10, 4-6 RMAC) in Spearfish at 5:30 p.m.