GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Winners of six straight and 13 of their last 14 matches, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will return to Brownson Arena for their final home matches of the regular season this weekend.
 
The Mavericks, who are 15-4 overall and in second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings at 10-1, will have a chance to avenge their only loss in the 14-match stretch on Friday at 7 p.m. when they take on Dixie State University (14-4, 9-2 RMAC), just a match behind the Mavericks in the conference standings.
 
CMU will then host Westminster (6-13, 4-7 RMAC) on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
The Mavericks will hold Parent's Night festivities before Friday's match against the Trailblazers and then will honor their four seniors (Alyssa Chutka, MacKenzie Edwards, Natalee Todd, Taylor Woods) prior to Saturday night's match with the Griffins during Senior Night festivities.
 
CMU will also host their annual Swing for Life event during Saturday's match.
 
For fans that can not make it to Brownson Arena in person, a live stream of both matches can be seen on the RMAC Network and accessed at the link above.  Live statistics for both matches can also be found on the links above.
 
Swing for Life
 
Proceeds from this Saturday's Swing for Life promotion, run by CMU Softball Alumna Kathy Howa's foundation will be donated to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for breast cancer research.  To date, through her efforts, Swing for Life has raised over $1.1 million dollars, including over $35,600 through the CMU Community over the past 13 years.
 
Gilfert snags multiple Player of the Week honors
 
Maverick redshirt sophomore Kasie Gilfert was named as the RMAC's Offensive Player of the Week for the second straight time on Monday after she recorded 36 kills, an average of 6.00 per set, and nine blocks while hitting at a .593 clip in two Maverick road wins in South Dakota over the weekend.
 
This most recent award came after receiving PrepVolleyball.com's Non-Division I National Player of the Week honor last Wednesday (Oct. 3) for her efforts in the Mavericks' Sept. 29 and 30 victories over then nationally-ranked Regis and Colorado Christian the weekend before.
 
Gilfert had 42 kills and hit at a .583 clip over that weekend and was also selected as the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week.
 
Killing her way to the top
 
Gilfert has recorded 78 kills, an average of 5.57 per set, over the last two weeks and hit at a .593 clip in that stretch.  In the process, she has taken over the national statistical lead for hitting percentage at .443.  She has hit at a .400 or higher clip in 10 different matches this season and has been above .500 in her last four, five of her last six and seven overall matches.
 
She had been eighth in the NCAA Division II statistics as of last week and now holds a 14-point lead over Cal State San-Bernardino's Sascha Dominique, who is hitting at a .419 clip.
 
Gilfert has 246 kills and has committed just 44 errors in 456 total attempts this year.
 
Perfection at home, especially in October
 
The Mavericks are undefeated at home this season and will look to continue to finish the regular season undefeated at home for the first time since 2014 with wins against Dixie State and Westminster this weekend.  The Mavericks have also registered 19 straight home-court wins in the month of October, a streak that dates back to 2014.
 
CMU last went undefeated at home in the regular season in 2014, winning 10 regular season home matches en-route to a share of the RMAC's regular season championship and the right to host the post-season tournament as the No. 1 seed.  They then won all three of their matches in Brownson Arena to win the RMAC Tournament crown before winning their first two NCAA Division II South Central Regional matches as well.  CMU's only home loss of that season came in the regional final to Arkansas-Fort Smith.
 
The Mavericks went 15-1 at home that year, including a 7-0 mark in October.  The Mavs went 3-0 at home in October last year after going 5-0 in Brownson Arena during, October of 2015, and 4-0 in October of 2014.
 
This weekend's matches are their only two home matches in the month of October.
 
Two more points
 
The Mavericks remained in the "others receiving votes" category of this week's AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll for the second straight week.  They now have seven points in the poll after sitting with five in last week's (Oct. 1) poll.  The Mavericks also had two points from a pair of 25^th place votes in the preseason poll at the beginning of the year.
 
Cal State San Bernardino remained first in the poll and is followed by Northern State (S.D.), Nebraska-Kearney, Concordia-St. Paul and Ferris State (Mich.). 
 
The Mavericks have played three teams in the poll this season in Rockhurst, now ranked 10^th, No. 14 Cal State-L.A. and No 24. Cal Poly Pomona, a team they defeated in straight sets on the opening day of the season for their first win.
 
The Mavericks also have one more match against a ranked opponent on their regular season in No. 21 at the Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 27 and have played three teams ahead of them in the "others receiving votes" category, going 2-1 against that group, made up of Azusa Pacific, Northwest Missouri State and Regis.
 
Smith Sitting strong at No. 3.
 
The Mavericks also have the No. 3 ranked hitter in Division II volleyball in junior middle Camille Smith, who is now hitting at a .423 clip this year.  She had been sitting fourth in the nation last week while leading the RMAC before being passed by Gilfert.
 
Smith has been remarkably consistent this season and has 148 kills and just 22 hitting errors on 298 swings this season.  She has hit over .600 in four different matches this season, including at .769 against Cal Poly Pomona while hitting below .300 just three times.
 
