SALT LAKE CITY— The Colorado Mesa University Volleyball team is out to their first 4-0 start since 2014 after the Mavericks won non-conference matches against both Northwest Nazarene University and host Westminster College on Saturday here at the Griffins' Behnken Field House.
Balance was the name of the game in both victories as five different players combined to record eight total double-doubles in the sweep.
CMU 3, Northwest Nazarene 2 (20-25, 24-26, 29-27, 25-10, 15-5)
Five different Mavericks tallied double-doubles in the come-from-behind 5-set victory that saw the Mavericks win a thrilling 29-27 third set decision after dropping a heart-breaking second set to fall behind, 2-0. From that point on, the Mavericks dominated, winning the fourth 25-10 and the fifth by a 15-5 margin after hitting at a .533 clip as a team in the finale.
The Mavericks finished the match with 68-51 advantage in total kills and hit .229 as a team throughout while holding the Nighthawks to a .170 attack percentage, including negative marks in the blow-out fourth and fifth sets.
Freshman Right side hitter
Gabrielle Vogt paced the Mavericks with a new career-high 14 kills while tallying four blocks.
Reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Maddi Foutz led the Mavericks with 13 kills. She also tallied 16 digs to register her second straight double-double. Fellow outside hitter
Holly Schmidt also recorded 10 kills and 11 digs for her second consecutive double-double as well.
CMU setters
Sabrina VanDeList and
Ara Norwood also recorded double-doubles. VanDeList, a freshman, had 25 assists and a new career-high 17 digs to register the first of her young career, while Norwood tallied 20 assists and 13 digs. Libero
Emily Tucker also had her first career double-double with 13 digs and 10 assists. She also recorded four service aces.
Natalie Sullivan had 15 kills to pace the Nighthawks, who dropped to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 on the day after falling in four sets earlier in the day to the host Griffins.
Colorado Mesa 3, Westminster 1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-17)
Foutz again led a balanced Maverick attack, putting down a match and career-high 14 kills as one of three Mavericks to register double-doubles against the Griffins, who fell to 2-2 on the season. Foutz also had 12 digs.
Meanwhile sophomore middle
Savannah Spitzer had the best match of her Maverick career, recording 12 kills on .550 hitting while adding four blocks. Vogt also added 12 kills for the second straight match and hit .300 in the evening affair.
VanDeList (25 assists, 11 digs) and Norwood (22 assists, 11 digs) also recorded their second double-doubles of the day as the Mavericks out-hit the hosts .244-.175.
Tucker finished with 18 digs, a new career-high, while adding four more service aces. Schmidt had eight kills and ten digs while
Maranda Theleus, who missed the opening weekend due to injury, recorded seven kills while hitting at a .385 clip.
The Mavericks were tough behind the service line as they registered ten service aces while being guilty of just four errors. The Mavs also finished with a 64-44 edge in kills and a 72-62 advantage in total digs throughout the match.
Audrey Green, who went over the 1,000 career kill milestone early in the match, and Lydia Miller had 12 kills apiece to lead the Griffins, who won a set against CMU for just the second time in ten matches since joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2015. The Griffins had six of their eight blocks in that 25-22 second set win after the Mavericks nearly let a 24-19 opening set lead get away, before holding on for the 29-27 win on back-to-back kills by
Ashton Reese, who had six overall in the match.
The Mavericks, who are now a perfect 8-0 in the third, fourth and fifth sets combined this season, were much steadier in the third and fourth frames. They hit .303 in the third and tallied five aces before hitting at a .250 clip in the fourth set, when they added three aces.
The Mavericks will look to continue their hot start next Saturday (Feb. 6) when they resume RMAC play in another 3-team pod at Chadron State. The Mavericks, who are 1-0 in the conference standings, will face CSU Pueblo (1-1, 0-0 RMAC) at 2 p.m. and the host Eagles (1-1, 0-1 RMAC) at 5 p.m. that day. CMU defeated CSU Pueblo in a non-conference home match last Sunday.
