GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University volleyball team will begin their ninth all-time NCAA Tournament run when they take to the Auraria Event Center court for the first match of this week's South Central Regional in Denver.  The Mavericks, 21-6 overall, are the region's No. 3 seed and will take on the sixth-seeded and nation's 22^nd-ranked University of Texas-Tyler Patriots (19-3) on Thursday at Noon in the first of four quarterfinals that day.
 
MSU Denver is hosting the 8-team tournament through Saturday evening.
 
The tournament headquarters page, located here, includes ticket information, parking codes and links to live stats and streams.
 
A digital program is now available, here.
 
The regional is the first stage of the NCAA Division II Tournament, which includes 64 teams from eight regions around the country.  The winners of each regional will then converge in Tampa, Florida for the final three rounds of the NCAA Tournament to be played in Tampa, Florida from Dec. 9-11.
 
It is important to note that under current local health regulations in Denver, all fans will be required to wear masks inside at all times regardless of vaccination status.  Also, players and fans will not be allowed to congregate in the gym after matches.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks dropped a 5-set back-and-forth affair to the nation's then tenth-ranked Colorado School of Mines in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at the Auraria Event Center in their last match on Friday, Nov. 19.

The tournament's second-seeded Orediggers won the odd-numbered sets while the third-seeded Mavericks came from a set down on two separate occasions, only to be-outlasted in the decider, 15-9.
 
Maverick outside hitter Sydney Leffler led the squad with 15 kills, ten of which came in the second and fourth set wins and was later named to the RMAC All-Tournament Team.
 
Defensively, Kerstin Layman tallied 25 digs, just one shy of her season-high.  Setter Sabrina VanDeList also tallied her tenth double-double of the season and her third in the last four matches, with 43 assists and 11 digs. 

Libby Borgerding also had a career-high 12 digs while Holly Schmidt put down nine kills.  Savannah Spitzer and Maranda Theleus, who hit .500, also had each kills apiece.

NCAA History
 
The Mavericks will be making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance since making the move to the Division II ranks in 1992.  This year's appearance will be their first since 2018 and is the eighth under 17^th-year Head Coach Dave Fleming.  They did not qualify in 2019 and the 2020 NCAA Division II Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
CMU is 7-8 all-time in NCAA Division II Tournament play and is 7-7 in the tournament under Fleming.
 
The Mavericks went 1-1 in their last appearance in 2018 when the South Central Regional was played in Stephenville, Texas.  They were also the No. 3 seed that year and recorded a 3-0 win over sixth-seeded and former RMAC rival Dixie State in the opening round before going down in a 5-set heartbreaker to No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Commerce in the regional semifinal.
 
The Mavs have twice advanced to the regional championship match under Fleming, doing so in 2014, when they hosted the regional, and in 2006.  They have also won their first round match-ups in 2005 and 2015 and are 4-4 all-time and 4-3 under Fleming in the opening round.
 
Experienced Mavs
 
Four members of the Maverick roster in redshirt senior Ara Norwood, along with redshirt juniors Kerstin Layman, Ashton Reese and Holly Schmidt all have previous NCAA Tournament qualification experience having played on the 2018 Maverick squad.  However, Reese did not play in the NCAA tournament due a late-season injury.  Schmidt did not see any playing time in either of the 2018 NCAA Tournament as a true freshman.
 
Norwood was the team's primary setter in a 6-2 offensive attack that season, earning the first of two consecutive Honorable Mention All-RMAC honors that year.  She started both of the Mavs' NCAA Tournament matches and all 31 that season, recording 42 assists and 16 digs in the two NCAA matches.  She had a 15-assist, 10-dig double-double in the opening round win over Dixie State.
 
Layman was a defensive specialist as a true freshman and recorded six digs and a service ace in seven sets played during the Mavs' 2018 NCAA tournament run.
 
Post-Season Honors
 
The Mavericks were well represented on the RMAC's post-season honors list, released on Nov. 17.  The Mavericks had two major award winners and had five combined players named to the first and second team all-conference squads.
 
Sydney Leffler was named as the RMAC Freshman of the Year and was joined on the first team by redshirt freshman Sabrina VanDeList, the RMAC Freshman of the Year in the spring.  VanDeList is now a 2-time first team honoree.
 
Meanwhile, CMU redshirt junior libero Kerstin Layman was named as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year.  She also earned her third career all-conference honor and was named to the Second Team All-RMAC squad for the second time this calendar year.
 
