GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Volleyball team will look to remain perfect at home and nail down a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament spot and home quarterfinal match as they continue a 5-match home-stand with weekend matches against the Colorado School of Mines and UCCS on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
 
Both matches begin at 7 p.m. in Brownson Arena.

Links to the live stream and live statistics can be found above.
 
The Mavericks, who are 6-0 at home this season and 5-1 in their last six matches overall, currently stand in fourth place in the RMAC standings with an 11-4 conference record.  CMU is 15-8 overall and sits one match ahead of Mines (17-6, 10-5 RMAC). 
 
UCCS, which plays at Western Colorado University on Friday, is currently 10-13 overall and 8-7 in RMAC play to stand in a seventh place tie with CSU-Pueblo in the conference standings.  They are just a half-match ahead of Chadron State (7-7 RMAC), which would miss out on the RMAC Tournament at this point.
 
Get out the Brooms
 
The Mavericks recorded a pair of 3-set sweeps last weekend defeating Fort Lewis, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23 on Friday and Adams State, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 on Saturday afternoon.  The victories marked the first time this season that the Mavericks have claimed back-to-back 3-set wins.
 
The Mavericks now have eight 3-set sweeps this season and have posted straight-set sweeps in each of their last three victories.
 
Home Court Success
 
The Mavericks will enter this weekend with a perfect 6-0 record at home this season.  Dating back to last season, the Mavericks have won eight straight and 15 of their last 16 home matches after going 9-1 at Brownson Arena last year.
 
The home-court success is nothing new as the Mavericks are 50-9 (.847) at home over the past six seasons since 2014.
 
The Mavs were also 9-1 at home in 2015 before posting 6-3 home-court records in 2016 and 2017.  CMU was 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 65-18 (.783) at home in that that span.
 
What's at Stake
 
A Friday night win over Mines would allow the Mavericks to move two full matches ahead of the Orediggers in the conference standings.  It would also give them any direct head-to-head tiebreakers should the teams finish level at the end of the regular season and would thus guarantee that the Mavericks would earn at least the No. 4 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and the right to host a Nov. 19 quarterfinal round match-up, very possibly against the Orediggers.
 
The Mavericks could also potentially move into a tie for third place with Dixie State, which currently sits a match up on CMU.  The Trailblazers (12-3 RMAC) play at RMAC-leading and ninth-ranked Regis on Friday.
 
On the other side of the coin, the Mavericks could potentially still secure an RMAC Tournament berth on Friday even with a loss, provided CSU-Pueblo, UCCS or Chadron State also lose one of their respective Friday night matches.
 
However, a loss on Friday would put CMU and Mines level for fourth place in the RMAC standings and Mines would have any direct head-to-head tiebreakers with just two matches remaining in the regular season and thus a more inside path to a potential home match in the tournament.
 
The Orediggers finish at Western on Saturday and at UCCS next Friday (Nov. 15) while CMU will host those two teams on opposite days.
 
Gilfert takes her fourth award
 
Maverick redshirt junior Kasie Gilfert was named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Player of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday.  The award came after she recorded 28 kills while hitting at a .500 clip in the Mavericks' two straight-set home wins over Fort Lewis and Adams State last weekend.  Gilfert averaged a RMAC-best 4.67 kills per set over the weekend as she had 17 while hitting at a .577 clip in Friday's victory over Fort Lewis.  She then tallied 11 in Saturday's afternoon's victory over Adams State.
 
RMAC Player of the Year decider?
 
Friday's match may also have a statement in who is eventually named as the RMAC Player of the Year, which will be determined in a post-season vote of the conference's 16 head coaches.  Gilfert and Mines' Abby Tiesman, are certainly leading candidates. 
 
Tiesman leads the RMAC with her .397 hitting percentage while Gilfert is second at .389.
 
In the kills category, Gilfert has 327 and a 4.09 per set average to rank second in the RMAC behind South Dakota Mines' Dana Thomson, who has 418 (4.31/set).  Tiesman is third with 315 total kills and her 3.84 per set average. 
 
In total points, Tiesman leads the RMAC with 391 in 82 sets, good for a 4.77 per set average.  Gilfert has 373 and is averaging 4.66 per set to rank second in the conference.
 
.200 continues to be key
 
As a team, the Mavericks are hitting .222 this year to rank fourth in the RMAC.  When they have hit .200 or higher, the Mavericks are 13-1 this season.  When they fallen below that mark, they are just 2-7, although they did pick up their second sub .200 win of the season on Saturday, when they hit .185 against Adams State.
 
The Mavericks hit .299 as a team in Friday's win over Fort Lewis.
 
Best D
 
The Mavericks played their best defensive match of the season on Saturday against Adams State, limiting the Grizzlies to just 23 kills and a .070 hitting percentage.  That defensive effort was CMU's best since Oct. 13, 2018, when they held Westminster to just 21 kills and a .033 team hitting percentage.  MSU Denver hit just .051 in a Nov. 10 RMAC Semifinal as well.
 
The Quest for 2,000
 
Senior setter Samantha Ritter recorded 30 more assists over the weekend and is now just 54 away from reaching the 2,000 mark for her collegiate career.  She now has 417 this season and will need to average 18 per match to reach the milestone before the end of the regular season.  If she does, she would be the tenth Maverick setter in program history to reach the milestone.
 
The Tinley Park, Illinois native also has a team-leading six double-doubles to her credit this season and has registered 26 in her career, which included an Honorable Mention All-RMAC honor as a sophomore in 2017.
 