As a team, the Mavericks rank third in the RMAC with their .234 attack percentage.  The Mavericks hit at a combined .302 clip last weekend in South Dakota.
 
The Push for 2,000
 
Maverick senior libero Taylor Woods, who is already the Mavericks' rally-scoring era (2001-Present) for career digs is now in search of the 2,000 career dig milestone.  She had 40 more digs over the weekend in South Dakota, an average of 20 per match that has kept her close to the necessary pace to reach the milestone by the end of the regular season.  She currently has 1,853 career digs and is just 147 shy of that mark. 
 
Woods will need to average 21 digs per match to reach the milestone by the end of the regular season.  However, that needed pace would be lowered, perhaps significantly, depending on how many post-season (RMAC and NCAA Tournament) games the Mavs may qualify for.  Thus far in 2018, Woods is averaging 17.37 digs per match although 12 CMU's 19 matches have only gone three sets.  She has averaged 18.17 digs per match thus far in her career.
 
Woods had 22 digs in Friday's win at South Dakota Mines and has had 20 or more digs seven times this year while finishing in double-figures in all 19 matches of the campaign.  She has racked up 330 digs this season and ranks fourth in the RMAC with her 4.93 per set average.
 
She is also averaging 4.93 digs per set throughout her career, which would smash the current rally-scoring era school record of 4.03, set by Ashley Loftsgard in her 2005-08 career.
 
Only Amy Miller, a CMU Hall of Honor inductee (2005) and 2011 RMAC Hall of Fame, has more career digs than Woods.  Miller set the all-time school-record of 2,542 from 1991-94, in a time when squads played under the side-out scoring system and typically played significantly more matches than they currently do.
 
As an example, the Mavericks played 51 matches in 1991 and 45 in 1994.  They have just 28 regular season matches on the schedule this year and would only play 37 even if they were to advance all the way to the championship match of both the RMAC and NCAA Tournaments.
 
Approaching 1K
 
Senior outside hitter MacKenzie Edwards continues to get closer to the 1,000 career kill milestone and will enter this weekend with 997 kills, just three shy of that mark.  She did not play in Friday's match at South Dakota Mines before recording four kills in Saturday's win over Black Hills State.
 
The 2-time First Team All-RMAC selection and 2017 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American has 158 kills this season, the second highest mark on the Maverick squad.  Edwards is looking to become just the sixth Maverick in the rally-scoring era (2001-Present) to record 1,000 career kills.
 
Great Leadership
 
Dave Fleming is in in 14^th year as the Mavericks' head coach and earned his 250^th career win on Sept. 7 against CSU-Pueblo.  He and the Mavericks have since won nine more matches. He now has a 259-145 career record, good for a .641 career winning percentage.
 
Fleming took over the helm of the program in 2005 and is just the fourth head coach in the program's 34-year history.  He has guided the Mavericks to six NCAA Division II National Tournament berths, a 2014 RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles and three RMAC West Division crowns.  The Mavericks have had winning seasons in all but one of his years with the program and have reached the 20-win mark four times.
 
Get out the brooms
 
The Mavericks have won 11 of their matches in straight-set sweeps this season posting 3-0 victories in nine of their last 14 matches overall, including each of the last three.  Additionally, the Mavericks have dropped just three sets in their seven home matches this year to post a 21-3 home-court set win mark.
 
Smith and Reese join the block party
 
Both Camille Smith and Ashton Reese both set new career-highs for blocking in Saturday evening's win at Black Hills State.  Camille Smith had eight blocks in that match, surpassing her former career-high of seven, set just nine days prior against Regis.  Meanwhile, Reese recorded a career-high six.
 
As a team, the Mavericks have now recorded 10 or more blocks in each of their last three matches, which have all been 3-set victories.  In the process, the Mavericks have raised their season average to 2.48 per set, which is second best average in the RMAC.  That mark also ranks them 12th nationally and has them on pace to be the program's best blocking season since 2003.
 
In 2017, the Mavericks finished just 13^th in the RMAC for blocking with a 1.53 per set average.  They recorded 148 team blocks that year.  This year's edition of the Maverick squad is already 18 blocks ahead of last year's squad and still has seven regular season matches left.
 
Individually, Kasie Gilfert leads the team with 72 blocks while Smith is right behind with 70.  They rank third and fifth in the RMAC with their respective 1.07 and 1.04 per set averages.  Natalee Todd has also contributed significantly to the Mavericks' net defense with 60 total blocks.  Todd stands 10th in the RMAC for blocking a 0.91 per set.
 
The Mavericks are the only team in the RMAC to have three players ranked in the top 10 of any individual statistical category.
 
Reese is fourth on the team with 30 total blocks.
 
Leading D
 
The Mavericks held South Dakota Mines (.104) and Black Hills State (.076) to a combined .090 hitting percentage in the weekend sweep and in the process lowered their season-long opponent attack percentage to .123, a mark that continues to lead the RMAC.  It also ranks the Mavericks 22^nd in the nation.
 
