GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Maddi Foutz, Ara Norwood and Holly Schmidt all recorded double-doubles as the Colorado Mesa University Mavericks outlasted visiting CSU Pueblo in a hard-fought 4-set match to complete a 2-0 volleyball season-opening day on Sunday in Brownson Arena. 
 
The Mavericks had swept the defending Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champion and nation's fifth-ranked Regis University Rangers in the morning match of the 3-team pod.  CSU Pueblo then claimed a 5-set win over Regis in the middle match and finished the day with a 1-1 record in a pair of non-conference affairs.
 
In the night-cap victory, which will not count towards the RMAC standings, Schmidt had a match and career-high 14 kills and 15 digs, also a new career-high, to record her first double-double of her career.  Foutz had 13 kills and 15 digs while hitting .367 in what was her first collegiate double-double.  Norwood had 22 assists and 12 digs to record her 14^th career double-double, while starting setter Sabrina VanDeList, a freshman, tallied 24 assists and eight digs.
 
Libero Emily Tucker also added 15 digs to help the Mavericks record a 75-53 advantage in that category during the 24-26, 25-17, 29-27, 25-21 victory.  Tucker also had a career-high five of the Mavericks' nine service aces.
 
Meanwhile, CMU middle blockers Savannah Spitzer and Haley Hahn recorded six kills a piece as both hit over .450 in the victory.  Ashton Reese also finished with eight kills against the Pack after matching her career-high with 13 against Regis.
 
CSU Pueblo, was led by 13 kills from Jazzy Espinoza.  Payton Stack also had nine kills and six blocks for the visitors.
 
The Mavericks hit .252 as a team in the win and held the Pack to a .195 effort.  The Pack did finish with an 8-6 advantage in blocks and tallied 11 service aces, including four from Hannah Delor.
 
The Mavericks were forced to play from a set down after they could not convert on a set point in the initial frame.  Up 24-23 after the 13^th tie of the set at 23, the Mavericks watch CSU Pueblo rally to score the final three points to take the opening frame.  Stack was involved in two blocks during that stretch.
 
However, CMU would go on to seize a big 15-6 second-set lead, thanks to an extended 11-2 run, which proved to be the difference as the Mavericks evened the match, with a relatively comfortable 8-point set win. 
 
The third set would then feature 11 ties and seven lead changes as the ThunderWolves would built 17-11 and 21-15 leads.
 
However, the Mavericks went on a 7-0 run, sparked by one of the Pack's ten service errors, followed by a block from Sierra Hunt, who had just come on as a substitute, and Spitzer.  Hahn also had an ace while Foutz and Spitzer recorded kills in the momentum-changing spurt.
 
CSU Pueblo would roar back with three successive kills to earn a pair of set points at 24-22.  However, just like CMU in the first set, the ThunderWolves could not close out the frame as Schmidt took over with three straight kills to give the Mavericks a 25-24 lead.

The Mavericks then briefly thought they had won on the set on a Pack hitting error, which was overturned on an officials' review, which ended up dead-locking the set at 25.
 
The teams then exchanged the next four points as Foutz put down a kill to fight off yet another CSU Pueblo set point.  A Tucker service ace followed by Reese cross-court smash then gave the Mavericks the set.
 
The fourth and final set would also end up being close as the Mavericks fought back from a 6-1 deficit to tie it nine before eventually going ahead 15-14 on a block by Foutz and Hahn.
 
The Mavericks then extended the lead to 18-15 and maintained the lead the rest of the way, finishing off the match on another Reese kill.
 
The Mavericks will continue their season next Saturday in another 3-team pod at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.  They will face Western Colorado University and the host Griffons at 2 and 5 p.m., respectively.  Although both opponents are in the RMAC, that pair of matches will also be non-conference affairs.