Schmidt reaches double-figures
 
Sophomore outside hitter Holly Schmidt recorded a career-high 10 kills in Saturday's win over Adams State, reaching double-figures for the first time in her career.  Schmidt has been in the starting lineup for each of the last six matches and has made 10 starts and 20 total appearances this season after playing in three matches last year as a freshman.
 
Top 20 rankings
 
In addition to standing second in the RMAC for hitting percentage, kills and total points per set, Kasie Gilfert is also ranked amongst the nation's top 20 in all three categories.  She currently stands 15^th in hitting percentage, 19^th in points per set and 20^th in kills per set.
 
Smith also ranked
 
Fellow Maverick middle Camille Smith is also ranked amongst the RMAC's top 10 players in those categories.  She currently sits fourth in hitting percentage (.373), seventh for kills per set (3.07) and eighth for points per set (3.66).
 
Digging it up
 
Maverick sophomore libero Kerstin Layman continues to rank seventh in the RMAC for digs per set.  She had 35 last weekend, good for an impressive 6.83 per set average, and now has 377 for the season, good for an average of 4.65 per set.  Layman has now recorded 25 or more digs in four different matches this season and has reached 20 or more six separate times.
 
Highly ranked 6-2 offense
 
The Mavericks' offense has been clicking this year as the Mavericks are second in the RMAC for both kills (14.33) and assists (13.42) per set.  They also rank eighth in the country for assists per set and are tenth nationally for kills per set.
 
Fleming in year No. 15
 
The 2019 season is the Mavericks' 15th under Head Coach Dave Fleming, who has racked up 283 career wins (283-156) and a .645 career winning percentage, including this year's 15-8 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 Mines
 
The Orediggers will enter Friday's match with a 17-6 overall record.  They are currently fifth in the RMAC standings with 10-5 conference record after claiming key 5-set win over second place MSU Denver at home on Saturday.  They also swept Chadron State on Friday after falling at then No. 12 Regis and Colorado Christian the weekend before.
 
The Orediggers, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches' Poll, have lost three straight away from home, but are solid 10-3 at home.

They also debuted in the No. 4 spot of the initial set of NCAA Division II South Central Regional rankings.
 
Senior middle blocker Abby Tiesman leads the team with 315 kills and leads the RMAC while ranking tenth nationally wither 4.76 total point per set average.  She is also ranks 11^th in the country and leads the RMAC with her hitting percentage of .397.  Tiesman also has a team-leading 85 blocks and is ninth in the RMAC for blocks per set at 1.04.
 
As a team, the Orediggers are fourth in the nation for kills per set (14.68) and third for assists per set (14.00), largely thanks to the play of sophomore setter Drew Stokes.  She is third in the country and leads the RMAC with her 12.30 assist per set average and will need just four assists on Friday to reach the 1,000 mark for the second straight season after earning AVCA National Freshman of the Year plaudits in 2018.
 
In addition to Tiesman, Stokes often sets the ball to junior outside hitter Lindsey Jin and sophomore Amanda Donais.  The latter has 206 kills, an average of 2.82 per set, and is hitting .322 to rank eighth in the RMAC.  Jin is fourth on the team in total kills with 155, a 2.38 per average, but has played in just 65 of the 82 sets.
 
Elle Duis leads the back-row with 353 digs, good for a 4.30 per set average to rank ninth in the RMAC.  She also has 20 service aces and is one of three Orediggers with 20 or more.  Tiesman has 24 to lead the team while Stokes has 22.
 
About UCCS
 
The Mountain Lions are locked in a battle to qualify for the RMAC Tournament.  At 10-13 overall, they are 8-7 in conference play and are currently tied with CSU-Pueblo for seventh place in the RMAC and a half-match ahead of Chadron State, who they defeated in five sets on Saturday night. 
 
The Mountain Lions have split each of their past five RMAC weekends.
 
They have a very balanced offensive attack with five different players recording between 159 and 201 total kills.  Senior outside hitter Grace Nelson, who is hitting a team-best .306, leads the group.  She is averaging 2.79 kills per set.  Lauren Brown, who is sixth on the team with 124 kills, leads the team in blocking with 59, good for an average of 0.80 per set.
 
Redshirt junior setter Raleynn Edge has 29 service aces, good for a 0.33 per set average, which ranks her tenth in the RMAC.  She also has 431 assists while freshman Emily Ettel has 488 to lead the team.  Defensively, libero Jordyn Kinsey leads the team with 366 digs to average 4.16 per set.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavericks and Orediggers have split the last six matches between the teams with each winning three matches.  The Mavericks won last year's meeting on Oct. 27 in Golden.  That victory came in five sets in come-from-behind fashion as Mines had won the second and third sets.  The Mavericks were also victorious in Mines' last visit to Grand Junction, which was on Oct. 15, 2016.  The Mavericks the then 18^th-ranked Orediggers in four sets.
 
From 2011-13, the Orediggers had won four straight in the series, which Mines leads 12-11 this century.
 
The Mavericks have won six of the last seven and nine of the last 11 matches against UCCS.  However, the Mountain Lions claimed a 5-set win in their last visit to Grand Junction on Nov. 5, 2016, one of just two road victories UCCS has ever claimed over the Mavericks.
 
Up Next
 
After this weekend, the Mavericks will remain at home when they close out the regular season on Friday, Nov. 15 against rival Western Colorado University.  That match, which will begin at 7 p.m., will be preceded by Senior Night festivities when the Mavs' will recognize their three seniors, who will be playing their final regular season match of their careers against the Mountaineers.