GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After a second straight weekend split away from home to wrap up the first half of conference play, the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will return home to Brownson Arena for two key Parents' Weekend matches against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's two South Dakota institutions, who come in just behind the Mavericks in the conference standings.
 
On Friday a 7 p.m., the Mavericks (10-7, 6-3 RMAC) will host Black Hills State (7-10, 5-4 RMAC).  They will then take on South Dakota Mines (8-10, 4-5 RMAC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. 
 
CMU is currently tied with the Colorado School of Mines for fourth place in the RMAC standings while Black Hills State is just a match behind and tied for seventh.  South Dakota Mines is just two matches behind the Mavericks and currently sits in a tenth place tie in the conference standings with Western, a team they pay a visit to on Friday, and Adams State.
 
Live video streams of both of CMU's matches can be seen on the RMAC Network.  Live statistics will also be provided and can be accessed at the link above.
 
Good to be at home
 
The Mavericks have played just two home matches in their first 17, posting wins in each defeating Westminster and Dixie State on Oct. 4 and 5, respectively.  The Mavericks, who will play seven of their final nine regular season matches at home, are now 46-9 (.836) in Brownson Arena over the past six seasons since 2014.  The 3-set sweep of Dixie State earlier this month also allowed the Mavericks to avenge their only home-court loss of 2018, a year that saw the Mavericks go 9-1 in Brownson Arena.  The Mavs were also 9-1 at home in 2015 before posting 6-3 home-court records in 2016 and 2017.  The Mavs were also an impressive 14-1 in 2014 en-route to a RMAC Tournament Championship and NCAA South Central Regional final appearance and have had winning records at home in each of the last seven years since 2012, going 61-18 (.772) at home in that that span.
 
.200 is the key
 
As a team, the Mavericks are hitting .217 this year to ranks fifth in the RMAC.  When they have hit .200 or higher, the Mavericks are 9-1 this season.  When they fallen below that mark, they are just 1-6.
 
Sitting third
 
Maverick junior Kasie Gilfert now ranks third in the RMAC for both hitting percentage (.377) and kills per set (4.05).  She has registered 235 kills total kills, which is also the third most in the conference as well.
 
Gilfert has also recorded 270 total points, the third most in the RMAC, but does sit second with her per-set average of 4.66.
 
Smith in the top 10
 
Maverick senior middle Camille Smith also continues to rank in the RMAC's top 10 for both hitting percentage and total points.    Smith is hitting .346 to sit sixth in the RMAC and ranks ninth for points per set at 3.50.
 
Strong in the fourth
 
The Mavericks are a strong 5-1 in the fourth set of matches this season, which has helped them post a 4-0 record in 4-set matches and a 5-1 record in matches that have gone past three sets.
 
Freshman picking up steam
 
Freshman right side Maranda Theleus registered a career-high 13 kills in Friday's win at Colorado Christian and has been in double figures in four of CMU's last eight matches after taking ten matches to reach double-figures.  The West Palm Beach, Florida product has 108 kills in total this season, fourth most on the team.  She is also third on the squad with her .223 attack percentage.
 
Fleming in year No. 15
 
The 2019 season is the Mavericks' 15th under Head Coach Dave Fleming, who has racked up 278 career wins (278-155) and a .642 career winning percentage, including this year's 10-7 mark thus far.  Fleming took over the helm of the program in 2005 and is just the fourth head coach in the program's 35-year history.  He has guided the Mavericks to seven NCAA Division II National Tournament berths, a 2014 RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles, last year's RMAC Tournament title 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 five times, including in 2018, when the Mavericks went 24-7 to enjoy their second best season in Fleming's tenure, only shy of the program's 29-4 season in 2014.
 
About Black Hills State
 
The Yellow Jackets dropped both of their matches last weekend after winning five of their previous six and will enter Friday's match at CMU with 7-10 overall and 5-4 RMAC records.  They sit just a match behind the Mavericks in the conference standings and are tied with CSU-Pueblo and UCCS for seventh place in the conference standings.
 
They have five different players with 100 or more kills this season in a balanced lineup.  That group is led by sophomore outside hitter Madison Hoopman, who has 166 kills (2.55/set).  Sophomore middle Mariah Robinson, who has exactly 100 kills, is hitting .307 to lead the team in attack percentage.
 
Fellow sophomore middle Peyton Bodemann has registered 57 blocks (0.86/set) while freshman Haedyn Rhoades has 307 digs (4.65/set) as the team's defensive leaders.  Rhoades ranks fifth in the RMAC for digs per set at 4.65.  Bodemann also has registered a team-leading 22 service aces (0.33/set).
 
Laurel Lech and Tess Thomas, two of the team's three seniors, have split time in the setter position and have 366 and 261 assists, respectively.
 
As a team, BHSU ranks third in the conference for digs (17.00/set) and sixth for service aces (1.44/set) but is in the bottom half of the of the conference in all of the remaining statistical categories.
 
They have just one 3-set sweep to their credit but are a strong 4-3 in 4-set matches and 2-2 in 5-setters.  Those figures lead in with the narrative of being slow starters.  The Yellow Jackets have won the first set in just three of their 17 matches.
 
About South Dakota Mines
 
The Hardrockers will enter the weekend, which they begin Friday at Western, with an 8-10 overall record.  They are just 4-5 in RMAC play but have proven to be up to the challenge having defeated then No. 23 Colorado School of Mines on the road on Oct. 5 before claiming a 4-set home win over then conference leading MSU Denver on Saturday to knock the Roadrunners out of first place and from the ranks of the conference unbeaten.
 
In between, they were swept by BHSU and dropped a 5-set match at home to Chadron State.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Dana Thomson, who hails from Fruita, leads the RMAC in total kills with 290 and is second with her 4.08 per set average.   She has taken 826 swings while fellow outside hitter Caryn Hazard has taken 612 while putting down 193 kills, an average of 3.06 per set to rank seventh in the conference.  The rest of the team has fewer swings than those two players combined.
 
Freshman Anna Thomas paces the team with 399 digs, good for an average of 5.54 per set to rank second in the conference.  Meanwhile, Jacey Koethe has 68 blocks to her credit to sit ninth in the RMAC for her 1.01 per set average.
 
Sophomore Shyann Bastian is seventh in the RMAC for assists at 7.51 per set. 
 
Their eight wins are already the most since 2015, when they went 8-20.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks have dominated the relatively short series histories with both opponents, who are two of the newer RMAC members.
 
CMU is 7-1 all-time against Black Hills State, which joined the RMAC in 2012.  The Mavericks are 6-1 against the Yellow Jackets since then and also won a 2011 non-conference match in Grand Junction, where the Mavs are 4-0 against them.  Five of CMU's wins in the series have come in straight sets while two others were by 3-1 margins.  BHSU's lone win in the series came on Oct. 21, 2016 in Spearfish, South Dakota.  That match was a 5-setter.
 
The Mavericks are 6-0 all-time against South Dakota Mines, which joined the RMAC in 2015.  The Mavs are 4-0 against the Hardrockers since then and have not dropped a set in conference play.  Two non-conference matches played in 2013 and 2014 went to four sets.  CMU is 3-0 against the 'Rockers in Brownson Arena.
 
Up Next
 
After this home weekend, the Mavericks will head to Utah for their final two away matches of the regular season as they will look to claim season sweeps of Westminster and Dixie State on Oct. 25 and 26, respectively.  The Mavericks will then play each of their final five regular season matches at home.