The Mavericks have held ten different opponents to a sub-.100 team hitting percentage this season and have done so eight times in their current 13-from-14 winning stretch.
 
Pre-Season Picks
 
The Mavericks were picked to finish fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year, according to the conference preseason coaches' poll.  They received 173 points in the polling of the conference's 16 head coaches after their 17-10 (11-7 RMAC) 2017 season that saw them finish sixth in the conference's regular season standings.
 
Early Season honors
 
CMU also had two Preseason All-RMAC selections in seniors MacKenzie Edwards, a returning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America outside hitter, and libero Taylor Woods.  Edwards was a First Team All-RMAC selection last year while Woods earned second team honors for the second straight year in 2017.  Woods was also recognized as the RMAC's Defensive Player of the week on Aug. 27 for her efforts at the Concordia Invitational.
 
Meanwhile, Kasie Gilfert was named to the all-tournament team at the Concordia Invitational while both Gilfert and Edwards earned all-tournament honors at the Rockhurst Volleyball Classic.
 
About Dixie State
 
Dixie State, a newcomer to the RMAC this year, will enter this Friday's pivotal match with a 14-4 overall record.  They are also 9-2 in RMAC play and in a tie for third place in the conference standings with Regis after dropping a 3-0 home decision to MSU Denver on Saturday in St. George, Utah, falling a match behind the Mavericks in the conference standings.
 
The Trailblazers are the only team to have defeated the Mavericks in conference play, winning a 4-set match in St. George on Sept. 15 and would pull even with the Mavericks and have a tie-breaker advantage should they be able to duplicate the win and sweep the season series.
 
Sophomore right side hitter and setter Megan Treanor leads the squad with 187 kills, an average of 3.17 per set that ranks her ninth in the RMAC.  She also stands seventh in the RMAC for total points at 3.75 per set. 
 
Meanwhile, Lauren Gammell continues to lead the county with 105 blocks, an average of 1.59 per set.  Malary Marshall is second on the team in both kills with 133 and blocks 65 to rank seventh in the RMAC for the latter at 1.00 per set.  She is also hitting at a .327 clip to lead the team's regular hitters while ranking sixth in the RMAC.
 
Sid Brandon leads the back-row with 268 digs and is averaging 4.06 per set. 
 
Junior middle blocker and outside hitter To'a Faleao-Baich paces the RMAC with 25 service aces, an average of 0.40 per set.
 
As a team, the Trailblazers are averaging 3.08 blocks per set to lead the nation.  They had 14 in the first meeting against the Mavericks with Gammell being involved in 11 of them.
 
The Trailblazers also stand second behind only the Mavericks in the RMAC for opponent hitting percentage at .128 and lead the conference in service aces with an average of 1.58 per set.
 
Friday's match-up between the teams will mark the first time since 2011 that the Trailblazers will have visited Brownson Arena.  Dixie State won that match on Sept. 8, 3-0 and holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
About Westminster
 
The Griffins are in their fourth year as current members of the RMAC and now in their first as a full NCAA Division II member institution, which makes them eligible for a RMAC Tournament berth. 
 
They are in a dog-fight for such a spot and enter this weekend and a Friday night at match at Western in a 4-way tie for the eighth and final spot with a 4-7 conference mark and having already beaten two of the teams they are tied with in Black Hills state and Fort Lewis.  They have not yet played the other— New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Griffins, who snapped a 4-match slide with a 4-set home win over Chadron State on Saturday, are 6-13 overall and are paced by sophomore outside hitter Audrey Green, a Second Team All-RMAC pick in 2017.  Green leads the team with 232 kills, an average of 3.41 per set that ranks her fourth in the RMAC.  She also stands seventh in the RMAC for service aces at 0.29 per set and is fifth in the RMAC for her points per set average of 3.90.
 
Junior middle blocker Sydnee Simmons is eighth in the conference for hitting percentage at .309 and is second on the team behind Green for total kills at 136. 
 
Junior setter Aggie Roese-Olsen stands ninth in the RMAC for assists at 7.84 per set. 
 
As a team, the Griffins are in the bottom half of the RMAC in all but one of the major statistical categories but are averaging 1.54 blocks per set to rank eighth.
 
The Mavericks have won each of the last six matches against the Griffins, all in three sets, and are 8-1 against them all-time.  That includes a perfect 4-0 mark in Grand Junction.
 
The Mavericks won 3-0 on Sept. 14 in Salt Lake City as they out-hit the Griffins .274 to .045.
 
Up next
 
After this weekend's home matches, the Mavericks will play their final five matches of the regular season on the road, beginning Friday, Oct. 19 against Adams State and Saturday, Oct. 20 at Fort Lewis.
 
CMU's next potential home match would be on Tuesday, Nov. 6 in the quarterfinal round of the RMAC Tournament.  The Mavericks will need to finish in the top four of the RMAC standings in order to earn the right to host such a match.