GOLDEN, Colo.— Returning all-Americans Camille Smith and Kasie Gilfert combined for 27 kills and seven blocks while both hitting above .500 to lead the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks to a 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 straight-set sweep of Fresno Pacific University in both team's season-openers here at the Oredigger Volleyball Classic in the Colorado School of Mines' Lockridge Arena.
 
The Mavericks hit .305 as a team while finishing with 48-30 and 54-35 advantages in kills and digs, respectively.  They also held the Sunbirds to a .093 team hitting percentage.
 
Smith finished with 15 kills, three blocks and hit .520 while Gilfert, the NCAA Division II statistical champion for hitting percentage in 2018, hit .526 with 12 kills.  She also added a match-high four blocks.
 
Senior Samantha Ritter got the start at setter and finished with 23 assists and nine digs while fellow setter Ara Norwood had 19 assists in a 6-2 attack. 
 
Meanwhile, the Mavericks started two newcomers in Division I transfer Maddi Foutz and freshman Savannah Spitzer.

Foutz who came in from Colorado State as a libero and defensive specialist, got the start at outside hitter and recorded 11 digs and eight kills, coming on strong in the latter portions of the affair.
 
Fellow outside hitter Holly Schmidt, a sophomore who saw limited time in 2018, also had a strong match with 12 digs and seven kills.
 
Spitzer and fellow freshman Maranda Theleus combined for six kills from the right side hitter position.
 
Meanwhile, sophomore libero Kerstin Layman had a match-high 14 digs in her first start as a replacement for graduated Maverick standout Taylor Woods.
 
Leading by just one at 15-14 in the opening set, the Mavericks used back-to-back kills from Gilfert followed by a Gilfert and Theleus block to trigger a 7-1 spurt.  Smith, Foutz and Spitzer then put down kills in the final stages of the stanza to close out the set.
 
The Mavericks would then jump out to a 7-1 lead in the second set while never looking back as they matched their 6-point margin of victory without ever trailing.
 
They would go behind 2-1 early in the third but used kills by Schmidt, Gilfert and Foutz to take the lead, which grew to as many as nine (24-15) behind a 4-0 run with Layman at the service line.
 
The Firebirds then recorded three straight blocks before Theleus ended her first collegiate match with the fourth kill of the day.
 
The Mavericks will play again on Friday taking on Lubbock Christian at 4 p.m.  That will be the first match of the year and day for the Lady Chaps.