GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Kasie Gilfert put down 17 kills and hit .577 as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks out-hit the visiting Fort Lewis College Skyhawks by 180 points in a 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 straight-set sweep on Friday night at Brownson Arena.
 
Gilfert's 17 kills were the difference in CMU's 48-31 advantage in that category as the Mavericks improved to 14-8 overall and to 10-4 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while remaining perfect (5-0) at home this season. 
 
FLC dropped to 9-14 overall and 5-9 in the conference with the loss.
 
The Mavericks hit at a blistering .417 clip in the first set and finished the match at .299 while FLC, paced by 10 kills from middle Bailey Longacre, finished at just .119.
 
Although Gilfert was the star of the show, the Mavericks also had a strong supporting case as Katie Scherr finished with eight kills and 11 digs while Camille Smith and Hailey Crane finished with seven kills a piece
 
Setter Ara Norwood had a strong night as well with 29 assists while Samantha Ritter chipped in 13.  Defensively, Kerstin Layman had 16 digs as the Mavericks finished with a 54-36 edge in that category to negate the Skyhawks' 6-2 superiority in blocking.
 
The Mavericks scored the first seven points of the match and cruised to the first set win.  Gilfert had eight kills in that frame alone while Crane also started off strong with six kills in the opening stanza.
 
The Mavericks also jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set but watched the Skyhawks rally to tie the set at 7 behind the serving of Ohiyah Shirley, a former teammate of Gilfert's at Division I Northern Arizona University.  Shirley had just checked into the match in place of Jacalyn Sharko, who left the match due to injury.
 
The frame would later be tied at 17 before two Smith kills and another from Scherr highlighted a 4-0 Maverick run that put the hosts, 21-17.  That 4-point margin then grew to six as Maranda Theleus and Gilfert combined for a block before defensive specialist Maddi Foutz closed out the frame with a service ace.
 
The Skyhawks did not quit in the third set and battled with the Mavericks throughout what would be the final and tightest frame of the night.  It was tied on 12 separate occasions and featured five lead changes. 
 
Late in the set, the Mavericks broke out to a 22-19 lead on a Gilfert kill and Longacre hitting error but watched the Skyhawks rally to tie the set at 22 on a Longacre service ace.
 
Gilfert and Tye Wedhorn then exchanged kills as the set was tied at 23 before kills from Scherr and Smith finished the match off.
 
Now assured of a winning season for the eighth straight year, the Mavericks remain at home for their final four matches of the regular season including a Saturday afternoon (4 o'clock) tilt with Adams State University, which was drubbed 25-9, 25-21, 25-14 at Western Colorado University on Friday.  The Grizzlies have now lost six straight to fall to 7-16 overall and 4-10 in the RMAC.