Maverick middle blockers Savannah Spitzer and Tye Wedhorn were also named to the second team squad earning their second career All-RMAC selections.  Spitzer, a redshirt sophomore, was a first team pick in the spring, while Wedhorn, now a redshirt junior, had also earned Second Team All-RMAC plaudits in 2018 as a freshman at Fort Lewis, where she played for two years before transferring to CMU in the fall of 2020.
 
Playing in December of a 36-win year
 
When the Mavericks take to the floor on Thursday, they will be playing in the month of December for just the fourth time in program-history and for the first time in Colorado. 
 
In 2016, the Mavericks lost on Dec. 1 to MSU Denver in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in San Angelo, Texas.  The Mavs also played two matches there during the 2015 NCAA Tournament, which began in December.  They defeated Tarleton State on Dec. 3 of that year in the opening round before being defeated on Dec. 4 in the semifinal round of the South Central Regional Tournament by Arkansas-Fort Smith.
 
The Mavs will also be playing an official match in the eighth different month of what has been a very unusual, but yet successful 2021 calendar year.
 
The Mavericks went 15-1 in the spring season, playing in January, February, March and April.  They then began their fall season in September.
 
The Mavs are a combined 36-7, good for an .837 winning percentage this calendar year and have recorded at least one win in each of the seven previous months they have played this year.
 
House of Heartbreak
 
The Mavericks are no strangers to MSU Denver's Auraria Event Center this year, having already played two high-level opponents there this season.  The Mavs have dropped both of those matches in 5-set heartbreakers.
 
On Oct. 1, the Mavericks had then national No. 2 MSU Denver on the ropes, winning the first two sets.  However, the Roadrunners roared back to take the decision.  The Mavericks then saw their RMAC Tournament run come to an end in their last match on Nov. 19 against then No. 10 Colorado School of Mines, discussed above.
 
The Mavs' last win on the Roadrunners' home court came back on Sept. 18, 2015, when they won a 5-set match over the hosts.
 
Freshman record
 
Leffler surpassed the Dave Fleming coaching era record for kills in a season by a freshman in the RMAC Tournament, recording 16 in the quarterfinal win over Colorado Christian.  She had entered the match with an even 300 on the year and was the first Maverick freshman in 15 years to reach that mark.
 
Alisan Tompkins had been Fleming's only previous freshman to reach the milestone, recording an even 300 kills back in 2006.
 
Leffler now has 331 kills this season and ranks second in the RMAC with her 3.48-per set average.
 
She has had five 20-plus kill efforts this season and has been in double-figures 19 times during the campaign.
 
High-Ranked Mavs
 
The Mavericks enter the NCAA Tournament with at least one player ranked amongst the RMAC's top five in six of the seven different statistical categories and have at least one representative in the top 10 of all seven.
 
Tye Wedhorn (.356) and Savannah Spitzer (.344) stand third and fourth in the RMAC for hitting percentage while the aforementioned Leffler ranks second in the RMAC for kills per set and fourth for points per set (3.74).
 
Sabrina VanDeList is amongst the RMAC's top five players in two different categories standing third for assists per set (10.71) and fifth for service aces (0.41).  Maverick freshman Jordan Woods is also right behind in aces, ranking sixth in the conference with her 0.37 per set average.
 
Defensively, Kerstin Layman is third in the conference for digs per set (4.33) while Wedhorn is eighth for blocking with her 0.89 per set average.
 
Blackjack
 
The Mavericks recorded their 21^st win of the season in the RMAC Tournament quarterfinals over Colorado Christian after reaching the 20-win mark in their regular season finale over then 23^rd-ranked Regis last Friday night.
 
The Mavs have now won 20 or more matches in six different seasons under Fleming, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in five of those years.
 
Home Streaking
 
With their RMAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Colorado Christian on Nov. 16, the Mavericks improved to 9-1 at home this season and have finished 2021 on a 9-match home-court winning streak.  Their only home loss came to now national poll No. 1 MSU Denver in the home-opener back on Sept. 16.
 
The home-court success is nothing new as the Mavs went 6-1 at home during the 2021 spring season and are 68-12 (.850) at home over the past eight seasons since the start of 2014.
 
In the fall of 2019, the Mavs went 8-1 after going 9-1 in Brownson Arena during the 2018 campaign.
 
In the past four seasons, the Mavericks have won 32 of their 36 home matches, good for an .889 winning percentage, losing at home just once each season.
 
The Mavs were also 9-1 at home in 2015 before posting 6-3 home-court records in both 2016 and 2017.  CMU was also an impressive 15-1 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 ten seasons since and including 2012, going 83-21 (.798) at home in that that span.
 
300 & Counting
 
With CMU's RMAC Tournament Quarterfinal win over UCCS on Apr. 8, Maverick Head Coach Dave Fleming became just the fifth of now six coaches in RMAC history to reach 300 career wins while coaching in the league.  Fleming, who is just the fourth head coach in the program's history, which celebrated its' 35^th season last spring, was also named as the RMAC Coach of the Year for the fourth time after leading the Mavericks to a 15-1 record in the spring.
 
Now in his 17^th season, Fleming is 321-165, good for a .660 winning percentage.  His 321 career wins are the most of any active RMAC Coach and his tenure is equal to the longest in the conference amongst active coaches.
 
The success is nothing new for Fleming, who has now led the Mavericks to eight NCAA Division II National Tournament berths, three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament titles (2014, 2018, 2021-Spring), a 2014 RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles and three RMAC West Division crowns (2005, 2009, 2010).

The Mavericks have had winning campaigns in all but one of his seasons and his teams have reached the 20-win mark six times, including this season and in 2018, when they went 24-7 while winning the RMAC Tournament title and advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA South Central Regional.  Fleming was also named as the RMAC Co-Coach of the Year that year after earlier earning that honor outright in 2009 and 2014.

The 2014 team went 29-4, won the RMAC Regular Season and Tournament titles and hosted the South Central Regional portion of the NCAA Division II Tournament while advancing to the regional final.
 
About the Patriots
 
The UT-Tyler Patriots will be making their debut national tournament appearance this season after going 19-3 thus far.  They are in their first year of NCAA Division II Tournament eligibility after going through the 4-year transition period from the Division III ranks.  They started their volleyball program in 2003 and never qualified for the Division III tournament.
 
The Patriots played in just one early season non-conference tournament this season going 4-0 at the Southeastern Classic in Durant, Oklahoma before not being able to play in their own home tournament on the second week of the season due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
They then went 15-2 in Lone Star Conference play to finish second out of 18 teams in the regular season standings.
 
However, they were then upset by No. 10 seed St. Edward's in the Lone Star Conference Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 18 after suffering another 5-set loss in their final regular season match of the year at UT-Permian Basin.
 
Like the Mavs, they also had a strong spring season going 14-1 overall and 12-0 in LSC play to win their division before advancing to the LSC Tournament final.
 
Mikayla Ware leads sixth-year Head Coach Lyndsay Mashe's squad with 292 kills.  The senior outside hitter ranks fourth in the LSC for kills per set (3.74) and was a First Team All-LSC selection alongside junior right side Christina Escamilla, who has recorded 211 kills (2.78/set) to rank second on the Patriot squad.
 
Junior Savannah Guzman was a Second Team All-LSC pick and paces the Patriots with 379 digs, good for a 4.86 per set average that is third best in the conference.
 
Maiya  Peña, leads the LSC with her .387 attack percentage while Escamilla is second in the LSC at .377.  Peña also leads the team with 71 blocks (0.91/set) to rank eighth in the LSC.
 
Junior Callie Craus has 529 assists and has started all 22 matches at setter while Taylor Stoops has 375 as the Patriots' secondary setter in a 6-2 offensive attack.  Craus, Peña, and Hannah Callison, third on the team with 170 kills (2.39/set) were all Honorable Mention All-LSC selections.
 
As a team, the Patriots are hitting. 245 this season to rank second in the LSC.  They also have the LSC's third-ranked defense, holding opponents to a .159 mark.
 
All but one of the 19 Patriots on the roster hails from the state of Texas.  The lone exception— freshman setter Jenna White, is a native of Brighton, Colorado and played her high school volleyball at Wiggins.
 
Series History
 
Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between the teams.  As mentioned above, UT-Tyler is a recent addition to the NCAA Division II ranks.
 
Up Next
 
Should the Mavericks win Thursday's match, they would advance to Friday's semifinal round, where they would meet the winner of another regional quarterfinal between No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines and No. 7 West Texas A&M.  That semifinal would be played at 5 p.m. on Friday.
 
The winner of that match will advance to the regional championship at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
 
A loss in Thursday's match would mean the end of the Mavericks' season.